A gift from God

Working at Calvary Chapel El Cajon changed my perspective concerning my paycheck.  I had worked in construction for several insulation shops over nine years time and was always paid weekly.  The primary difference was not that I was paid every two weeks (or fortnightly, as we would say in OZ) at Calvary, but the source of the income:  tithes and offerings.  Speaking for myself, when I worked for an hourly wage there was a sense I had worked to earn money.  As a pastor, my salary was paid through God's provision through the obedience and generosity of His people.  This caused me to be very careful with the way I spent money, realizing people had given that money towards God's work.

Now I have come full-circle back to being paid weekly in constuction, but my perspective has changed yet again.  I had the most incredible sensation of thankfulness and indebtedness to God for His miraculous provision as I opened my paycheck for the first two days back in the trade.  It struck me like never before that the paycheck I held in my hands was a gift from God.  As such it must be used for His work and His purposes.  A steward is responsible to take charge of what he has been given, for he must answer for how he has handled his master's resources.  I don't think I'm saying anything you don't know.  But it may be something you haven't realized.  There's a difference!

When you hold a check in your hands, even if it is a "reimbursement," do you breathe out thanks to your Heavenly Father for that gift from Him?  Are you determined to use it all for God's glory and His work?  I am not saying every cent of your income should be used to support missionaries or church building projects.  We have the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us.  But do you recognize everything you possess is God's and He simply allows you to use it for a while?  If we see our money as earnings or our "just due," perhaps we will feel more entitled to use it according to our whims and not God's will.

What a treasure we have in our God!  He has given us life and everything we call our own.  Have you thanked God today?  He is the Giver who keeps on giving:  not to the end that we would keep all for ourselves, but that we might be as generous as He is for His glory and praise.