Giving From The Heart

Giving From The Heart “You still lack one thing. Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.” Luke 18:22 I ran across a story recently about a small boy who demonstrated the true value of giving. A 10 year old boy entered a hotel coffee shop and sat at a table. The boy looked very poor and appeared to have been hungry. The waitress put a glass of water in front of him. “How much is an ice cream sundae?” he asked. “Fifty cents,” replied the waitress. The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied the coins in it. “Well, how much is a plain dish of ice cream?” he inquired. By now more people were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. “Thirty five cents,” she harshly replied. The little boy again counted his coins. “I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said. The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished his ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began to cry as she wiped down the table. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies. You see, he couldn’t have the sundae, because he had to have enough left to leave her a tip. So often we get our minds on ourselves that we forget about others around us. We get our priorities out of line and think only about our own wishes and desires. So often when we have little, we want to keep it and not share with anyone. Our attitude of giving should not be centered around getting something back, but should be given freely from our hearts. The story of the widow who donated all she had in the offering was blessed by Jesus more than the people who openly gave large sums of money. God loves a cheerful giver, and promises us that when we give cheerfully we will be blessed. When we have the attitude about giving that God commands, we will be storing up treasures for ourselves in heaven. Robert W. Brock My Daily Devotional Volume Seven March 5