On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save whatever extra you earn, so that collections need not be taken when I come. 1 Corinthians 16:2
“Humans are by nature selfish. One of the key ways our character becomes conformed to Christ is by habitual giving. Someone once said, “Giving is not God’s way of raising money; it is God’s way of raising people into the likeness of His Son.” The Lord understands that for us to develop into the people He wants us to be, we must learn how to share our possessions freely. If we don’t, our inbred selfishness will grow and dominate us.”
Howard Dayton in Your Money Counts (Tyndale House: Crown Financial Ministries, 1996).
I am excited to share that at GTP we plan to do a webinar in July 2022 with Compass to share the Spanish edition of this classic work, Your Money Counts, with our Latin American constituents for free!
This inspired me to reflect on the book. Today’s post from Dayton echoes the pattern prescribed by the Apostle Paul: habitual giving. Each person should do it, it should happen weekly, and it relates to our income.
The habit change each of us. Collectively, it raises us up as God’s people to look like Jesus. He wants us to live simply and share generously. Those with a little get to share a little. Those with a lot get to share a lot.
When we do this, we deliver ourselves from inbred selfishness and position God to conform us to the image of Christ who is generous. It’s a process we only learn by the habitual practice.