As I was going through my reading plan from Youversion.com, I encountered a very strong message on stewardship. Many times we focus too much on accumulation of wealth forgetting the real purpose of why we are accumulating. God gives us wealth and the ability to create wealth and He has a reason for doing so. Below is an excerpt from one of Youversion.com ‘s many bible reading plans. 

Equitable Distribution of Resources

God told Moses that the promised land was to be distributed according to the relative size and needs of the various tribes: ‘To a larger group give a larger inheritance, and to a smaller group a smaller one’ (Nu 26:54). In this way, socioeconomic equity was ingrained in the DNA of Israel’s agrarian economy. Biblical scholar Craig L. Blomberg observes, ‘The ideal contrasts markedly with arrangements in other feudal kingdoms near Canaan in that day, in which by far the more common pattern was the concentration of vast tracts of land among the royal and aristocratic elites, leaving a majority of the people in considerable poverty.’

Similarly, when we look to the New Testament, the book of Acts provides an outstanding example of how the equitable distribution of resources became an important characteristic of the early church (see Ac 2:42-47; 4:32-37). Today the same principle should govern our financial decisions. Second Corinthians 9:11 tells us that God makes us rich in every way so that we can be generous on every occasion. Thus, distributing resources equitably means recognizing the fact that in God’s economy he equips some with more so that they can bless others who have less. Pastor Stephen Olford (1918-2004) clarifies this idea of ‘sharing the load’ in giving:

Such teaching does not in any way support either the Marxist idea of communism or the kind of giving that encourages luxury or laziness in the recipient. Equality in giving teaches that while it is the responsibility of the rich to bear their share of the load, the poor are not excused from proportionate responsibility.

Olford continues by adding this limitation, based on 2 Corinthians 8:13-14:

Paul warns, however, that equality in giving should not cause the saints in one area to be eased while givers become burdened. The Jerusalem saints were not to enjoy plush seats while the Corinthian Christians sat on hard benches. On the contrary, there should be wisdom and a sense of balance in the matter of sharing the resources of a local church.

Olford maintains that we are also to be gracious receivers when it becomes necessary:

Some people will not accept gifts lest they should be obligated to the donors. This, is Paul’s view, is unethical (see 2 Co 8:13). We should gratefully receive all that God gives us through our brethren because the time may come when we must reciprocate. This truth was not for Corinth only; it is relevant today!Today we may have abundance and tomorrow we may be in want. Today we may live in luxury and tomorrow we may suffer need. Today we may have the privilege of giving and tomorrow we may have the equal privilege of receiving.

As you read through today’s Scripture please reflect on the following questions: what is one way in which you are rich, and how do you share your riches with others?

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Youversion.com is today’s biggest Bible app for your phone and tablets, I highly recommend you download it and even subscribe to its many Bible reading plans. 

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The fascination of people with lotto continues to be an enigma to me.

I once read that people who spend money on lotteries are people who don’t understand math — the probability of winning in the Lotto is so bad that it’s more probable for you to be hit by a lightning than win a jackpot. I’m not sure how true that common saying about lottery and lightning but I am certain that the probability on winning jackpots are very slim, to say the least. I stumbled upon a website on lottery probabilities and this is what it has to say on your chances: “You have better chances of getting into a car accident, plane accident, or struck my lightning, than to win your lottery.” Check out Webmath.com if you want to compute lottery probabilities. Okay, the statistics I mentioned are U.S. based so you might argue that the probability of our local Lotto will be better owing that there are fewer Filipinos compared to Americans right? Not really. “For the 6/55 grand lotto, Pulse Asia chief research fellow and statistician Ana Tabunda said it’s one in 28,989,675” — read the feature on local Lotto probabilities at ABS-CBN News.

Other than horrible probabilities, what is even more puzzling are the stories about those who do win the lottery. There have been a lot of documented information on how the majority of those who win in lotteries actually lose their money in very short periods of time. Some, even end up being in debt.

Here’s an interesting insight I picked up from the Huffington Post:

“Lottery agencies are keen to show off beaming prize-winners hugging oversize checks at celebratory news conferences, but the tales of big lottery winners who wind up in financial ruin, despair or both are increasingly common.”

“The National Endowment for Financial Education cautions those who receive a financial windfall – whether from lottery winnings, divorce settlements, cashed-out stock options or family inheritances – to plan for their psychological needs as well as their financial strategies. The Denver-based nonprofit estimates that as many as 70 percent of people who land sudden windfalls lose that money within several years.”

“Being able to manage your emotions before you do anything sudden is one of the biggest things,” said endowment spokesman Paul Golden. “If you’ve never had the comfort of financial security before, if you were really eking out a living from paycheck to paycheck, if you’ve never managed money before, it can be really confusing. There’s this false belief that no matter what you do, you’re never going to worry about money again.”

I have an interesting theory about this phenomenon on people losing a lot of money after being blessed with a windfall: If you can’t manage your money when it’s little, you wouldn’t know how to manage your money when it’s a lot (and I can personally attest to that)! In my line of work, I am constantly exposed to a lot of people’s money stories. Many of those stories revolves around how they can never seem to keep their money to save and invest despite the increase in their incomes through time. Talking to students, I would often remind them that if they can’t manage their allowances, they wouldn’t be also be able to manage their wages.

Let’s learn how to handle the little that we have so that in time, we would be ready to handle the plenty we will eventually have. The Bible says it best: Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. – Luke 16:10, NIV