GOD OWNS IT ALL

Haggai 2:8 ‘The silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine,’ says the LORD of hosts.

Psalm 24:1 The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness, the world and those who dwell therein.

Psalm 50:10-11 For every beast of the forest is Mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the mountains, and the wild beasts of the field are Mine.

Why does it all belong to God? Because He made everything. And I mean every. single. thing. See Genesis chapter 1. God started with creating light (Genesis 1:3). Then He created the land and the bodies of water (Genesis 1:9). Next was vegetation (Genesis 1:11), then fish and sea creatures (Genesis 1:20-22). Next was all the animals (genesis 1:24-25). Lastly, God created man (Genesis 1:26) and woman from whom all peoples would come from.

And what did He do with all that He made? He gave it to the man and woman to take care of. They had dominion over everything. They lacked nothing. They were able to enjoy everything . . . except one tree (Genesis 2:16-17). What’s one tree? They had everything else. Why do we want the one thing we can’t have?

All we have to do is watch babies, toddlers and young children at play. The one toy they want, someone else is playing with. The one who has the toy, won’t give it up. The one who wants the toy, won’t give up trying to get it. Neither one is happy. The one who wants the toy is not content with the toys he has. The one who has the toy is not generous with what he has. And so, we have a stand off until mom or dad takes the toy and then no one has it.

How generous are you? You have heard the saying “he would give the shirt off his back.” The meaning behind this saying is that this person is so generous that he will give whatever he has and go without for himself. An example of that in the Bible is found in Mark 12:41-44. The widow gave what she had – it wasn’t much but it was ALL she had. If you have a million dollars and give away $10,000 – you would still have $990,000. But, if all you have is 2 cents and you give it all, leaving nothing for yourself, then who gave more? The one who gave 2 cents. She gave it all – leaving nothing for herself to live on. The one with a million dollars still has plenty left over – it was not a total sacrifice.

God gave you all that you have and He does not ask you to give it all away. But what are you doing with His resources? Do you give any of it to your church, missionaries, local food bank, etc.? If not, why not?

Bottom line: God doesn’t look at the amount you give – He looks at the heart that is giving it. Do you give willingly or grudgingly or not at all? It does make a difference and it matters to God.

2Corinthians 9:7 So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.

Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture verses are from the New King James Version of the Bible.