It was a privilege to preach yesterday on 1 Timothy 6:17-18. I love the tale of Alexander Selkirk: the real-life Robinson Crusoe who was stranded on a small island in the South Pacific for four years and four months.

We are like Alexander Selkirk in this way: it is easy for us to become comfortable in a world that isn’t our home. By giving, we leave behind the riches of this age (which we can’t keep anyway) and gain riches in the life to come. This is what missionary Jim Elliot meant when he said:

“He is no fool who gives what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose.”

One of the things I love about these verse is that they teach us to enjoy what God the gifts God has given us.  (Sound like Ecclesiastes 3:9-13?) The materialistic age we live in teaches us to be discontent with what we have, preventing us from enjoying the many wonders that God has given us. From internal combustion engines to plastic to cell phones to food preservatives, we have a lot to enjoy and to thank God for.

Seeing this also frees us up to be “generous and ready to share.” I said this on Sunday, but I have to say again that I am so proud of five15 for the generous giving to Rancho 3M. More than $5300! That’s amazing. Well done.

There is a wonderful promise attached to that: by doing good and being generous, we can store up treasure for ourselves as a good foundation for the future.

I hope you are making plans now for giving to the Go Forward Fund. I have heard some people say that young people can’t give because they don’t have any money. But I read a report this week that said the average teenager in our country has more than $1500 in expendable income per year — more than most adults. Most of that income gets spent on clothes, movies, iPods and music, cell phones, eating out, and so on. None of that is bad. But ask God what lifestyle changes God might be calling you to. Here are some ideas that I read yesterday about changes that we could make to free up the funds to give more:

• I’m going to give the contents of my spare change jar.
• I’m going to give ½ of all unexpected money I receive this year.
• I’m going to sell stuff I don’t use on e-bay and give whatever I make.
• I’m going to give ½ of what I earn babysitting.
• I’m going to pass up 3 Starbucks drinks a month and give whatever I save.
• I’m going to give my tax refund.
• I’m going to cancel cable for the year and give what I save.
• I’m going to cut my husband’s hair at home and we’ll give what he would have paid for a barber. (I’m not going to let him cut mine.)
• I’m going to donate stock I own.
• I’m going to… (Get practical)

Talk to your parents this week about what participating in the Go Forward Fund might look like for you.

Categories: Monday Matters