away . Michael asked Anthony to pray for him and his family . He said he had been working multiple jobs to put food on the table but was still not generating enough income .
Anthony prayed for the family and decided to send them some money . sending Michael some money ?
Anthony didn ’ t know . He never reached out to Michael to ask . He decided to let God deal with it . He had done what he thought was right at the moment , and he was content to leave it at that .
Later that week , he received another text from Michael , thanking him for the gift . At that moment , Anthony felt he had done the right thing .
Three weeks later , Michael posted a picture of himself on Facebook standing next to his brand-new Mercedes . Michael ’ s wife commented on the post , telling Michael how good he looked with the new car .
Had Michael lied to Anthony ? Had he exaggerated his need ? Had he suddenly landed a high- paying new job ? Or had Anthony made a bad financial decision in
Now , don ’ t misunderstand ; we are not to be unwise givers . As managers of God ’ s resources , we are to pursue wisdom in the ways we leverage his resources , including our generosity . But sometimes the risk we take on someone simply doesn ’ t leave us with the hoped for results . Sometimes we can feel taken advantage of .
I ’ ve been there . You probably have as well . Some will use these moments as an excuse not to give . But we cannot allow a few disappointments to stop us from living generously .
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