Ephesians 4:28
“The one who steals must no longer steal; but rather he must labor, producing with his own hands what is good, so that he will have something to share with the one who has need.”
The focus will be the last part of the verse, "so that he will have something to share with the one who has need". This is part of the christian message, to be a giver. The world says to be assertive and to take it. Like kids grabbing the piñata candy.
Jesus said, '“If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me."' The christian is to let others go first, think of others and so on. The world would say, "be courteous, but when it comes to goals and dreams, 'Go for it'." For God, loving others is the goal. What about our goals? Commit them to the lord. It's greater that we love.
Proverbs 3:5,6 says, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths." "In all our ways acknowledge Him".As we trust Him, we learn that "He is a rewarder of those that seek Him" (Hebrews 11:6). We know He will bless us. We might miss that win that we sacrificed, but He will bless us. The end result is that we will be far happier and we won't see others as competitors for the same prize.
We want to do what today's passage says, "so that he will have something to share with the one who has need." This may have been a struggle for us, but we've learned that He will not allow us to want. We become outward focused instead of inward. This is how God is. He wants to bless others. He wants to give, encourage, help and so on.
The cool part is that it's not that we are seeking to be this way. He changes our hearts. When we receive Christ, we are born again. While we still have our fleshly old nature, He gives us a new one who wants to be like Him. While we are confronted with these choices, when we give in to Him, we begin to be more like Him on the outside. This is called sanctification.
Psychologists talk about self image and it's importance. We feel great about ourselves. We want to give and are living that lifestyle. We know it's not due to us, but that's ok, we are part of the process. We are helping to make Is kingdom come.
Thank You, Lord, that You are committed to us being givers. Thank You for putting a new heart in us and making us want to be this way. You've made it possible for us to have something to share with others.