Spend It!

Spend It!

Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.

Matthew 6:32-33

In difficult economic times, many people are riddled with fear. But a select few are actually having the time of their lives. Why? Because a down economy provides opportunities that don’t exist in a healthy economy. In such economies, “cash is king.” With money in hand, you can find the bargains of a lifetime—property that sells for pennies on the dollar, blue-chip stocks that are sharply undervalued. If you have cash and the wisdom to spend it well, you can prosper even in the worst of times.

No matter what the state of your personal finances, whether you feel flush or broke right now, you still have treasure to spend that can yield an enormous return. What am I talking about? Something I call “the cash of the gospel,” and there is no better way to invest it than in people who are open to seeing their need for God.

Think about how successful investing works. The biggest rewards come when you perceive a stock’s upside potential before it becomes obvious to other investors. So you buy oil when it’s at $35 a barrel, not when it rockets to $150. In a way, it’s the same with people: that irritable boss, the colleague who drinks too much, the neighbor whose children are running amok, the people who rub you the wrong way. On the outside, such people may not appear destined for greatness. They’re not people you care to spend time with. But what if God gives you his heart for them so that you begin to see below the surface and start to envision the plan he has for them? What if he invites you to become part of his plan by forging a relationship with them and sharing your most precious resource—your faith—as he leads? Often we’re so focused on our own needs, our own challenges, our own fears, that we fail to see the spiritual opportunities that are right in front of us. Taking the focus off ourselves and putting it back on God will yield enormous dividends, not only for us but also for others.

Lord, give me the peace that comes from serving you rather than myself. Help me to trust that as I seek first your Kingdom, you will provide what I really need.