Financial Foundation Builders

Why does God bless us? Check out 2 Corinthians 9:11

Do you want to be refreshed? Then Give. See Proverbs 11:24-25

Blessing. A word that has been distorted and skewed in Modern Day America. It has many different meanings or connotations. What DOES the Bible say about blessing? The word bless used in the Bible was used 80% of the time as an act of thanks or praise TOWARDS God. It was not what WE received or could get. We have twisted it so much. We need to bless Him. Yes He will bless us. But His blessings are so much more than financial. A chapter in Ease the Squeeze covers blessing in detail, so I will not expand much more here, other than to say that yes God will bless us. It is not always as a response to our giving. It may be. But that should NOT be our motive. The only reason we should "give to get", is to "give to get to give", not to squander our wealth on ourselves. (2 Cor. 9:11)

We must get to the place where our focus is on others. Some of the statistics* are mind-boggling, but we live a sheltered, isolated "island of prosperity" life that requires a wake-up call once in a while.

1700 people groups have yet to hear the gospel. > 1 Billion people.
The Bible is not available in whole or part in 4267 of the worlds' 6500 languages.
35,000 children die per day due to starvation and malnutrition.
The amount of food thrown away in North America = 1/5 of annual income in Africa.
The Philippine's spend 52% of their income on food. We spend 10%.
1 out of 2 children in Bolivia die before age 1.
3 Billion people live on less than $700 per YEAR
1.3 Billion people live on less then $350 per YEAR
1.6 Billion people have no access to clean water
1.2 Billion people do not have adequate housing
Yet we in America...hold on to your hats:
The median family income in America is $52,275 per YEAR
Spend $1251/person per year on entertainment
Spend $1091/person per year on clothing
Spend $1517/person per year on eating out/food away from home
Spend $292/person per year on alcoholic beverages
Charge an average of $1150/household on credit cards during the Christmas season
Spend $60 to $250 Billion per year on Gambling. Twice the entire GDP of Bangladesh
Spend $27 Billion a year on pet food and services
Spend $8 Billion a year on box office movies
Give only $2.9 Billion a year to World Missions

It is estimated that $70-80 Billion would impact the worst of world poverty, and if church giving increased from an average of 2.5% per person to 10% per person, we could give an additional $78 Billion a year to overseas Missions.

I give you the statistics* only to remind us that the scriptures on hoarding apply to very few countries in our world, since 85% of the world's population lives in the Third World. We are already BLESSED! I would rather err on the side of giving too much than saving or spending too much. The most impactful book I read was by K.P. Yohanon called "Revolution in 3rd World Missions". It radically changed my perspective and my priorities. I believe in it's message so much that I will send a free copy to anyone who purchases Ease the Squeeze and asks for a free copy.

We are here but a short time. Take a peek at one of the wealthiest men to ever live's perspective on life and wealth (Solomon). Christians ought to read the book of Ecclesiastes every year. Also see James 4:13-15. Whose time is it anyway? 2 Corinthians 8:13-15 is clear that we should supply and assist those that are less fortunate than we are. We are not, for the most part, obeying this call, as Americans.