I was at my church’s retreat over the weekend..
One of the brothers read my blog post for not buying the game, Starcraf 2, and apologized that he bought a copy of Starcraft 2.
When it comes to money and sacrifices….there tend to be a guilt feeling associated with it….or the ‘I am more spiritual b/c I sacrifice xyz for the Lord’..and we shouldn’t impose this expectation to others…it ain’t encouraging…often times it is borderline legalistic. To give and to sacrifice…is to be done in a joyful manner…
Reflecting on this…here’s the conversation i had afterwards down the elevator….
Me – Do you sacrifice for the church?
Brother – What do you mean?
Me – I mean do you give your time, resources, talents for the church?
(Note: This brother gave a lot in time, money and talent to the church.)
Brother – Of course.
Me – Good. We should rejoice to each other by our own way of sacrificing to the Lord. By me not buying Starcraft 2 is the equivalent of you giving up your time and resources for the Lord. It is all sacrifice in the end. Just a different method. We should all rejoice and encourage one another to give.
All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of his possessions was his own, but they shared everything they had. With great power the apostles continued to testify to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and much grace was upon them all. There were no needy persons among them. For from time to time those who owned lands or houses sold them, brought the money from the sales and put it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to anyone as he had need.
