The church building was small, hardly what we might consider structurally sound. Light shone through cracks in the cement walls. There was no floor but the dusty ground. Gabonese church members filled the rows of rickety wooden benches and service began.
Unlike us visiting missionaries, the people didn’t drive or take a bus to get there. They left early that morning and walked for miles to reach the church. They poured their hearts out to God singing songs. And when it came time to give the offering, people without shoes, electricity or running water walked forward and placed money in a woven basket, Four different times!
In 1 Timothy 6:17-19, Paul commands those who are rich not “to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.” Instead they are to “do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.”
It’s easy to dismiss verses directed to the wealthy when we see people around us with so much more. But Americans are among the wealthiest people in the world. It only takes $32,400 a year, to be among the richest 1 percent in the world. So when we talk about the 1% and we all think they live in ivory towers… World wide many if not most of us Americans fall into that 1% category.
God asks us to give from what He has given us. We are to be generous with our time, our actions and our money. We have the ability to use what God has given us to bless others and point them to Jesus. And that is an investment that will always yield a return.