30 Day Money Reset
Your one month challenge to develop healthy, biblical financial habits.
DAY 20
GIVING WITH A CHEERFUL HEART
Congratulations! You have made it two-thirds of the way through this reset!
How are you doing so far? Have you developed any new habits? Even if you haven’t been able to complete every single task, or maybe a week here or there hasn’t gone according to plan, you should be excited about the progress you have made so far.
We could all agree that life just gets crazy sometimes. Maybe it feels overwhelming more often than not. And for many of us, it may feel like the rest of life is going pretty well, but when it comes to our finances, it’s a mess.
An analogy from pastor and author Paul David Tripp helped me see things more clearly when life can feel like a mess. He explains our spiritual lives like someone shaking a bottle. Whatever you put into the bottle is what will come out when it’s shaken up. It would be silly to think milk will come out of a bottle you put water into.
The same is true of our hearts – if we are putting in thankfulness, selflessness, discipline, and joy when life shakes us up, only thankfulness, selflessness, discipline, and joy will come out.
Since we know “where our treasure is, our heart will be also”, this analogy applies perfectly to our finances. I’m sure most of us could identify a time in life when we felt like our finances were shaken up. That surprise medical bill, the car breaking down again, the never-ending list of home repairs, the secret debt.
So how do you put thankfulness, selflessness, discipline, and joy into your finances? You start with giving.
When you give, it takes the focus off yourself. You are forced to be thankful, to recognize what you do have instead of what you don’t. And you’re given this special blessing of having stock in God’s Kingdom.
But we have to do it with a cheerful heart. Don’t put in a begrudging attitude of obligation if that’s not what you want to receive back.
2 Corinthians 9:7 says, Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
Today's action item:
Today, give something! Remember the size of the gift doesn't matter, the posture of your heart does. Pray about what to give and to whom, then be obedient to follow through. Write it down.
