God Values Giving

In 1995 the nation was stunned when news broke that an elderly woman named Oseola McCarty had donated $150,000 to the University of Southern Mississippi for their scholarship fund. This eighty-seven-year-old woman had been forced to drop out of school in the sixth grade to care for her family. For more than sixty years she made a living washing clothes for hire in Hattiesburg, Mississippi, saving as much as she could from her meager pay. She wanted others to have the opportunity for the education she never received, so she gave away the money she had saved for so many years.

Our society values how much a person has; God values how much a person gives. When Jesus watched the people giving in the Temple, He praised the widow who cast in just two mites—a fraction of a penny—because it represented such a sacrifice. Though money itself is not evil, loving money leads to all kinds of evil.

The best protection we have against the sorrows that come from loving money is to cultivate generous hearts. Look for opportunities to use the resources God has given to you (even if they do not seem to be great) for the benefit of others. Rather than waiting until you have enough to give, be generous and give what you have to help others today.