“Do you not know that God entrusted you with that money (all above what buys necessities for your families) to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to help the stranger, the widow, the fatherless; and, indeed, as far as it will go, to relieve the wants of all mankind? How can you, how dare you, defraud the Lord, by applying it to any other purpose?”
John Wesley (1703-1791) as recounted by Charles Edward White in “Four Lessons on Money from One of the World’s Richest Preachers,” Christian History (Summer 1988) 22.
This week I have the privilege of spending time with a brilliant brother who walks in the footsteps of Wesley: J.D. Walt, chief sower at seedbed.com where their mission is resourcing individuals, communities, and movements to love the whole world with the whole gospel.
I echo Wesley’s sentiment: when we keep for ourselves that which is intended for the good of all, we are defrauding the LORD, because gifts to the naked, the stranger, the widow, and the fatherless are gifts to the LORD. May God help us discern the differences between necessities and luxuries!