2 . Giving is an eternal wealth transfer . We are eternal beings who are visiting earth for just a short while . Our earthly currency and possessions will lose 100 % of their value when we make our way to our true home in heaven — unless we send them out ahead of us by converting them to an eternal currency , just like the fair tickets . Giving isn ’ t just about losing something dear to us today . It ’ s about investing for the future .
3 . It ’ s all His anyway . I ’ ve come to think of it like this . Say you hired me as your financial coach and we meet weekly during lunch . One week I ask you to grab lunch for us from Chipotle , my treat . I Venmo you $ 100 to cover it . We both understand that it ’ s my money and I ’ m asking you to do something specific with it . Right ?
If the total for lunch that week was $ 25 , then I might tell you to hang on to the change ($ 75 ) to get next week ’ s lunch . You now have $ 75 of my money in your Venmo account . Is it your money because it ’ s in your account ? No . I could change my mind , though . I might ask you to use that excess money to do something completely different from my original intent . I might direct you to buy a burrito for the homeless guy on the road , buy our lunch for the next three weeks , or even spend it all on yourself .
It doesn ’ t really matter what I ask you to do with the $ 75 in your account , because it ’ s my money . You ’ re merely holding it in your account and waiting on my instruction .
As God ’ s stewards , all we have is His . Our stuff , our bodies , our time , our kids , and yes , even our money .
As God ’ s stewards , all we have is His . Our stuff , our bodies , our time , our kids , and , yes , even our money . It ’ s His money that just happens to be sitting in our accounts right now as we wait for the word on how to use it ( remember , this is why we call it Assets Under Management ).
Once I better understood these three truths , it was easier ( though still not easy ) to step out in faith as God invited us into some big giving challenges . During this particular invitation to give 31 % of our income , I clung to Matthew 6:33 : “ Seek first his kingdom and his righteousness , and all these things will be given to you as well .” I could have never dreamed what that would mean for us in the year that followed . Blessings far beyond what I ever thought possible .
Remember how we longed to pay off our mortgage ? Well , after increasing our giving percentage to 31 %, we paid off our mortgage and became 100 % debt-free within just 10 months ! Not the 10 years I was estimating , but 10 months . Yes , you read that right . We gave nearly three times as much and still reached our goal many years ahead of our plan .
God ’ s ways aren ’ t like ours . Following God helped us reach our financial goal so much faster than we could have dreamed .
In our finite minds , this didn ’ t make any sense to us . It looked like we were going in the opposite direction of our goal , but God ’ s ways aren ’ t like ours . Following God helped us reach our financial goal so much faster than we could have dreamed , although human logic says
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