Give . . . All You Can
I Timothy 6:6-1, 17-19
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain. 7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that. 9 Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
17 Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. 18 Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 19 In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
Give all you can. That was the last instruction on the use of money that John Wesley gave to his early followers. But those words weren’t just empty for Mr. Wesley, they guided his entire life.
In 1731, at the age of 28, he began to limit his expenses so he could give more money to the poor. In the first year his income was 30 pounds and he found he could live on 28 so he gave two away. In the second year his income doubled, but he held his spending even, and so he had 32 pounds to give away. In the third year his income jumped to 90 pounds and he gave away 62 pounds. In his long life Wesley’s income advanced to as high as 1,400 pounds in a year. But he rarely let his expenses rise above 30 pounds and he said he seldom had more than 100 pounds in his possession at a time.
The English Tax Commissioners thought he had to be hiding away items he was not paying excise taxes on so in 1776 they investigated him, but found no wrongdoing. When he died in 1791 at the age of 87 the only money mentioned in his will was the coins to be found in his pocket and in his dresser. Most of the 30,000 pounds he made throughout his life he had given away.
So what will be said in your will? Will it be said of you that you were generous, giving the needy and the poor, or will you be known as someone who clung to every penny you earned? I hope to see you this Sunday at Oklahoma City First Church as we discover how we can give all we can.
You are invited to bring your completed 2020 estimate of giving card with you to worship this Sunday. If you are out of town this weekend you are welcome to bring a completed card the following two Sundays or drop it by the church office.
Pastor Lesly
