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Fresh Start Devotionals (


July 23


A Private Matter

Have you noticed that people seem to be talking a lot lately? When I was a boy, most folks didn’t talk about politics, or religion with someone unless you knew where they stood on the issue. Sex? Of course not. But you have to remember, that was long before the Jerry Springer Show or interns in the Oval office.

Another subject we never discussed was money. When someone bought a new car, you wouldn’t think of asking them, “How much did you pay for that?” Times sure have changed.

Now-a-days, most folks are willing to talk about how much money they make and what they spent on their car or how much equity they have in their home, but never talk about how much money they give to the church. I suppose that’s O.K. After all, giving is a private matter.

Several years ago, a young man asked if he could address the congregation one Sunday evening. Knowing him to be a fine, Christian man, I invited him to come to the microphone. “Pastor,” he said, “I went through my check book and added up how much I spent on Domino’s pizza and compared it with how much I gave to the church last year. I’m ashamed to say that I’ve been giving more to the delivery man than to the Lord. I’ve already asked the Lord to forgive me, but tonight I ask for the church’s forgiveness too.”

Sure, giving is a private matter, but it is also a thermometer of a person’s faith. I’ve always said, that a quick glace at a person’s check book is all it takes to do a spiritual audit of their heart.

Why does $20.00 seem like so little money at the grocery store and so much money at the church? Why will a mother give a child $10.00 to go to the movie theater and a nickel when they go to Sunday School? Jesus explained it well when He said, “For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.” Matthew 6:21 KJV


Jim L. Wilson, Fresh Start Devotionals (Fresno, CA: Willow City Press, 2009).

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