In Proportion

Deuteronomy 16:17 Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to
the way the LORD your God has blessed you. 

     Proportionality in giving. "To whom much is given, much is required." To put this simply, if we have a lot, we should be able to give a lot. This is one of the principles about giving in the Scriptures.
     It can be easy to look at the ultra-wealthy and say to them, "Give more." And they should voluntarily give more. But that shifts the responsibility away from us onto them. But we are all called to give in proportion to the blessing we have received.
     I read in the news that a certain candidate's proposals will cost about 98 trillion dollars. But the reality is that the total wealth of every member of the United States is about 98 trillion dollars. In order to fund the candidate's proposal, all the wealth of the total population would have to be confiscated. Every penny of asset seized and sold. Every retirement saving transferred to the government. No private home ownership. It all gets taken by the government.
     Notice I didn't say voluntarily given.
     In our life of generosity our giving needs to increase as our blessing increases. In our devotion to the LORD, our gifts need to increase as the blessing increases.
     This is not a plea for support. It is an invitation to join me in my struggle to give more proportionally. The blessing of obedience is still available. The blessing isn't about more finances, more stuff. It is about living the kind of life we were designed to live.