𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗡𝗘𝗖𝗧

As a family, think about something that you can do for an organization or a group of people (for example, the service personnel in your building, teachers in school, etc). Discuss what you will do for them or what you will give them. You can be creative and come up with something special like cook a meal for them or do their chores yourselves and allow them an extra day of rest. Map out a plan for how you will do what you have discussed. You can set a date, assign tasks to each person, come up with a program for the day, etc.

After you accomplish your plan, talk about what you did and how each of you felt after your activity.

What a blessing it is indeed to be able to share our time and resources with others. We can do all this because God has blessed us. And He wants us also to bless others, not necessarily with money but we can serve others in different ways.

𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗 𝗧𝗛𝗘 𝗪𝗢𝗥𝗗

This story in Luke 12:16-21 gives us a picture of what happens when someone stores material things for himself and does not bless others:

16 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘢 𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘣𝘭𝘦, 𝘴𝘢𝘺𝘪𝘯𝘨, “𝘛𝘩𝘦 𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘮𝘢𝘯 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘥𝘶𝘤𝘦𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘪𝘧𝘶𝘭𝘭𝘺, 17 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧, ‘𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘐 𝘥𝘰, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘐 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘯𝘰𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘮𝘺 𝘤𝘳𝘰𝘱𝘴?’ 18 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, ‘𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘥𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴: 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘥𝘰𝘸𝘯 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘶𝘪𝘭𝘥 𝘭𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘯 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘮𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴. 19 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘮𝘺 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭, “𝘚𝘰𝘶𝘭, 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘢𝘮𝘱𝘭𝘦 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥𝘴 𝘭𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘮𝘢𝘯𝘺 𝘺𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘴; 𝘳𝘦𝘭𝘢𝘹, 𝘦𝘢𝘵, 𝘥𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘬, 𝘣𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘺.”’ 20 𝘉𝘶𝘵 𝘎𝘰𝘥 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘮, ‘𝘍𝘰𝘰𝘭! 𝘛𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘴𝘰𝘶𝘭 𝘪𝘴 𝘳𝘦𝘲𝘶𝘪𝘳𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘺𝘰𝘶, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘱𝘢𝘳𝘦𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘣𝘦?’ 21 𝘚𝘰 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘰𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘭𝘢𝘺𝘴 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘩𝘪𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘧 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘪𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘵𝘰𝘸𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘎𝘰𝘥.”

It is not wrong to want security and comfort like the man in the parable. However turning to material possessions for the main source of security and comfort will not work because these things can be gone very quickly. The Bible teaches us to turn towards God for our ultimate source of security and comfort. It teaches us to place our security and comfort on the Giver, God, instead of His gifts and blessings, and to be grateful for the gifts and blessings He has given us. God’s gifts and blessings should bring us closer to God and others, not farther. This is one of the main differences between being selfish and being generous. Generosity improves relationships. Selfishness makes us distant from God and others.

The Bible further teaches us not to keep things for ourselves but to use them to bless others. Luke 12:32-34 says,

32 “𝘍𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘯𝘰𝘵, 𝘭𝘪𝘵𝘵𝘭𝘦 𝘧𝘭𝘰𝘤𝘬, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘪𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘍𝘢𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘱𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨𝘥𝘰𝘮. 33 𝘚𝘦𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘨𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘯𝘦𝘦𝘥𝘺. 𝘗𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘺𝘣𝘢𝘨𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘨𝘳𝘰𝘸 𝘰𝘭𝘥, 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘷𝘦𝘯𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭, 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘯𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘦𝘧 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘢𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘯𝘰 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩 𝘥𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘳𝘰𝘺𝘴. 34 𝘍𝘰𝘳 𝘸𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘪𝘴, 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘭𝘭 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘩𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘵 𝘣𝘦 𝘢𝘭𝘴𝘰.

We live in a fallen world where everything material is temporary. Even the good treasures God gives us while on earth will eventually fail and fade away. BUt God still wants to bless us and when He does, He wants us to be able to bless others as well.

𝗛𝗨𝗗𝗗𝗟𝗘

𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗞𝗶𝗱/𝘀:
𝟮-𝟲 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱
● Why should we share?
● How do you feel when someone shares with you? How do you feel when someone does not want to share with you?
● Do you think you are rich?

𝟳-𝟭𝟮 𝘆𝗲𝗮𝗿𝘀 𝗼𝗹𝗱
● Tell us about a memorable time someone was generous with you. What are your thoughts when you remember that generous person?
● Do you think you are rich? Why or why not?

𝗞𝗶𝗱/𝘀 𝘁𝗼 𝗣𝗮𝗿𝗲𝗻𝘁:
● What was one of the biggest sacrifices you made in order to be generous?
● What was one sacrifice someone did for you that you will never forget?
● Are we rich?

People often want to go after material things. But God has blessed us with everything we need. He already gave His beloved Son, Jesus, in order to save us. That is way beyond any material blessing we may ever want because if you have Jesus, everything else that comes after is a bonus.

𝗣𝗥𝗔𝗬

Dear God, thank You for blessing us in many ways. Most of all, thank You for sending Jesus to die in our place. Teach me to be more generous. May I be generous in ways that demonstrate Your love and share the Gospel in action. May I be generous in ways that will strengthen and grow my relationships with others. Give me wisdom, favor and creative ways to maximize the gifts You've given me in order to bless You and others. In Jesus’ Name, amen.

𝗗𝗜𝗦𝗖𝗢𝗩𝗘𝗥

Here are some other perspectives from the Bible about being rich:

1. Being rich doesn't necessarily mean having many things.

𝘓𝘶𝘬𝘦 12:15

15 𝘈𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘵𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮, “𝘛𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘤𝘢𝘳𝘦, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘣𝘦 𝘰𝘯 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘨𝘶𝘢𝘳𝘥 𝘢𝘨𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘴𝘵 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘤𝘰𝘷𝘦𝘵𝘰𝘶𝘴𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘴, 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘯𝘦’𝘴 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘦𝘴 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘤𝘰𝘯𝘴𝘪𝘴𝘵 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘢𝘣𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘯𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘰𝘴𝘴𝘦𝘴𝘴𝘪𝘰𝘯𝘴.”

2. What we do today becomes our foundation for the future. What foundation are we setting for ourselves?

1 𝘛𝘪𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘺 6:17-19

17 𝘈𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘴 𝘱𝘳𝘦𝘴𝘦𝘯𝘵 𝘢𝘨𝘦, 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘨𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮 𝘯𝘰𝘵 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘩𝘢𝘶𝘨𝘩𝘵𝘺, 𝘯𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘪𝘳 𝘩𝘰𝘱𝘦𝘴 𝘰𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘦𝘳𝘵𝘢𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘺 𝘰𝘧 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘴, 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘰𝘯 𝘎𝘰𝘥, 𝘸𝘩𝘰 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘱𝘳𝘰𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘶𝘴 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘦𝘷𝘦𝘳𝘺𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘵𝘰 𝘦𝘯𝘫𝘰𝘺. 18𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘢𝘳𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘥𝘰 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘳𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘯 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘬𝘴, 𝘵𝘰 𝘣𝘦 𝘨𝘦𝘯𝘦𝘳𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘥𝘺 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘦, 19 𝘵𝘩𝘶𝘴 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘶𝘱 𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘢𝘴𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘮𝘴𝘦𝘭𝘷𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘴 𝘢 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘶𝘯𝘥𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦, 𝘴𝘰 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘺 𝘮𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘦 𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘩𝘪𝘤𝘩 𝘪𝘴 𝘵𝘳𝘶𝘭𝘺 𝘭𝘪𝘧𝘦.