I have a relative whose life motto is, “The only thing my hands are good for is reaching in my back pocket to pay someone else to do it.” While this statement is meant to be a funny slam against his supposed inability to use his own skill set to complete tasks, sometimes I think we adopt this mindset with all our resources. I know I’m guilty of buying a ready-made meal, so I don’t have to take the time to make it from scratch. How many of us have used AI to quickly find an answer to something, rather than thinking through a problem ourselves?  Maybe it’s a time-crunch, maybe its lack of skill, maybe its laziness or selfishness that keeps us from working hard for the sake of others.

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Today’s Scripture speaks to this idea of working with the purpose of being able to share with anyone in need. Have you ever thought of earning a wage with this mindset – working hard for the sole purpose of being generous? Maybe you scrape by just to take care of your needs, and working even harder to be generous, quite frankly, is not something you’d like to try. While some people seem to have a knack for earning money, which seemingly makes it easy for them to be generous, we may be forgetting the vast resources God has gifted each of us. Not only do we have the money we make, but we also have our ability to work, our creativity, our talents, and our time. This wisdom God has for us in Ephesians is that we are to take responsibility for what He has entrusted to us, rather than waiting for someone else to do what we were created to do. In other words, instead of seeing a need and saying, “I’ll pray for you,” or “I hope you get what you need,” you hear of a need and see it as your personal mission to do something about it. We cannot all do everything, but the Scripture says, “something to share with anyone in need.” The Holy Spirit is so good to prompt our hearts when we are being called to do something. We are to operate with margin, so we have something to share. God takes care of the application.

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While the obvious implication is speaking of money and an actual wage for a job, I cannot stop my mind from going to the idea of spending time. While I am certain God cares how we make money and how we spend it, I believe the same applies to our time. With this, keep in mind all the resources God has entrusted to us, monetary and otherwise. Maybe my mind goes to time because this is an area where I see the biggest difference between when I have spent it wisely and when I have not.

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My family homeschools, so we will occasionally work ahead for the purpose of taking a weekday off for a “field trip.” The workload for that week did not change, but the timeframe for getting it all done is shortened, which makes every minute valuable. They often get annoyed with one another when someone is “wasting time,” or being a distraction to those whose workload is larger. A phrase repeated at my house is, “You are responsible for you.” When I say this, they know this means they are responsible for getting their schoolwork and chores done, but more than that, they are responsible for their actions and reactions to one another. In other words, a lot can get done with a horrible attitude, but God cares how our work gets done. My favorite are those rare moments where one of my children sees another scrambling to complete a task and offers to help without being asked. This is a picture of today’s Scripture. One child worked hard and had the margin to give something to another in need.  

Think about your circle: your family, friends, community, your church, your state. Now imagine if no one in any of those areas worked hard to benefit anyone else. Now assess yourself: are you guilty of “paying someone else to do it?” This idea of working hard with the purpose of being generous is not only Biblical, but it is tried and true. A society based off people who only work to benefit themselves does not thrive, but generous people do.

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Maybe you manage your time well, but your resources are an area that needs revisiting. Pray and ask God to reveal areas of your life you can work hard to have a bit more margin with the sole purpose of sharing it with those in need. He is faithful to prompt our hearts for the needs around us.

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Lord, I’m thankful that You have been so generous to us. I pray that the same Spirit – your Spirit of generosity – will take root in us so that we will use our gifts, talents, abilities, time, and monetary resources to bless one another in Your name. Show us the areas we can do something about and help us to work hard so we can give cheerfully out of abundance. Amen.