4 Ways to Live Abundantly Blessed
You are not entitled to have it all. Whatever your definition of “it all” may be …
Living an abundant and meaningful life does not require that you must amass mountains of money … that you will gleefully run through heaps of retirement funds … or that you have in your singular possession those treasure chests that are filled to overflowing with stocks and bonds.
Isn’t that a relief?! Aren’t you thankful to have that piece of information today?!
Now, money is definitely a benefit and most of us certainly wish that we had more of the green stuff … but never base your potential for living a magnificent and meaningful life on something as transient as your checking account.
“Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, Who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed.” – I Timothy 6:17-19
The rich are not automatic experts at that which constitutes a life of abundance or wisdom. Some of the most fulfilled people alive today don’t have a penny to their names and yet they live a life that is rife with rare and precious treasures.
Riches are precariously unstable. Money can vanish into thin air as quickly as it appeared. There is no guaranteed manner in which to invest one’s earthly riches in a worldly system of finance. Many people, at every historical juncture, woke up with great wealth but went to bed as miserable paupers.
“Instruct them to do good … to be rich in good works … to be generous … and ready to share …”
This phrase is a four-pronged attack penned by Paul, who was a great and insightful general of the faith. Paul had heard from the Holy Spirit on what it takes to live a life of uncommon substance and then he shared it with Timothy and with all of us alive in the 21st. Century! I will take my marching orders from Paul and the Holy Spirit any day!
Instruct them to do good …
Instruct them to be rich in good works …
Instruct them to be generous …
Instruct them to be ready to share …
How many of those New Testament commandments have you obeyed lately?
- Instruct them to do good …
We must spend every day of our lives simply and humbly doing good. A good day is when someone has been kind to us … but a great day is when we have been kind to others. Spend the greatest substance of your day in saying kind words to people. I dare you to fill the hours and minutes of your quickly passing life with deeds of sweet thoughtfulness and of rare benevolence.
“You know of Jesus of Nazareth, how God anointed Him with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how He went about doing good …” – Acts 10:38
After all, if Jesus went about doing good … then so should you and so should I!
- Instruct them to be rich in good works …
If you are going to build an empire … please build it upon good will to humanity and upon the cornerstone of grace to those less fortunate than you. If it is within your power to do something good … then do it! You don’t even need to pray about it … you just need to step out and do it! Be the kindest person that is alive today! It is, after all, what Jesus would do.
“Learn to do good, seek justice, reprove the ruthless, defend the orphan, plead for the widow.” – Isaiah 1:17
- Instruct them to be generous …
We don’t build a life by hoarding material goods … we build a glorious and impactful life when we are generous givers. In truth, giving unselfishly to others is the greatest investment package known to mankind. Generosity is the key to everything that is glorious and eternal!
If you are a wealthy believer, you are not losing anything at all when you give away what you have in your possession to others. In truth, giving to others generously is the greatest investment package known to mankind! It’s better than Wall Street, investing in Apple or owning pure gold!
If you are not a wealthy believer and find yourself envying those who have attained wealth, your goal is to keep your eyes on Jesus and not upon what you lack. There is undiscovered value in simply continuing to work hard and in faithfully giving and tithing what you possess to the Kingdom of God.
Remember the widow’s mite? She only had 2 pennies to throw into the offering basket, but Jesus said that she gave more than the rich people had given!
“A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, Jesus said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” – Mark 12:42 - 44.
- Instruct them to be ready to share …
You know, not one day of your life should pass without the willful decision on your part to share something that you have with someone else. Not one day of your life should pass without the conscious effort of sharing part of what you own with someone who is in need! Not one day of your life!
Your guiding thought when you wake up in the morning should be … “Who do I get to give to today?!”
“Who can I bless today?!”
“Who can I share with today?!”
“Who can I be kind to today?!”
It is not riches that guarantee a fine life but it is a lifestyle of generosity that builds a life that will smack of Kingdom security and of heaven’s involvement!
Life at its core is lived best by someone who generously and consistently gives of their time, their words, their resources and their talents to others in need.
Intentional and extravagant givers have discovered the joyful truth that we are not here to amass an earthly kingdom but to build an eternal legacy!
“The richest people in life don’t have the best of everything … they just make the best of everything!” - Unknown
