God's Shovel is Bigger Than Mine

The story is told of a farmer who was known for his generous giving and whose friends could not understand how he could give so much and yet remain so prosperous. One day a spokesman for his friends said. “We can’t understand you. You give far more than any of the rest of us and yet you always seem to have more to give.” “Oh that is easy to explain,” the farmer said. “I keep shovelling into God’s bin and God keeps shovelling back into mine and God has the bigger shovel.” -Herbert Lockyer

God calls us to be generous givers. Generous giving is pleasing to him and advances the gospel. As we shovel into God’s bin, he will shovel back into ours. And God has the bigger shovel.

When we give generously, we reflect God’s own lavish nature. God so loved the world he GAVE – his only begotten SON for our salvation. And Jesus emptied himself and became poor to make us rich.

But first of all, WHOSE MONEY IS IT ANYWAY?

We tend to think of our money as our own. We say, “I’m going to deposit MY paycheck.” “MY finances are really tight.” “I don’t think that’s how we should spend OUR money.” But in reality, our money isn’t ours. It’s God’s. And we are just stewards of it.

Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the LORD’s, and everything in it.”

And in Ps 50:10-12 God tells us “Every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills … and the creatures of the field are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it.”

Everything on earth, including you and me, belongs to God because he created it. And if you have repented of your sins and turned to Jesus Christ in faith for salvation, then God owns you twice. Not only did he create you, but he bought you with Jesus’ blood. There’s a church in nearby Murraysville, PA named “Blood Bought Church”. It’s an unusual name and one non-Christians might think strange, but it’s a good reminder that Jesus owns us because he bought us with his blood. We are not our own.

All we have is a gift from God:

What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it? (1 Corinthians 4:7)

What do you have that you did not receive? You may say, “I have wealth because I worked hard for it. I took my gifts and talents and was diligent and applied myself.” Who gave you your gifts and talents? Who gave you the ability to think? Who gave you the health and strength to be diligent? Who gave you opportunities? Who allowed you to live in this country where there are jobs?

In Deuteronomy 8:17-18 God says, “Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.”

It’s not OUR money. God has LOANED it to us and we are stewards. God is watching to see what we will do with HIS money. And he wants us to be GENEROUS with it.

It’s easy to be generous with other people’s money. If you gave me $5000 and said give this to people who really need it, it would be easy for me. I’d have no problems giving away your money. If we think of our money as ours, we’ll be tempted to be tight. If we think of it as God’s, it’s much easier to give it away.

So what will you do today with God’s money? I suggest you shovel it out to your church or missions or the poor. But get ready to keep shovelling because God is going to shovel back into your bin, and God has the bigger shovel.