Back in my youth pastor days I took a string from one end of the stage to the other. I then had a student come up and with a pen make a mark on the string. Now, with the visual in place we could move forward.

The dot, I said, represents the 50 or 80 or 100 years we live here on earth. The string represents eternity. The amazing thing is this, that little dot (life on earth) makes a huge difference in what our line (eternity) will be like.

Randy Alcorn points out in The Treasure Principle, the findings of a PBS special called Affluenza:

The average American shops six hours a week while spending forty minutes playing with his children.

By age twenty, we’ve seen one million commercials.

Recently, more Americans declared bankruptcy than graduated from college.

In 90 percent of divorce cases, arguments about money play a prominent role.

Many passages in the Bible give us God’s wisdom in this area, but I want to go back to one we looked at earlier in the week. It doesn’t hurt to read it again. We might even see something new this time.

“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. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. 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.” (1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV)

Here’s today’s principle. Never forget it.

I should live not for the dot but for the line.

Prayer thought:

It is natural for us to have a sense of entitlement for the things we have worked for. After all, we earned them; we should decide what we want to do with them. Although God does extend us the opportunity to choose, we have not obtained them on our own. Our God who “richly provides” equips us with what we need to be able to work for those things. Whether it is our intelligence, our health, our skill set, or our work ethic, it is all His. Scripture tells us this, our pride tells us otherwise. 

Lord, my hope is in you, I want to be known as generous and willing to share. I do not want to be arrogant and greedy. Please help me daily to receive your grace and pour it out on those around me. I release control and today I completely surrender all my gifts, talents, possessions to be used for your purpose. Amen.