“If you listen to the chatter of our culture, it’s easy to think money is mostly for stuff we want for ourselves: cars, clothes, vacations, and such. It isn’t that we should feel guilty for spending money on those things. But God’s Word teaches us to make generosity a higher priority, to orient our use of money in an others-centered way. At first, it feels countercultural to live like that. But the closer we walk with Christ, the more we get it. We know we were made for a bigger story. We just forget sometimes.”
Matt Bell, associate editor of Sound Mind Investing in Navigator’s blogpost entitled “Living a Better Financial Story” on 1 July 2014.
My dear friend, Tom Assmus, shared this article with me. This morning Tom and I are headed to Starbucks for coffee and REI for their monthly garage sale. We love having coffee to connect as brothers, and we enjoy getting steep discounts on returned shoes or clothing so that we have more money for generosity. This monthly rhythm (whenever we are both in town) positions us to remind each other to stay on track with God’s bigger story. Participating in the gospel is a communal effort, not an individual one!