Speaker: Ben Sigman

Theme:  Only God

Weekend Music links on iTunes: Hosanna - Paul Baloche, More Than Anything - Hillsong, Happy Day - Tim Hughes, How He Loves - David Crowder

Read:  Matthew 6:19-21

Think:  Do you remember the first time you spent a whole bunch of your own money on something?  I would guess that for many of us, the first truly large purchase we made was a car.  I remember the first car I bought – and it’s too embarrassing to admit here what it was.  But I loved that car.  I kept it clean inside and out, changed the oil, and paid regular repair bills (lots of repair bills).  

I learned a lesson from that experience.  A large part of the reason that I was so attached to that car was that I put all my money into it (several times).  It was a lesson that’s been repeated in my life.  Before I had a 401(k) account, I knew nothing about the stock market – but I sure follow it now.  A house was basically a place to store stuff, right up until I bought one. 

Jesus’ teaching in Matthew 6:21 can seem a little backwards unless you’ve had a similar experience.  He says that our hearts follow our money.  That’s not to say that we never choose to spend money on what’s important to us.  Sometimes our money does follow our hearts.  But Jesus draws our attention to a reality that we might easily overlook.  Once we start spending money on something, that something grows in importance to us.  An investment exerts some kind of pull on us. 

I think that this one reason that the Bible teaches us to give to our church home.  When we invest money to support the activities of our church, we are drawn closer to the church.  God’s kingdom-building work becomes a more important focus in our lives as we support it financially.  The truth is, God doesn’t need our money.  We need to give it.

Do:  Test the idea Jesus teaches in Matthew 6:21.  Give away a few dollars today, maybe to a homeless person or an on-line charity.  See if the beneficiary doesn’t become more important to you in some way.

Pray:  Father, if how I spend my money shapes my heart, then I want to spend carefully.  Teach me to be thoughtful in how I invest the resources you’ve entrusted to me.  Help me to give not just because I feel like it, but because I know that giving will change my heart.  Amen.

The eDevotional is written each week by a team of volunteers from Timberlake Church.

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