Giving Beyond The Bare Minimum

Giving Beyond The Bare Minimum “Can you spare a dime?” “Sorry, this is my last 20 bucks.” “It can't be that you've got nowhere to go. You must have someone you can stay with.” “I won’t take no for an answer. The gift is already on its way.” When and how do you give? Do you guard and hoard what you earn or inherit? Could you give up your leisure time for the sake of a lonely or ill person? Would you offer a warm comfortable bed to a person suffering a hardship? Can you recall all the times God gave you more than you deserved? We all have much than can be shared. The surplus of our time, the unused money in our accounts and the untapped benefits of our talents are just morsels of our gifts. Sacrificing deeper than our usual financial baseline, praying for others beyond our daily prayer routines, and doing more than what is asked of us is giving out of our poverty. To give beyond the bare minimum is reward in our spirit and celebrated in Heaven. Luke 21:1-4 Jesus looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; he also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them; for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put all in she had to live on.”