It took a while but I have become a cheerful giver. Even though I knew that God loves a cheerful giver I had a hard time letting go of money. I like money, I like what I can buy with money and the more I give away the less I have for me…until I think about the true perspective; that what I give away I never really lose! When I learned that giving is one of the means of putting treasure in Heaven, giving really became a no-brainer. What I buy right now is junk compared to what I will have in 10,000 years! The encouragement to long range investing that Jesus gave us in the Sermon on the Mount is pure genius. We should save some money for retirement but what about after that? We’re going to be alive for a very long time so we should all have a long, long, long range investment plan. But, in spite of my cheerfulness about giving, I still have questions. For example, when is what I call “stewardship” really a convenient way for me to be selfish? And, when is “giving sacrificially” really a presumptuous act whereby I tempt God? Like almost everything in life, “there is a ditch on both sides of the road.” It troubles me some to ponder these things. I wish there were a few more guidelines in the Word but it is a complex world and all of our circumstances are different…God has been gracious to not give us a manual for this. It does seem to me to be a general principle from the time of Abraham that giving at least a tenth of our income is an appropriate starting point. God is quite generous when I think about it. It is all His in the first place and to only ask for a tenth is quite gracious. I’m so thankful that I have parents who taught us to give and that God gave me a wife with the gift of giving. Their example and practice have been life-giving. I still have questions but at least I am more cheerful and I know God loves that. I also know that whatever I give I really keep for the long term and I am looking forward to the dividends in the life to come. Are you all ready for the Money Sermon? Are you ready to invest in Missions? Are you growing in cheerfulness as a giver? Will you have any dividends in the life to come? Let’s do this!