In one hand out the other

My family is well acquainted with eating out.  There have been many times where we get the bill and my wife and I talk about how awesome it’d be to have so much money we could leave a huge tip. Wouldn’t that feel awesome to just be able to drop a $50 or $100 and bolt out the door?

I like to think I would be the kind of guy who would be generous if I somehow acquired massive wealth.  I know, by world-wide standards we DO have massive wealth.  I’m talking about if we came into so much money we had well over what we absolutely needed to live in middle-class America.  I like to think that if somehow my family started raking in the dough that we would live off what we needed and give away the rest.

I don’t know.  As I write this, I’m imagining what it would be like to win the lottery.  I’m sure my first thought would be what we could do immediately – vacation, addition on the house, pay off all our debt, etc..  I’m sure most of us immediately think of meeting some personal need or desire.  I guess that gut reaction reveals how much we are really influenced by the world of materialism.  And I’m sure some would say “What’s wrong with spending it on yourself?”  I like to think we would seek godly counsel (and God’s counsel) on what to do with it.  On the other hand, don’t most people fall to ruin when they win the lottery?

I have this theory that the more money you give away (with the right motivation) the more money God will give you.  The theory supposes that if God can trust you to be someone who channels His funds where they’re needed, He’ll give you more funds to channel.  Now, on the surface this could seem like a get-rich-quick scheme or the prosperity gospel.  But remember.  In my theory, the person is motivated by being a good steward of God’s resources, not by getting rich.

This gives me an idea for an experiment that maybe someday I’ll try.  What if I added a PayPal “Donation” button on the sidebar on my blog.  What if every penny I got from those donations, I gave away to someone in need – asking God where to send it.  Would God prompt people to give and prompt me to give it to certain people?  I’ve heard many stories where a ministry or missionary needed X number of dollars, they prayed, and X number of dollars mysteriously arrived in the mail.  Would I be the guy who mailed the check?

But then I wonder.  What about my family’s financial needs?  We do have what I believe to be legitimate monetary needs beyond our normal cost of living.  Is it right for us to give money away when we have our own needs?  I guess the simple answer is “Well, yeah, If God tells us to”.  It’s a tough thing to reconcile.

I guess what I’m asking is – Could it really be true that if we seek God’s Kingdom first then He will take care of all our needs?