Read 1 Timothy 6:17-19

“Tell them to do good, to be rich in the good things they do, to be generous, and to share with others.” -1 Timothy 6:18

There’s an old saying that goes, “He who dies with the most toys wins.” Some people seem to live as if they believe this is the case. They blindly fritter away their lives pursuing, accumulating, and hoarding, only to wonder in their sunset years if any good has come of it.

More recently, an alternate version of this quote has made the rounds on bumper stickers and t-shirts: “He who dies with the most toys…still dies!” This version sounds more like the parable Jesus once told about the man who kept storing up stockpiles of supplies for himself and his family only to lose his life long before he could need or enjoy them. (Luke 12:13-21)

Today’s Scripture also cautions us about putting too much value or hope in our stuff. When it comes to our relationship to our possessions, Mother Teresa puts it this way: “What God gives you is not to be kept under lock and key, but to be shared…Let us ask God, when it comes time to ask God for something, to help us to be generous.” And when we discover the joy of giving, Paul says we will “take hold of what is truly life.”

How would you describe your relationship to your possessions?

Have you discovered the joy of generosity?