Have you ever thought about what you would do if you struck it rich? You wi the lottery, a relative dies and leafs you a fortune, or you find buried treasure while doing a remodel in your basement…what would you do? Pay off bills, new home, new car, vacation? it would be the ‘rags to riches’ scenario in spades.
Someone recently told they thought they should never ask God for prosperity. “I guess, he said, “that I just don’t feel worthy.” He wanted to know what I thought. I asked him, “If you don’t prosper, how can you possibly ‘be the blessing’ to others?!” And I wasn’t just speaking financially. My hubby has always said that fertilizer is no good until you spread it around. I would also include spreading around joy, love, wisdom, patience, the Gospel, etc. I mean, money is great but why stop there?
There’s an old Chinese saying that many argue can go in two different directions It’s this: “May you live in interesting times.” Some actually believe this is a curse. That interesting times means things are tumultuous worse or confusing I don’t know…I think interesting times are thoughtful, challenging, full of surprise and opportunities!
I recently heard a man being interviewed who is extremely successful and very generous. He was asked about his he learned to be so generous. He replied that his parents had taught him generosity, He was then asked about the first tie he remembered giving away a large sum of money. He told the interviewer that when he was 13 he earned $26.00.
Now – just a side bar here – that’s a lot of money for a 13 year old. When Bob and I were first married over 50 years ago, if we spent more than $25 on groceries we were over budget, so $26 was a lot for a kid. His mom congratulated him and then said, “Why don’t you give half of that away?” He thought for minute then said – “Okay, I think I’ll do that.” And he did. Then he told the interviewer this: “I don’t remember what I bought with the money I kept, but I sure do remember what I did with the $13 I gave away.”
Really, it’s jot that difficult to spread around blessings. Spread the love, spread the joy, the kindness…whatever it is that the person you encounter has need of. Just do it. I Corinthians 16 says, “Let all that you do be done i love.” If we see someone in need and we have he ability to do something about it, aren’t we supposed to help?! Answer = yes!! As Robert Louis Stevenson once remarked, “You can give without loving but you can never love without giving.”
There’s fascinating story about a young girl by he name of Katie Fisher, 17, who was involved in her local 4-H. One summer she pulled her unruly lamb into the arena of the Madison County Junior Livestock Sale. With a little luck she hoped the lamb would fetch some spending money – and she wouldn’t collapse as she had during another livestock show the day before.
Katie was battling lymphoma, a fast-growing malignancy. She had endured many hospitalizations and months of chemo. Selling her lamb would raise some pin money for her “We sort of let folks know that Katie had a situation that wasn’t too pleasant,” said auctioneer Roger Wilson who hoped his introduction would push the ;price-per-pound above the average of $2. It did -and then some.
The land sold for $11.50 per pound. then the buyer gave it back. That started a chain reaction, Families bought it and gave it back, businesses bought it and gave it back. “The first sale is the only one I remember. After that, I was crying too hard,” said Katie’s mother. “Everyone kept saying “Re-sell. Re-sell.”
“We sold that lamb 36 times,” said Wilson. And the last buyer gave back the lamb for good. The effort raised more than $16,000, which went into a fund to help pay Katie’s medical expenses.
You don’t have the power to make a sunset, or a rainbow, or a rushing river – but you do have the power to bless others in uncountable ways. maybe into the thousands! Selah!!
Bob and Susan Beckett pastor The Dwelling Place City Church at 27100 Girard Street in Hemet, CA. For more information, you may contact them at DPcitychurch.org
