In our culture of greed and constant acquisition of more goods, this is a great moto to live by that we should promote and pass on to our children (Act 20:35). We are reading some books as a family these days on financial giving. One of which is Daring to Live on the Edge by Loren Cunningham, the founder of Youth With A Mission, one of the largest missionary organizations in the world. It's a quick read but it is chock-full of wonderful principles regarding finances and giving. Another compelling reason to read the book is that Loren practices what he preaches. Not a smidgen of corruption there in his life. If anything, in instances where there have been financial troubles on certain YWAM bases (and what Christian ministry doesn't run into difficult situations), the turn around has come in sometimes extraordinary ways. One of the (open) secrets of Loren's approach to fundraising is that he doesn't do fund raising. He speaks of his great vision to fulfill the Great Commission in our generation and that's enough for people to open their pocket books, give away their houses (I've seen it happen at one of these epic worship services in Kona, HI) and/or go into full time missions.
The other principle Loren often talks about is to act in the opposite spirit. Financial problems? Give more! Injustice in the way you have been treated? Give some more! I call that the "entitlement slayer." We all have that little voice inside of us that whispers and sometimes shouts: "I deserve more" to which we say, by acting in the opposite spirit: "God deserves more" (Rom 12:1-2, we are living sacrifices). In this spirit, there is no sense of a prosperity "gospel" and a mechanical one-to-one relationship between our giving and our own financial increase. Instead, there is a strong confidence in the prosperity of the Gospel more than anything else. This gospel-focused giving results in the multiplication of the health and prosperity of the Gospel, rather than of ourselves and our own portfolio.
No comments:
Post a Comment