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I confess...I was never good about teaching my kids about tithing when they were children. Allowances were sporadic, at best, due to lack of organization/discipline on our part as parents, and my ex-husband was not a believer and tithing was not an option for me; hence, not stressed to my kids. Our middle income was pretty much spent on ourselves, and we always hoped for better income to have just a little more.
How often do we think about our income as opportunities to serve the poor? Are we spurring our children to attend college, so that they can get a good-paying job to support the local homeless shelter? More often than not, we're spurring them onto big-income salaries so they can have the American Dream...to buy that home and those two cars and those annual vacations to somewhere exotic.
Meanwhile, Jesus sits with the poor and waits for His children to come to their aid.
How often do we think about our income as opportunities to serve the poor? Are we spurring our children to attend college, so that they can get a good-paying job to support the local homeless shelter? More often than not, we're spurring them onto big-income salaries so they can have the American Dream...to buy that home and those two cars and those annual vacations to somewhere exotic.
Meanwhile, Jesus sits with the poor and waits for His children to come to their aid.
Our hold on money is pretty tight, sometimes. We work hard to get what we want and put the rest in IRAs and 401Ks and look forward to those "golden years" of retirement, when we tour the countryside in our expensive RVs or take to the skies to see the world. Our interests, our investments, our comforts. And Jesus still sits with the poor, waiting for His children to step in and love them.
Most of us don't even have a clue what it's like to sleep on the street, or get our dinner out of a garbage can. God bless those who help the poor, who give of their time and their finances to serve those in poverty. Union Gospel Mission of Sacramento is just one organization that puts food, clothing, shelter, counseling, and the message of Jesus Christ in the hands of men and women on the streets of Sacramento. I urge you to check out their website. https://www.ugmsac.com/
Wherever you live, there is a place for you to give and to serve, to minister to the poor and needy in your community. It is Jesus' heart that we make this a priority...because people lose hope in the midst of their life of nothing, and Jesus came to give them hope. We can be the hands that give them hope. Are we willing?
Love,
Joelene
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