IT LETS ME BE A CONDUIT FOR GOD'S WORK IN THE LIVES OF OTHERS (4 OF 4)
by Ed Rowell
Scripture: II CORINTHIANS 8:1-7, II CORINTHIANS 9:6-8
This content is part of a series.
It Lets Me Be a Conduit for God's Work in the Lives of Others (4 of 4)
Series: The Difference a Dime Makes
Ed Rowell
2 Corinthians 8:1-7; 9:6-8
May 23, 2004
Review
For the past few weeks, we've been taking a look at the biblical discipline of tithing: giving God a dime of every dollar through His church. In week one, we talked about tithing as a means of clarifying our relationship to God. We reaffirmed that He is the owner of everything, including the stuff we tend to think of as "ours." We are called stewards, a term that means "a manager of someone else's resources." Stewardship is the way we do that, and it affects not only how what we do with money, but with our time, our energy, our lives. The Bible is clear that to the extent that we manage God's resources well, we will be rewarded, both here, but more importantly, in eternity. There will be a day of accounting for what we did with what we had.
On week two, we looked at how tithing helps us set priorities: by putting the eternal above the temporal, choosing to be accountable to God instead of trying to impress others, and choosing real satisfaction over short-term relief. When we begin to realize that every financial decision has spiritual implications, we begin prioritizing in a way that will reap huge dividends down the road.
In week three, we looked at how tithing helps us keep materialism at bay. We live our lives under the intense pressure to expect more and to accumulate more--what we called affluenza. The result is that we are enjoying life less and less. We must recognize and beat back attitudes like dissatisfaction, pride, and resentment, and make room for gratitude, contentment, flexibility, and a genuine trust in God. These are the attitudes we need to fight the influence of affluence, and implementing the discipline of tithing into our lives is a wonderful way to achieve these attitudes.
Today we're going to look at the fourth benefit of tithing: it lets me be a conduit for God ...
Series: The Difference a Dime Makes
Ed Rowell
2 Corinthians 8:1-7; 9:6-8
May 23, 2004
Review
For the past few weeks, we've been taking a look at the biblical discipline of tithing: giving God a dime of every dollar through His church. In week one, we talked about tithing as a means of clarifying our relationship to God. We reaffirmed that He is the owner of everything, including the stuff we tend to think of as "ours." We are called stewards, a term that means "a manager of someone else's resources." Stewardship is the way we do that, and it affects not only how what we do with money, but with our time, our energy, our lives. The Bible is clear that to the extent that we manage God's resources well, we will be rewarded, both here, but more importantly, in eternity. There will be a day of accounting for what we did with what we had.
On week two, we looked at how tithing helps us set priorities: by putting the eternal above the temporal, choosing to be accountable to God instead of trying to impress others, and choosing real satisfaction over short-term relief. When we begin to realize that every financial decision has spiritual implications, we begin prioritizing in a way that will reap huge dividends down the road.
In week three, we looked at how tithing helps us keep materialism at bay. We live our lives under the intense pressure to expect more and to accumulate more--what we called affluenza. The result is that we are enjoying life less and less. We must recognize and beat back attitudes like dissatisfaction, pride, and resentment, and make room for gratitude, contentment, flexibility, and a genuine trust in God. These are the attitudes we need to fight the influence of affluence, and implementing the discipline of tithing into our lives is a wonderful way to achieve these attitudes.
Today we're going to look at the fourth benefit of tithing: it lets me be a conduit for God ...
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