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It All Belongs to God
by Dr. Paul Chappell
“I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he goats out of thy folds. For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof.”
Psalm 50:9–12
I heard about a preacher during the Great Depression who was walking down the street of a Midwest city. He saw a little boy with his face pressed up against the glass of a store, looking longingly at the candy displayed in the window. The preacher didn’t have a lot of money, but he wanted to do something for the boy so he took him inside and bought a small bag of candy. But when the preacher asked the boy for a piece, he shouted, “No! It’s mine!” and ran out of the store.
Too often we treat God similarly. Rather than acknowledging Him as both the source and rightful owner of everything we have, we insist that it is ours and regard the Bible commands on giving as an unfair imposition. What a tragedy! Our names may be on the house deed, the car title, or the bank account, but God is the owner. “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).
Rather than clinging tightly to every dime and every possession, we should be generous and grateful that God has made it possible for us to contribute to His work. It is an amazing measure of His grace that He first provides us the ability to give and then rewards us with blessings when we give back to Him part of what He has already given us.
Psalm 50:9–12
I heard about a preacher during the Great Depression who was walking down the street of a Midwest city. He saw a little boy with his face pressed up against the glass of a store, looking longingly at the candy displayed in the window. The preacher didn’t have a lot of money, but he wanted to do something for the boy so he took him inside and bought a small bag of candy. But when the preacher asked the boy for a piece, he shouted, “No! It’s mine!” and ran out of the store.
Too often we treat God similarly. Rather than acknowledging Him as both the source and rightful owner of everything we have, we insist that it is ours and regard the Bible commands on giving as an unfair imposition. What a tragedy! Our names may be on the house deed, the car title, or the bank account, but God is the owner. “For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?” (1 Corinthians 4:7).
Rather than clinging tightly to every dime and every possession, we should be generous and grateful that God has made it possible for us to contribute to His work. It is an amazing measure of His grace that He first provides us the ability to give and then rewards us with blessings when we give back to Him part of what He has already given us.
Today’s Growth Principle:
Giving is a way of acknowledging God’s ownership and provision of our resources.
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