82. How shall we use our own earthly goods?
We are to be good stewards of God's created gifts so that
A. our family is provided with shelter, food, education, health care, and the like;
1 Timothy 5:8 But if anyone does not provide for his relatives, and especially for members of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.
B. others (especially the poor) benefit from our grateful and charitable use of what God has given us at home, in church, as neighbors, and as citizens;
Matthew 5:42 Give to the one who begs from you, and do not refuse the one who would borrow from you.
1 John 3:17 If anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?
Hebrews 13:16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Read Proverbs 17:5 and Leviticus 19:9-10.
C. the church has the resources it needs for the proclamation of the Gospel;
1 Corinthians 9:14 In the same way, the Lord commanded that those who proclaim the gospel should get their living by the gospel.
Galatians 6:6 Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches.
D. all creation prospers under our care for the land, water, and air.
Genesis 2:15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
Deuteronomy 22:6 If you come across a bird's nest in any tree or on the ground, with young ones or eggs and the mother sitting on the young or on the eggs, you shall not take the mother iwth the young.
Read Leviticus 25:3-5.
Note: In Christian freedom, a wise person once determined early in life to live on 80 percent of his income while saving 10 percent and giving 10 percent to church and charity. At the end of life, this person was both generous and wealthy.
Eventual commentary
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