A girl named Julia was about to celebrate her seventeenth birthday, but it was a very sad occasion: her beloved grandfather had died a few weeks earlier. The two of them had been very close, and this was the first time Julia had experienced the death of a loved one. She held in her hands a birthday card he had sent just before he died—her last gift from him, and in a sense, her last link to him, other than her memories. Julia opened the card and discovered it contained a $20 bill—a huge amount of money for someone without a job—and she knew this gift had to be used for something special. She carefully considered everything she might purchase—clothes, art supplies, personal items—but nothing seemed quite right; this extraordinary gift had to be used in a special way. A thought or inspiration came to her: she would give the money to her church, on the condition that it somehow be used to spread the Gospel. When Julia went to the youth group meeting Wednesday night, she found the pastor and explained where the money was from, and he agreed to her condition. Julia knew her grandfather would be pleased, and her heart was so filled with peace and joy she decided to put a dollar of her own money in the collection next Sunday, even though it was all the money she had.
After church on Sunday, Julia talked her mom into taking her to the mall, even though she had no money to spend. She noticed outside one of the stores a small wad of cash on the floor, wrapped in a rubber band; picking it, she asked a sales clerk, “Did you see who dropped this?” The clerk took the money and rushed after an old man leaving the store; as Julia watched, the two of them talked, then the sales clerk came back, smiled at Julia, and said, “It’s not his. Congratulations, it’s your lucky day,” and handed her the cash. Julia unwrapped the money and counted it: a ten, a five, another five, and a one. Her breath caught as she realized it totaled $21—the exact amount she had donated to her church. As she later wrote, “There was no way it could be a coincidence. There was just no way. This was a gift from Heaven. A gift from God. Maybe another gift from Grandpa. Maybe both. ‘Thank you for your sacrifice,’ it seemed to say. ‘Here is some money in return, money without guilt attached,’” and Julia knew her grandfather was still with her and watching over her, and that everything would be all right (Amy Newmark, Chicken Soup for the Soul: Angels and the Miraculous, p. 96). Julia discovered at the age of seventeen a lesson many people don’t learn during an entire lifetime, namely: the more generous we are, the more we can experience the Lord’s blessings and consolation.
God created the world as an expression of His self-giving love—and to be in harmony with His creation, we ourselves must be generous, not selfish. This was something the rich man in the Gospel of Mark (10:17-30) did not understand. He was a good-hearted person, but when Jesus invited him to become great-hearted by giving away his wealth and following after Him, it was too much for him; he wasn’t willing or able to do this. That’s why Jesus observed, to the astonishment of the disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the Kingdom of God!” Rich people—and by the standards of history, that includes virtually all of us—are tempted to rely upon their wealth, and upon the sense of freedom, security, and control it gives, rather than on divine grace. If we are truly to serve God, we must trust in Him, not in ourselves and not in our own money or possessions. The Book of Wisdom is given in the form of a reflection or meditation by King Solomon, who was fabulously wealthy—but he rightly accounted gold and silver (7:7-11) as worthless in comparison to wisdom, which we might define as understanding and accepting the ways of God. As the Letter to the Hebrews (4:12-13) reminds us, the Lord sees everything, and one day we will have to give Him an account of how we’ve lived and how we’ve used the blessings entrusted to us. Money will be of no use to us at that moment; it will be our loving good deeds, rooted in a spirit of generosity and trust, that will gain us entry into God’s Kingdom.
One of the great heroes in the history of Texas was General Samuel Houston, after whom the city of Houston is named; he led the Texans’ successful war of independence from Mexico. Houston was crude and difficult to get along with, but after being baptized, he changed completely; he became peaceful and content, and even offered to pay half the salary of the pastor who had baptized him. When asked why, he answered, “My pocketbook was baptized, too” (Randy Alcorn, Money, Possessions, & Eternity, p. 173).
This is the sort of wholehearted discipleship Jesus seeks from His followers: a willingness to put Him first in every aspect of our lives, including our finances. The Lord has been infinitely generous with us—as shown by the fact that there are many things we would not give up or trade for any amount of money: our health, our family, our friends, our self-esteem, and life itself. If we fail to give thanks to God, or choose not to share what He has bestowed on us, we will suffer from spiritually hardened hearts, and one day find ourselves completely unprepared for death and judgment. To avoid such a terrible fate, we must form the habits of praying for the Lord’s guidance in all our decisions; reminding ourselves that God blesses us so that we in turn may be generous to others and to the Church in sharing our time, talents, and treasure; practicing good stewardship—possibly by tithing, or giving away 10% of our income; focusing not on the things we want but don’t have, but instead on the blessings we’ve received but don’t truly deserve; and trusting that our Heavenly Father knows what we need and what’s best for us, and will never reject or ignore our prayers if we turn to Him in humility and faith.
We might say that the “arithmetic of Heaven” is very simple: the more we keep for ourselves, the less we end up with in the end; the more we give away, the more we receive. God multiplies His blessings for those who are generous in His Name—and the sooner we learn and apply this lesson, the more reason we’ll have to rejoice.
