Give All to Jesus
I got a phone call recently from Willie Brown in Nicaragua that really got me thinking. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression, “Which came first, the chicken or the egg?” After talking with Willie, I had to wonder, “Which comes first, our ability to worship the Lord or our ability to grow food?”
The church in Monkey Point, Nicaragua asked Rivers of the World (ROW) for Bibles, organs, guitars and an accordion. We couldn’t say no so we sent the money to Willie to purchase these items for the church. When the money arrived, Willie stopped by the village to make sure everything was in order. You know what? The folks in Monkey Point changed their minds. Instead of Bibles, organs, guitars and an accordion, the village decided they needed machetes and shovels even more.
In this instance, and always, ROW tries to meet the needs of a village, even though it may not be what we deem as necessary. Willie turned right back around and used the money ROW sent to purchase shovels and machetes. Now the people of Monkey Point are growing food, which they will eventually sell and be able to use some of the profits to give back to the Lord.
Whether we are a farmer, computer technician, homemaker or the owner of a large corporation, we must follow the instructions found in Proverbs 3:9-10 (NKJV):
“Honor the LORD with your possessions, And with the firstfruits of all your increase; So your barns will be filled with plenty, And your vats will overflow with new wine.”
We must reach a place in our Christian walk where we realize that all we have belongs to the Lord. He doesn’t need our money or possessions, but He does desire His children to be obedient and faithful to His commands. When we support missionaries in our church, give an offering or present our tithes we are in essence demonstrating to God that He is more important to us than money or possessions.
