Gifts vs. The Lottery

We were talking last week in our small group about winning the lottery. Who hasn't dreamed about what they would do if they won the lottery?? Of course, we'd pay off our house, any bills, etc. and drive a better car. We'd pay off the church and build the addition. We'd do some AMAZING traveling! But one of the funnest things about winning would be getting to help our friends and families. We think about the looks on people's faces as we start handing each of them $100,000 or $200,000 to help them pay off their own houses (or buy their first one!) How exciting it would be to be able to help so many people!!! We have absolutely no intention of remaining millionaires. There are plenty of ways to use the money up, then we'll go back to our normal lives. Because really.... we like our normal lives.

Then we got to thinking about what God has already given us. Each of us has some amazing gifts that God has chosen to pour out on us. Gifts that are far more valuable than any amount of money. Why is it we don't spend much time dreaming about how exciting it would be to freely give these gifts to our friends? Is it possible that we don't really understand that these gifts are FAR more valuable than any amount of money? When we freely offer to hand out these gifts, we give gifts with eternal significance. We give gifts that will REALLY make a difference in people's lives.

Gifts that last forever.

If we really understood that, I think we'd get a lot more excited about sharing our God-given gifts than we would about sharing any amount of money. Not that we wouldn't still share our lottery winnings. We live in the world, and let's face it... money comes in handy here. But how much more exciting is it to give something bigger, more meaningful, more permanent! We left our small group encouraging each other to pay closer attention, and I want to pass that same encouragement on to you. Whatever your giftings are, they are yours to freely give! Use them! Touch lives with them! Make a difference like only you can! Don't be afraid to get a little excited about it! God has poured out some amazing riches on you. And it's only right that you want to share.