At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality. 2 Corinthians 8:14
“Living with less enables us to be more generous and giving. In fact, I’ve seen over and over again that minimalism can be the quickest shortcut to a life of greater and more lasting significance. A lot of people might want to be more generous, but until they are themselves from the burden of spending too much money and accumulating too many possessions, they will not be able to do it. Generosity, then, is not just an outcome of minimalism. It can also be a motivation for it.”
Joshua Becker in The More of Less: Finding the Life You Want Under Everything You Own (Colorado Springs: WaterBrook Press, 2016) 174-175.
I love this statement by Becker, and it echoes the Apostle Paul. “There’s a richness in turning our excess into someone else’s supply. And the sooner we give to others, the sooner we discover the great potential each of our lives can hold.” The possessions in our stewardship are full of potential. Summer is a great time to clean out our homes and closets and put our excess to work.
Speaking of Summer, the header photo shows our view of the foothills on our morning walk. One of our simple twice-daily pleasures, morning and evening, is taking a one-mile walk with our German Shorthair Pointer dog, Joy St. Clare (though we only call her by her middle name when she’s been into mischief)!
The less we possess the more free we are, and more people are blessed through our generosity. Don’t take my word for it: Jesus calls those with much to let go of everything, and they don’t end up empty but find themselves enriched (cf. Mark 10:17-31).
Over the next two weekends I am teaching a “Faith and Finances” course at Northern Seminary in the Chicago area. I’d appreciate your prayers for me and my students, specifically that God would prepare their hearts to receive truths like these which can transform the rest of their lives for God’s glory.