Be a blessing to others

It has been said that God’s people possess God’s provisions to accomplish and fulfill God’s purposes in the world. Indeed, according to Christian financial advisor Ron Blue, “Eighty percent of the world’s evangelical wealth is in North America – and the total represents way more than enough to fund the fulfillment of the Great Commission.”

A majority of people alive today do not know the Savior. This includes 1.19 billion Muslims, 811 million Hindus, 360 million Buddhists, 228 million ethno- religionists, 23 million Sikhs, 14 million Jews, 768 million agnostics, and 150 million atheists. Of all the people who have ever lived, it is believed that half of them are living today. More than 1 billion people live in absolute poverty. This includes 700 million people living in slums, 500 million people on the verge of starvation, 93 million beggars, and 200 million children exploited for labor.

If you think that is unbelievable…try this on for size. The church has grown more in the 20^th century than in all the previous 19 centuries since the time of Christ combined, with almost 12 billion adherents worldwide. Every day 166,000 people hear the good news of Jesus Christ for the first time. Every year, 27 million people profess faith in Christ as Savior for the first time. The current ranks of 81 million believers in China are expected to swell to 135 million by 2025. The 50 million faithful in India could mushroom to 125 million by 2050. And today’s census of 90 million Christians in Africa is likely to explode to 1 billion by 2050.

The total Christian income in the United States is 5.2 trillion annually, nearly half the world’s total Christian income. The average donation by adults who attend U.S. churches is about $17.00 per week. Certainly the need is great, but the giving is not! Among evangelical churches, 90 cent of every donated dollar goes to cover operational functions within the local church. Of the remaining 10 cent of every donated dollar, less than 2½ percent goes to support full time missionaries serving abroad and 1 percent to those serving within the boarders of The United States.

Rick Warren states, “One of the most misunderstood areas of life is the area of giving, particularly the question of how God wants us to handle our money.”

“Tell people to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and should give happily to those in need, always being ready to share with others whatever God has given them. By doing this they will be storing up real treasure for themselves in heaven – it is the only safe investment for eternity! And they will be living a fruitful Christian life down here as well” (1 Timothy (6:18-19).

These verses make it clear that money is to be used, not loved. You are to use money, and you are to love people. If you get that reversed, you are in trouble because if you start loving money (and what it offers), you will start using people to get more money. Money has a tremendous potential for good if you use it as God intended. It is a tool that the Bible tells us to use for good in order to fulfill God’s purposes for our lives.

Think about this concept the next time a missionary asks you to become a partner in his or her mission. Become a partner today and see what God has in store for you as you bless others.