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DAY SEVEN:

Generous people are: ETERNITY-MINDED

SCRIPTURE: Proverbs 23:4-5 NLT 

“Don’t wear yourself out trying to get rich. Be wise enough to know when to quit. In the blink of an eye wealth disappears, for it will sprout wings and fly away like an eagle.”  

I don’t know if you’ve ever been to a funeral, but if so, it’s tough to be in that atmosphere and not reflect on the reality of your life. I’m convinced that most people aren’t afraid of dying as much as they’re afraid of reaching the end of their life and realizing they never really lived. 

John D. Rockefeller is known as the richest American who has ever lived.

He was in the oil industry, and they say his net worth was $392 billion. How many would like an uncle like that in your family?  He was known as a greedy man. When asked, "When is enough money enough?" he would always say, “Just one more dollar.”   In the 1930's, he got sick and was dying in the hospital. His perspective had changed quite a bit on the importance of money.  As he was laying on his deathbed a TV reporter asked, "What will you leave behind?"  He looked in the camera and said, “All of it.” 

Here is a man who didn't even believe in God, but understood what Proverbs 23:5 says, “In the blink of an eye wealth disappears...”  He understood the reality that all our money, materials and possessions can't transfer into the next life. They are only temporary, they won't last.  Pastor Carl Lentz said, “If you can’t take it with you at the end of your life, find a way to give it away in this life.” The American dream is to get it all, the Kingdom dream is to give it all for a greater good. 

The only thing that transfers into eternity is a relationship with Jesus. This is what church is all about - helping people come into a relationship with Jesus. Every time you give, you are contributing to an eternal cause.  You’re helping build something that will last forever.  Wealth comes and goes, but the work of God goes on forever. 

Are you caught up only in your current reality, or do you have a reality of eternity? 

Have you been spending your time and money on things that have lasting value, or are you just focused on today? 

Let’s be eternity minded and generous people.