Again, as I’ve mentioned in my earlier entries, enjoying the favor of God relies heavily on showing favor to others. So if you want to receive and keep the favor flowing freely in your life, you have to start it and keep it moving. Below are some of the things I’ve done and continue to do to bless others around me:
- Giving away things I don’t need or use anymore. (through Freecycle.org)
- Giving away a computer to someone in need
- Giving PaperPolisher.com away
- Providing an iPhone for a worker at church. (You read that right. I felt God wanted me to help this girl pay for an iPhone, so I sold my Centro and gave her the proceeds. No my idea, but it was unquestionably God’s, so I’m not gonna argue…)
- Sacrificial Giving. Randy Alcorn has an excellent book on giving called The Treasure Principle. That, combined with the LifeChurch.tv series “How to BE Rich” had a huge impact on how I look at money these days. Giving and sharing with others has a huge impact on God’s using us to accomplish His will. Why? Because for many of us Money is an idol, and until we give up the idea that Money will make everything better (in essence worshiping Money), God’s going to have a hard time getting through to us.
Case in point: yesterday when I was in the drive-thru at Taco Bell, buying $4 worth of flavored fat, I felt God urging me to give the attendant at the window the bill that was in my wallet.
It was a $20 bill.
I questioned whether it was God’s prompting me or just my innate desire to give, but concluded it was irrelevant in the end. Either way, the desire to give doesn’t come from within: it’s from God, not man. We’re selfish, egotistical creatures at heart. Giving doesn’t come to us naturally.
So after she handed me the food, I handed her the $20. “I know this is going to sound strange,” I said sheepishly, “But God told me to give this to you.” She kind of shrugged her shoulders and mumbled a thanks, not even looking at the bill. Certainly not the response that I had expected, but hey, I did my part.
Did it hurt to give up $20? Absolutely. Immediately my mind turned to “what I could have bought” with that $20, and how I could have spent it elsewhere. But you know what? There’s more to this life that me and what I want. There’s more to what I’m here on earth for than to fill my pockets and closets with Stuff. I’m here for God, to accomplish His will and reach people for Him. And I trust Him. So what He directs me to do, I’m gonna do. $20, $200, or $2,000 – I’ll give whatever He says to give, wherever He directs me.
Because if I truly want to align myself with The Vision that He’s placed in my heart for Mills Creative Minds, the Vision of giving away 70% of whatever I make, then I can’t hold back when it comes to giving. And I don’t want to. I want to be who He designed me to be, and that means giving. A lot. Time, money, prayer, resources. It’s who I am. It’s who I want to be. And I thank God for this.
Showing favor produces favor. Motive is absolutely key. We need to work hard to change our attitudes from one of greed to one of giving. Success isn’t dependent on our surroundings or circumstances or effort. It depends on our attitude and committing our ways to God.
Kevin
“God alone prospers and promotes us. But it is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another.” – Psalms 75:7
“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” – Luke 6:38
Note: Shortly after writing this column I received a phone call from Ken Campbell at Affordable Patent Service. He called to let me know that he had stumbled across my website, and was impressed with what I’m doing at Mills Creative Minds and the vision I have for it. So he offered himself as a resource for me to call on if I ever have any specific patent questions. Just like InventRight and Stephen Key’s gift, I sincerely believe receiving favor from these men is directly linked to my responding to God’s promptings to show favor to others. I have no doubt in my mind: showing favor produces favor. I AM reaping what I’m sowing, and it’s fantastic.