Whose resources will I trust?

Many years ago, my children and I would visit a couple of nursing home residents once a week. One of these ladies was a Finnish woman who would tell us stories of her years on the family farm, her marriage, and her careers throughout her life.

The most frequent subject matter in these many conversations was the financial matters of the farm and the family. It didn’t take long before I knew how much it cost to build her stone garage, and how much it cost to buy their flood insurance, and how much she earned delivering fresh milk, etc. etc.

This lady was a very godly woman and very financially savvy as well.  Every cent was accounted for, every dollar was watched over with care. I don’t know if that was a quality developed because of the Depression or if she, like most Finns I know, think a lot about money and where it’s going to come from.

Being in this group of most Finns I know, I too am all too concerned about money and where it is going to come from.  I watch the accounts like a hawk, and hold on to my dollars with a death grip. Sometimes I see Jacob Marley when I look in the mirror.

Fortunately, my husband is quite the opposite.  He knows and practices the belief that God will supply our every need.  He doesn’t worry when something unexpected comes up and he doesn’t hold back help when someone else needs help.  When there isn’t much meat left on the bone, he just looks to heaven and eventually heaven responds to our needs.

To be as worry free as he is, I evaluate my miserliness in this way: I can trust only in what we visibly have and worry, or I can trust in God and His resources knowing He “owns the cattle on a thousand hills”, in other words He owns all the meat, and not worry.

If I don’t worry, I can open up the death grip and become a cheerful giver. I can broaden the measure I use to give and in turn the measure God uses to bless us is also broadened.

Luke 6: 38 says, “Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken together, and overflowing,will be poured into your lap; because the standard you use will be the standard used for you.”