I would like to look at an old saying from a biblical perspective, if you will allow me to, for especially in this day and age it seems to have quite a bit of relevance to the Christian walk that we are all witnessing in the world today. The saying is this, “Instead of thinking of what you could do if you had, think on what you can do with what you have.” “If you had” and “What you have” are of course the main topic of this letter to you, and the context will not just rest within the materialistic items that our Lord has blessed each one of us with, but on the spiritual blessings as well, and they will be relative to how we are applying them for the glory of God.
In the material most of our thoughts always seem to turn first to the amount of money we have and our use of it in relation to the obedience of Gods Word, and the items in our lives that are essential to our survival, as it were. How much we give to the work of the Lord has been left entirely up to us, for those that believe we should still tithe, give your ten-percent, (I would ask that you be aware though that the amount that the children of Israel gave was upwards of twenty-three-percent,) but whatever amount you decide to put in the plate, send off to mission fields, or any other Christ centered organization that you choose, the question each of us must ask of ourselves is are we giving of what we have, or giving less, telling ourselves that when we have more, we will give more. For some I am afraid that the truth of these words will be the flow of their lives, no matter if the “If I hads” come to fruition or not, the “What I haves” will still never be fulfilled, for the ‘If I’s’ will never be enough.
How we are to give is quite easy, check thoroughly that what you are giving to is a God-fearing, Christ-centered, biblically based organization whose one main purpose is to see God glorified. How much we give is the real question, and not just in our finances, but in what is best described in Mark 12:30, “And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength, this is the first commandment.” Do you have certain percentage of your heart, soul, mind and strength committed to the Lord, search inside yourself here and determine if the amount of your service is only in your mind or in reality, is the amount that you have dedicated in your service to Christ what you truly believe it to be. Tough words to say to ourselves, difficult to live, even harder sometimes to prove to ourselves what that truth is.
If I had more compassion, a greater ability to forgive, if I truly had a fervent desire to serve continually, then; If I could only keep every thought captive for Christ, (2nd Cor. 10:5) if my mind would not seek the things of the world, or be worried about tomorrow so much, then; If I only had the time to spend in greater service to others, to study the word more, then. If I had, then I would, this is the life of too many believers in this age, running to and fro, seeking their own, waiting for the day when they have so that then they can.
Those who say that when they have they will do, give or execute the plans that they have made today for tomorrow will never reach tomorrow, for what they have the ability to do today they are not doing. In the Christian life my friends, this procrastination can become sin in our lives, for it becomes the sin of omission, and as Paul stated, “For the good that I would I do not.” (Rom. 7:19) Instead of doing with what we have, we pretend to set aside an unknown date in the future that we intend to begin doing what we will not do now, an amount of money in the bank, generally one that makes us feel secure, set aside for any possible personal needs, or wants, before we will determine to give more. Those who live this lie will continue to live it, for the goal that they have set for themselves will always be unattainable, they have not seen that what they have now is enough.
“Of a truth I say unto you, that this poor widow has cast in more that they all.” (Luke 21:3) God does not look at the deed as much as the intent of the heart when it is doing the deed. The “If I had” individuals rarely even do the deed, and when they do it is rarely done with the proper intent of the heart, they have found a comfortable percentage of themselves in this area to give to the Lord, and can give no reasonable explanation as to when it will increase. Their minds are concerned most generally with the things of the world, and in this world, though not always, they themselves are the one they are most concerned with. Much of the time that they allot to their minds reasonings each day is for personal needs and desires, their thoughts rarely revolve around Scripture for any substantial length of time, life’s concerns have ebbed there way into the requirements of nearly every moment of every day, the Bible is left unattended until Sunday, relaxation is not time spent in the Word, but in front of the television, cell phone or other worldly retreats. Satan begins to find a foothold in apathy, and their walk fades from the “If I had” to the “When I get.” The problem is, when they get, it will still not be enough to give some, much less all.
The woman our Lord pointed out to us in Luke 21:3 is the standard for the “What I have” Christian, an example for each and every one of use to follow. We are not told in the Scriptures what happened to this woman after she gave all that she had, nor of the reason how she ended up with so little, we are told only what we need to know, that she gave all. Isn’t it a little amusing how when the conversation of giving comes up, many Christians minds go directly to their finances, not to the entirety of their lives. For some, the heart only seeks God when trouble appears, the mind is consumed with the world and its demands, the soul seeks its own pleasures instead of the things of God, and the strength is left at the workplace or on the ball field.
We have a choice in this life, and when this life is over, we will all give an account before God, (Rom. 15:12) everything that we thought we owned will be left here, you will take nothing of this world with you into His kingdom. Your heart, soul, strength and even our minds are gifts from Almighty God, our very existence is because of Him, and our salvation was accomplished by His Son, we have nothing to offer our Lord. In His infinite mercy He has given us the free will to choose to give of what we have, what He ultimately has given us, or to withhold, the choice is ours. As long as we have breath, the world will be ever present, calling to us to seek what it has to offer, telling us that later is the best time, that there will always be tomorrow. It lies my friend, our adversary lies constantly of what a Christian is to be, and for the time being, he is the prince of this world, and it is our spiritual ears that he seeks to fill with these lies. If you are not intending to live a “What I have” life today, when were you planning on starting. The woman gave of what she had, all she had, and I could be wrong, but I’ve been thinking that she had been giving of all that she had for a very long time.
