How Much Is Too Much?

I think if I get any busier I’m going to have to split and become twins. Don’t get me wrong here. I enjoy being busy and only wish there were more hours in a day and I could be in two places at once, most times. But, we tend to run down and have to waste time resting and/or sleeping before we just collapse from total exhaustion. Seriously, I know what it’s like to be in need of a friend and asking that friend to go out of his way for me without knowing how I could ever repay him for his kindness. A friend told me one day ‘I don’t do it for the pay. If I give you ten dollars, I give it never expecting repayment. If when you’re able, you give it back, I’m rewarded beyond my expectations, because I gave in love and have already received my reward’. I didn’t understand his philosophy then, but I do now and express that same thought to those I help. My reward is not of this world and that which I can share, I try to do freely, with concern and love.
The teenager lost a contact lens while playing basketball in his driveway. After a fruitless search, he told his mother it was nowhere to be found. Undaunted, she went outside and in just a few minutes returned with the lens in her hand. Surprised, the teen asked, “How did you find it, mom?” “We weren’t looking for the same thing”, she replied. “You were looking for a small piece of plastic. I was looking for $150.”
A young mother was quite alarmed when her young son swallowed a coin. “Hurry, call the doctor,” she urged her husband. “No, I think we should call the preacher.” He replied. “The preacher? Why, you don’t think he’s going to die, do you?” exclaimed the frightened mother. “Oh, no”, said the husband. “But you know the preacher as well as I do - he can get money out of anybody!”
[2 Corinthians 9: 6-15] ...“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” So, do I give too much? Well, maybe; sometimes; oh, I don’t know. I do know one thing’s for sure. I don’t give beyond my means, but sometimes give to a point I, myself, do without. Jesus said to “...become like little children for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such”. Little Luke told his mother one Sunday morning during worship as she handed him a few coins, “I don’t want to put change in the collection plate anymore”. He wanted a bill. His mother opened her billfold which contained a one dollar bill and a five. Luke took the five out and put it in the plate. His mother later confessed while telling the story, “How do you tell a child that he’s giving too much to the Lord?” That’s a good question, isn’t it? Children don’t do all the calculations we do. If they are touched by an event, they will give away everything they have. They’ll not only give you their money – they’ll throw in the piggy as well. What simplicity! What beauty! Children have been known to give away their favorite doll, or even their bicycle. As adults we have to sit down and figure. With a sharp pencil and calculator, we take note of percentages. We figure not only what we’re going to give, but how much we’re going to keep. Rarely do we give spontaneously. We normally give in a cold, calculating and precise way. Generally our giving is respectable, but not necessarily generous. Lets face it. When we give, most of the time, it’s out of duty, not desire. So, how do you go about giving to someone who was crucified for you? Careful now. You don’t want it to be too much now, do you?