Hello. I’m about to discuss an intermediate difficulty life change in your walk with Jesus. If you’re new to following Jesus, this subject might seem difficult to digest. A new follower to Jesus doesn’t need to begin a difficult journey so much as know which direction to head. So a new believer might not be ready for this. Now if you’re a person of strong faith, you might already know what I am discussing. The life of a Christian is called to emulate Jesus. Jesus is the example of self sacrifice. Even though Jesus had all the power imaginable, he was not self serving and relaxing. In fact Jesus said Matthew 8:20 GNT Jesus answered him, “Foxes have holes, and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lie down and rest.” Jesus spent every moment of his existence on Earth doing work for the kingdom. He works on still for us unsleeping in Heaven, but it might not have the human exhaustion factor he had when he was on Earth. We too should always be working for the kingdom, but we’re not perfect like Jesus so when we’re tired we can take breaks.
Always working for the kingdom means different things for different people. Some people might be clergy, and doing the work of the church is obviously their calling. Another might be missionaries, and their work is obvious too. But what about regular Joes working a regular job? A guy working a regular job can treat their job as if they’re working for God, and the money that they make can be respected and used for the kingdom. The amount you need to live on personally is deducted from that which you can use for the kingdom. The 10% tithe is part of this sacrifice, but we’re called to give as much as we can.
Where to give is the question then. The Bible tells us to diversify in economic prospects, so diversification in giving probably isn’t a bad plan either. I think local food banks are a great place to give. Giving more than 10% to your church is good. Giving to children in poor countries is good too because your dollar goes further. When choosing a charity to give outside your borders, care must be taken to choose it or you might get one who is more concerned with administration costs or not serving the Gospels. Also when supporting organizations, you need to be careful they’re scripturally in tact, and not preaching something like the ‘prosperity gospel’ just to get your money. Be wary(avoid) around anyone who says something like,”Give to get” or “If you give money it will come back 10 times in other ways in this life.” The only truth to be had with giving is that you might be rewarded in Heaven for it, but there is no guarantee in this life.
Between working and giving, people have other time. A good way to spend your time is hanging out with your friends and family: loving on them as you enjoy time with them. Love comes naturally when the people you love also love you back. If you’re a strong person, you’ll recover as your rest time is with your friends and family. There is nothing wrong with enjoying living with loved ones.
Another way you can spend your time is with volunteer organizations. I admit I have trouble finding anywhere to volunteer around where I live. Other people might be able to find volunteer organizations better and they’re great places to spend your time. If you volunteer around like a sampler to see what organizations are doing there, it could lead you to find a place that you feel confident in giving to.
To me the goal is to try and eliminate world hunger and bring education to everyone. 26 million people die each year to hunger or malnutrition. It costs 100$ to save someone’s life for a year. A wealthy individual can do more help in this world than a super hero could. Anyone who has a job can help too. Imagine if you saved X lives each year. That is an accomplishment. When I was young I always fantasized about saving someone’s life if the time and situation was right, but there are lives to be saved now, just for money. For all you people who go,”Money has no value. I will love and have no need for work” this is a wake up call. I was there in college. In college I was like,”I don’t respect money, I’ll live for friendships.” And you can live a bit that way, but when you’re more spiritually mature, we should aim to help other people. People need help in a lot of ways, and money really can help some people out of dire situations or death itself.
These are all things to consider when building your “Empire of Sacrifice”. We’ve heard the Widow’s Mite where Jesus declares a woman’s 2 coins more important than what the wealthy people give because that is all she had to live on. We can’t just give 2 cents if that is all we have and think we’re important. For we still have time to go out and gather more to donate with. If you spend your entire life working, loving, giving, volunteering, or helping then you’re giving all you have to give. This is why it makes sense that Jesus said he has no time to rest. Jesus was giving his all.
We’re not perfect like Jesus though, and we need down time. Take the downtime you need to recharge, but focus on giving all you have for the kingdom. Strategizing on ways to spend your time is good too. Strategizing on your downtime is an interesting plan too. If you can find something that recharges you, yet also brings in money which you can donate later is good. Or if volunteering at certain tasks is recharging to you, then you should go with it. Hobbies aren’t bad for downtime. But we should minimize our time invested in hobbies if it doesn’t further the kingdom. The caveat with this is almost any hobby can bring in money if you become a master or grand master at it.
Building an “Empire of Sacrifice” is what a Christian should do. Unlike others who want to rule a city or country, Christians are called to serve. Jesus said the one who wants to be the greatest must be the servant of all. This is our calling if you have the faith to go with it. Giving your life savings away all at once is foolish though. You need to be tactical even though the LORD does provide.
Remember Hurricane Katrina where people who came to help were of two varieties. One variety just drove down, and when they showed up, they asked,”How can I help?” And they were given tasks, but when they became hungry or thirsty, or needed gas for their car, they were draining the local resources. The prepared variety came down with a truck full of bottled water, gasoline and food. When they showed up, they handed out bottled water and food. They might have did what was asked of them, but they didn’t consume the scarce resources. We should emulate these prepared people. Boy scouts have a motto,”Be prepared”, so we should look out for our own needs before giving our excess away.
The modern man typically should pay off his debts. The modern man should get a couple thousand dollars in the bank. The modern man might consider investing excess to donate more later. The trick is to not be caught up in doing all this that you’re not donating anything ever. Remember the man who built bigger barns and did not help in this life. That parable was about the danger of managing your resources very well, but never putting them to good use to help others. This is where strategizing comes in. I won’t blame you if you’re not donating a ton until you have your debts paid off. I wouldn’t criticize you if you’re looking to build a moderate emergency fund. Each of us needs to determine how much we give vs how much we invest though. I’m not sure what the right balance is for each of us, but it is something you need to strategize on.
Prayer is important in all this. Pray at all times during your plans, and during your work. Pray that the money you donate goes to the right places and is amplified in its ability to do God’s work. We can’t do anything apart from God, so we should pray that we can serve optimally. I pray that you’re able to figure out what your best place to work in God’s kingdom is, and that you’re capable and skillful in your work. Amen.
-Jim Sager