Several years ago I commented on a co workers' big beautiful red apple that was in their lunch box as a few of us gathered at Ft Knox to eat lunch. This person says to me, "Here take it!" I said" I can not take that, it is yours." The person replies "if you do not take this you are denying me a blessing." I have never forgotten that.
When you share what God has blessed you with you are truly blessing the other person. Everything we have is from Him anyway. James 1:17 says "Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." In Luke 6:38 it says "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you."
Do you have food you could share with someone hungry? Does a friend need to borrow a car and you have a spare? Some people are blessed with an 'extra vehicle'. Perhaps you own a camera and a friend does not so you loan yours to them to use for a special event. Do you have lots of coats in your closet and you know someone who needs one? Why not share? Don't be stingy. All this belongs to God. He is the one who has blessed us with the ability to gain wealth. We are only stewards of it here on earth. Maybe you have a extra sofa you are not using in your garage that is in good shape and someone needs one. Consider donating it and 'blessing' them. Once you start loaning things or giving things away it makes you feel good.
I just love 'Extreme Home Makeover' on TV where a family, in some sort of need, is given a brand new mortgage free home usually donated by a local builder. The recipients are crying and shouting "oh my gosh" after the crowd shouts "move that bus!" to reveal the finished product. A brand new home would be a fantastic blessing for a family!
Sometimes human nature makes it hard to part with our 'stuff' especially if it is of high monetary value. God's nature says to share. Here in the Madison County, Alabama a local Christian radio station, WAY Fm, has something they call 'The Drive Thru Difference' where you pay for the car behind you at the drive thru and hand the clerk a note, unsigned, that says " I just paid for you no strings attached just because", or something to that effect. The person who receives this may be having a horrible day and God spoke to you maybe and said "why not pay for that guy behind you?" How cool is that to be able to bless that way and to get that blessing?
Proverbs 19:17 says " He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will reward him for what he has done." The person may not be literally poor but have a need at the time that you are able to meet. Don't hoard your blessings and don't just give old worn out stuff you would not want. A church youth group out in Arizona was having a lock in one night and was told to bring canned goods for the local food shelter. Some teens brought things they did not like from home such as succotash, creamed corn, canned tomatoes, and other items. What happened, I was told, is that it was time to eat and as a teaching point whatever the young person had brought to donate, they ate that night. So those with cans of beef stew, good soup, tuna, and other good things were okay but the succotash was not a real treat. The point was learned by the teens that evening I would venture to say.
Are you able to bless someone? What is stopping you? You never know how your kindness will affect someones life.
PRAYER: Lord help me find ways to be a blessing to those people in my life and to strangers as well. Give me a generous and content spirit. In Jesus name, Amen!
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