Excerpt from Genesis 22:1-19

"The angel of the Lord called to Abraham a second time from heaven, and said, 'By myself I have sworn, says the Lord: Because you have done this, and have not withheld your son, your only son, I will indeed bless you, and I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand that is on the seashore.'"

Reflection by Quinn G. Caldwell

I feel a little weird about it, but here is a true thing: I give my money away because I want to be richer.

I wish the only reason I gave money to the church were because I want to build the realm of God.  But the truth is that part of the reason I do it is because I want more money.

It is my experience that the more generous I manage to be, the wealthier I find I am.  And let me be clear: by "wealthier" I do not mean just "wealthier in spirit"; I mean I really do seem to have more money.  I cannot explain this phenomenon.  It might be luck.  It might have something to do with unearned privilege.  It might just be that the more I give away, the less I realize I need, and so I just feel richer.

And it might just be the work of the God who, when Abraham was ready to give his son's life, multiplied his sons a millionfold.  The God who, when the crowds gave the few loaves and fishes they had, multiplied them and fed the world.  The God who, when Jesus gave his life, multiplied that life so powerfully that we're still living it today.

I give my money away because when I do, I find that I have more of it than I did.  I honestly do not know how this works.  I'm just telling you that with our God, it does.

Prayer

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.  Amen.

About the Author Quinn G. Caldwell, a United Church of Christ minister, is the co-author, with Curtis J. Preston, of the Unofficial Handbook of the United Church of Christ, published by The Pilgrim Press.

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