Pastor Ben’s Ponderings

“Whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life
for My sake will find it.”     (Matthew 16:25)

I believe in the principle of giving. I am convinced there is no more tangible way of living out our faith than living generously. I saw giving modeled so powerfully by my family growing up and at my age now (64) I am still drawing from their example every day.

My folks were not wealthy people. But whatever they had, they shared. They probably didn’t realize I was paying attention as a kid, but that way of life was too remarkable not to notice.

Not only do we give because there are so many needs around us, but also because there is no future in holding onto “stuff.” Learning to hold on loosely to the temporary things teaches us, as well as future generations, that our lives are not about what we own, but about what (or who) owns our hearts.

I don’t entirely understand how or why the principle of giving works, but living on less so we can give feels abundantly more prosperous than living on more and keeping it to ourselves! 2 Corinthians 9:7 reminds us that God loves a cheerful giver. So, having His blessing is certain;y worth more than anything else we could possibly desire.

When we are willing to give everything we’ve got, it is amazing how content we become. And the more content we become, the more we give. It’s a win-win principle!