Command those who are rich ... to do good ... In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age. 1 Timothy 6:17-19

It is not the amount of our assets that determines whether we shall be faithful or unfaithful in our stewardship. Only love and faith do that. To be faithful in our stewardship over one dollar is just as important as being faithful over thousands of dollars. "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much" (Luke 16:10).

We do money an injustice when we say it is evil. It is evil only if it is under evil orders. Money has a tremendous power for good. It comes with the power of healing and mercy when it builds hospitals and nursing homes. When invested in seminaries to train pastors and teachers, in churches, and in schools, it has tremendous power to tell of God's love. Money given to produce Christian literature and radio and television programming spreads the Word around the world.

There is something wonderful about setting aside a good proportion of the Lord's gifts to support His good work. This method supplies a steady inflow of gifts to uphold the many good causes that every vitally alive Christian group chooses to support.

PRAYER: Dear Father, we give You but Your own. In any gifts we bring, all that we have is Yours alone, a trust from You our King. Amen.

(Devotions from "The Abundant Life" copyright 1998, CPH. All Rights Reserved. No part of this publication may be printed, reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without prior written permission of Concordia Publishing House. Permission is granted for one-time e-mailing of this link to a friend. For information on other devotional material, please contact CPH at 800-325-3040 or visit CPH at www.cph.org.)

Today's Bible Readings: 2 Chronicles 23    Joel 2-3    2 Corinthians 10

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