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.

Portion Size

Mark 4:24-25

      When I was growing up I often wondered why my older siblings got larger portions of food. I didn’t mind when they received larger helpings of liver or brussel sprouts, but I wanted just as much ice cream as they were getting. Portion sizes did matter to me. I am the fourth of five children. In my young mind I didn’t factor in their larger size and increased calorie needs. I just wanted an equal portion of ice cream. I didn’t want a proportionally sized portion.

      If you had asked be to scoop out portions of ice cream to each member of my family, I can almost bet I would have given myself more than my siblings. But if my mom had told me I could give each person only one scoop, either a small scoop or a large scoop, I would have chosen a large scoop. I wanted lots of ice cream for myself. But if I was mad at my brothers, I might have chosen a smaller scoop even if it meant I also received a smaller portion.

      Spiritual growth comes proportionally. If you only take in little bite sized pieces of spiritual food, and only practice 20 minute spiritual workouts of obedience, you will only get a little spiritual growth. If you avail yourself of God’s grace to a great degree, then God’s grace is available to you in a great degree. But if you are into “check the box” religiosity, then you will have a “check the box” spiritual life.

      I want the LORD to be able to work powerfully in and through my life. So I am trying to be liberal with His grace toward others. I am trying to reflect what He has done in my life as I deal with other people. I am trying to recognize His grace in all its forms in my life so that I can recognize His grace in the lives of others. I am trying to be generous with my life, time, finances and talents so that they can become vehicles for the LORD to work through. I have to admit, I am not completely successful at each of the endeavors.

      I want to use a big scoop in life, both to myself and to others. It can be very difficult if we feel we have been given a small scoop by others or by life itself. I am glad that I recognize the HUGE scoop the LORD has used in my life. His mercies are very evident in my life, and I am thankful for them.

      Remember, the agricultural society in which Jesus lived. There was market day buying and selling of goods which would have used measuring devices. There was no government certification of the scales used. If you could figure out a way to cheat your customers without them knowing, you could do it without fear of a fine.

      Decline in faith comes from decline in reading, hearing and obeying God’s Word. We choose the scoop size used in eternity.

      What size scoop are you going to use in your life?