The guys from our small group at church meet for breakfast every other Thursday morning at 6:00. One particularly cold and rainy morning I was the only one who showed up. I ordered breakfast and opened my bible to read 2 Corinthians 8 and 9, which talks about giving. It is amazing to me of the joy and overwhelming peace that we get from giving.
Often, so many of us get tied up in the bondage from chasing the unsatisfying things of this world. In 2 Cor 8:4, Paul talks about the “privilege” we get from sharing and giving. In 9:6, he speaks of us “reaping generously” when we “sow generously”. In verse 9:11, Paul speaks of how we will be enriched in every way through being generous. But we can’t reap the joy of giving if we are wrapped up in the worldly bondage of debt and other obligations.
After I finished breakfast and laid my Chase Visa card on the table, I looked down and the name of the card was “Freedom Unlimited”. I got chills! The Freedom we get through giving is unlimited. It releases us from the bondage that money and possessions can have on us.
I recently read a quote from Arthur Simon, former president of Bread for the World: “there is a connection between empty stomachs on one continent and empty lives on another.” The “empty lives” is what hit me. We often go in debt to buy things to fill a void but are never satisfied. Even when we have the funds to pay cash for material things we may just be going through the motions, creating bondage of our time and energy, and living “empty lives.”
The credit card said we have “freedom unlimited” but so often what we believe is freedom leads us to this bondage. This bondage restricts us from being able to respond to His calling for our lives.
Giving is the best defense against that bondage!
Are you experiencing true “Freedom Unlimited?”
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