The Problem of Too Little

For those who have too little in the bank, the Bible brings good news: God knows our needs. When financial stress hits our lives, it’s natural to feel that God has left the throne. Is he even paying attention? Does he even care? It takes faith to believe that God knows our needs. Paul had that faith:

Philippians 4:19 (NLT) And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

If there was one person qualified to testify to the fact that God knows and meets our needs, it was Paul. Three times shipwrecked; frequent journeys in dangers from rivers, robbers, countrymen; dangers in the city, in the wilderness, on the sea; in labor and hardship through many sleepless nights, in hunger and thirst, often without food, in cold and exposure (2 Corinthians 11:25-30). And yet he testifies that God took care of his needs. Paul lived and experienced what Jesus taught in his Sermon on the Mount:

Matthew 6:31-34 (NLT) So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs…. So don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.

The Problem of Too Much

The second challenge is for those on the other end of the spectrum. Paul learned how to live with both nothing and everything, and he makes the inference that he had to learn how to be content with both. He realized that there are real dangers in having more than we need. Proverbs gives us a clear warning:

Proverbs 30:7-9 O God, I beg two favors from you; let me have them before I die. First, help me never to tell a lie. Second, give me neither poverty nor riches! Give me just enough to satisfy my needs. For if I grow rich, I may deny you and say, “Who is the Lord?” And if I am too poor, I may steal and thus insult God’s holy name.

Having too much can lead to denying our Lord; and that should make us anxious! Jesus tells us how this can become the case:

Matthew 6:24 No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money.

The Generosity Paradox

So what can you practically do to release the grip of money on your heart? The answer is the same for both ends of the spectrum, whether you have too little or too much: be generous.

When you’re generous in spite of your struggling bank account, you’re acting in faith that God knows your needs. That’s not to say you should recklessly give away all of your money! But if you are faithful with little, God will trust you to be faithful with a little more. That’s what happened with the church in Macedonia:

2 Corinthians 8:1-2 Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.

If we try to hang on to everything we have, we will be assured of great anxiety. When we practice the spiritual discipline of giving – depending on the one who knows our needs – we will suddenly find freedom from financial anxiety. Generosity releases the grip of money on your heart – whether you have too little or too much.

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