”Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things”
(Colossians 3:2 NIV)
A few years ago, we were still serving in Ukraine, and economic instability has reduced our money to virtually zero.
The church put out a call, and sent us a care package from the offerings.
We were obviously super stoked at the arrival, like opening Christmas gifts! Money was critical, but with it came snacks, chocolate, biltong, even some chutney! We have been living on bread and butter for months, so these luxuries were amazing!
Then we came across a small scuffed up cardboard box of teabags. When we opened it, it was full of used teabags.
(Apparently if you put two or three used teabags together in a cup, you could still make an acceptable cup of tea…)
I couldn’t believe it… from a wealthy church in the east of Pretoria, we received a gift of used teabags?!
Remember Malachi? Where God accused the Israelites of bringing the leftovers for offerings? I am sad to say, that is where my mind went.
But what i it wasn’t? What if what I received that day was not the leftovers but someone’s treasure? Some person gave up their ‘luxury’, carefully gathered together in weeks, to keep and use sparingly?
“As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
(Luke 21:1–4 NIV)
It is not what we give, but the attitude with which we give it, that counts to God.
