Tag Archives: Servant

Greedy or Giving?

Mine.

It’s one of the first words we understand as children. From the moment we begin to understand the concept of possession, selfishness becomes part of our nature.

No, you can’t have that toy. That’s mine. No, I don’t want to share it with them. It’s mine.

Not to piggyback on a cliché, but — ahem — sharing is caring. We must give to others because we care. But this is a concept many struggle with throughout their lives, namely in the form of financial giving and sacrifice.

All that we have belongs to God, especially our money and treasures. He is the one who blesses us with increase, no matter how hard we may have worked for it. It’s the Lord who gives us abilities and opportunities to receive financial blessings. And when we refuse to give what He’s blessed us with back to Him, we’re stealing from Him.

“Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings.”

Malachi 3:8 KJV

Not only are we robbing God when we refuse to give Him a mere ten percent of our increase, but we’re also depriving ourselves and others of blessings. The more we hold onto our money and treasures and say, “Mine,” the more we make idols of them. We cannot serve two masters.

“No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.”

Matthew 6:24 KJV

The love of money is the root of all evil. If you’re having a difficult time giving your treasures to God and His Kingdom, perhaps it’s because you love it more than you love God – perhaps it’s because you trust money more than God or perhaps it’s because you aren’t really invested in His Kingdom.

“Tithing is not a bill or tax. It’s obedience. It’s an act of faith.”

Tony Wyatt Jr.

You love God, you say, but you can’t do what He asks you to do. You love His Kingdom, you say, but don’t want to give to support its growth. You trust the Lord, you say, but when times are tough, you withhold more from God rather than let Him be your Provider.

“But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.”

Philippians 4:19 KJV

I have never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging for bread (see Psalm 37:25). It rains on the just and unjust, and we will all struggle with financial difficulty, but when we still give to the Lord what is His even in tough times, we’re showing how much we truly trust and love Him. And He will take care of our needs every time.

Loving money more than trusting God will lead you down a selfish path. If you withhold from God financially, chances are you’ll withhold from Him in other areas. Greed takes many forms. Treasure is more than just money.

If you refuse to obey God’s command and give to Him and His Kingdom, how else will you refuse Him? You can be greedy with your time. You can be greedy with your talents. You can be greedy with the blessings He’s given you.

“The young man saith unto him, All these things have I kept from my youth up: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou wilt be perfect, go and sell that thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come and follow me. But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful: for he had great possessions. Then said Jesus unto his disciples, Verily I say unto you, That a rich man shall hardly enter into the kingdom of heaven. And again I say unto you, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter into the kingdom of God.”

Matthew 19:20-24 KJV

The greedy person reaps the refusal of God, but the giving person reaps acceptance into His Glory.

Give not just your money but your time, your talents, your blessings, your love, your abilities – give yourself to God, to His Kingdom, and to reach your community.

What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world but lose his own soul? (See Mark 8:34-37)

Give yourself away to God, and He will provide for your every need and bless you with greater abundance in life’s blessings than the world could ever promise to give.

“Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over…”

Luke 6:38a KJV

BONUS:

Here are 7 good financial habits that we went over in our Sunday morning Hyphen/young adult class a few Sundays ago. Write these down and start working today on applying them to your life:

  1. Budget
  2. Pay your bills on time
  3. Don’t go into needless debt
  4. Give & pay your tithes
  5. Save
  6. Plan for the future
  7. Write down your financial goals

About Using Your Talents for God

You’ve probably heard the parable of the talents many times. In Matthew 25, we read that a master gave talents to his three servants. One servant had five talents, one had two, and one had one. Mr. Five Talents put them to good use and became Mr. Ten Talents. Mr. Two Talents did the same and became Mr. Four Talents. Mr. One Talent was fearful and lazy, hid his talent, and his master had his talent taken from him, and the unprofitable servant was cast into outer darkness.

Yikes. But no matter how we may perceive what abilities God has given to us, we ought to use it for His glory.

Did you know you can steal glory from God? Okay, no you can’t actually diminish from His glory, but you can try to put all the attention on you instead of God, trying to attract glory for yourself rather than give it all to Him.

When you’re serving in ministry, it’s not about you – it’s about God and others. It’s about the Kingdom. But when you’re in the middle of doing something in the Kingdom, something you may be very good at, and someone gives you a compliment, it can be hard for your flesh to resist letting that go to your head. If you’re not careful, you’ll start chasing after compliments.

Your talents are not your own. They are God’s gift to you, and they belong to God.

There are three types of approaches you can have when it comes to using your talents in the Kingdom, but many often lean toward one extreme or another.

Approach 1: Look at me.

This is the narcissistic, self-serving approach. When you feel yourself taking pride in “your” accomplishments and talents, and when you start chasing after glory for yourself, you’ve just made an idol of attention, fame, and popularity.

Glory-chasers care more about being seen than serving. Attention-seekers care more about open doors and new opportunities than simply working in their local church. When all you care about is being elevated, you develop a prideful and arrogant spirit.

Solomon warned about pride many times in Proverbs. Proverbs 16:18 states that pride goes before destruction, and Proverbs 27:2 tells us to “let another man praise thee, and not thine own mouth.”

One of the things God hates is a prideful spirit, and He cannot bless something that is contrary to His Spirit.

Having an eagerness to serve and be used is good. Wanting the spotlight on yourself to gain praise and attention is not. The opposite of this extreme is similar to the issue of the one-talent servant – not putting your talent to good use.

Approach 2: Look at them.

Ugh. They’re so much better than me. What’s the point? I’m no good.

This is also self-serving because it still puts your attention on yourself as you hide your talents because you convince yourself you’re not as good as so-and-so. This approach involves our obsession over everyone else’s apparent success in comparison to our weaknesses.

Maybe you’ve got the one talent only, and you think, ugh, so-and-so has five talents. I’ll never have that many. Might as well just sit on the pew. What good am I?

Or maybe you think you have no talent. Well, believe it or not, it’s not about what you think about yourself. It’s about being willing to serve in the Kingdom.

Perhaps you’re feeling down about not being as talented as someone else. Perhaps you’re struggling just to do what you can. But then someone comes up to you and tells you how your ministry and willingness to serve has blessed them. And then it hits you: this is why. This is how you can be used in the Kingdom even if you think you’re not that talented or useful. You might think you’ve got these limitations, but when you’re moving and operating under the anointing of the Holy Ghost, God can move and touch people through your willingness to serve.

You don’t have to be the best, but you have to be anointed. And then God can use you for His glory to reach and minister to others. And that brings us to the third approach.

Approach 3: Look at God

This is the correct approach, putting all the attention on God rather than trying to get it for yourself or hide your God-given abilities. This is the approach that says, “God, I just want YOU to be glorified. I just want YOUR will to be done in me. I just want to do whatever YOU want me to do.” The person who operates with this approach is willing to serve no matter what.

Maybe you can cook. Serve in the kitchen ministry. Maybe you’re good at gardening. Help with the upkeep of the church lawn. Maybe you can take pictures. Do photography for the church. Maybe you’re good at media or graphic design. Help with the slides on the media team for services or create logos and graphics for your church’s social media page.

Maybe you’re just really great with people and always have a smile on your face. Become a church greeter. Maybe you don’t really know yet what you’re great at, but you just want to help out. God can use your desire to serve in whatever capacity is needed in the Kingdom. Whether you’re cleaning, cooking, teaching, singing, playing an instrument, greeting guests at the door, serving as an usher, helping with church planning, decorating for special services, or taking pictures every service, you can become a vital part of the Kingdom by just being willing to help out wherever help is needed.

We ALL have at least ONE thing we can do for God and for others. And here’s the thing about using that one thing for God: when you’re faithful with that one thing, God will bless your faithfulness. You may go from just helping clean the church to working in the kitchen, too. Then, you might find yourself saying, “You know, I can help decorate for the Easter program.” Then, someone might ask for your help with teaching Sunday school as a backup. And before you know it, you’re doing multiple things in the Kingdom all because you were willing to serve with just that one talent.

Be a faithful steward of the abilities God has given you. Be eager and willing to serve. Find ways to serve more. Put effort into improving the abilities God has given you. And remember that it isn’t about you. If you pair prayer with commitment and sacrifice in your ministry, then God will reward and bless and strengthen you even if it’s just through personal growth rather than through open doors to serving in a larger capacity.

Want to grow in using your abilities for God? Be faithful. Be willing. Be humble. Be a servant.