We have many places to put our money – and more places where it simply flies away. Where do we best place our money? Wherever GOD wants it. It’s not just the church needing/wanting/using money, it’s a tool for blessings that can be misdirected – and yet we live in this world, so we need to use money for this world too… We do need to take care of our houses where we live – we also need to take care of our “houses” from WHERE WE GIVE.

Us too, where do we place ourselves? Are we being appropriate with our time? Do we give? How about our hope and encouragements, where do we share those? Are we stewards of attitude? How fake or real we are will be seen by God. He knows, therefore why try to hold back. Relationships need good foundations, not just walkways.

The money in this scripture (2nd Kings was held back 23 years and not used as directed for repairs to the breeches of the house of the Lord. Where it was broken is where it was to be attended to, and yet no one did that, but when asked again, the money faithfully came back to the intended purpose. If you make a promise, keep it. This house of the Lord was important as a focal point for the people to come and make the sacrifices – our houses of the Lord now are not for our sacrifice for forgiveness because Jesus accomplished that and gifted that to us – but our houses of worship are still meant to be for worship – not fluff.

No gold ornaments or trinkets, no flashy stuff for the church was to be made with the repair money, not softscape before hardscape…  And the workers were paid faithfully for their work. The priest didn’t bargain with them, they just paid them. It’s all in the attitude, just pay the bills. Put effort into infrastructure over fluff.

We bargain too, don’t we. We bargain with people who make less than us where we should be generous. We bargain with God, who gives us everything. When has God not kept you calm in a storm? All praise and honor are His, His love and generosity are what feeds peoples generosity, we should give thanks. His skills are gifted to others, which we benefit from, we should praise Him. 

We make flashy things and pass that off as important, again what is real is better. And giving your importance to real stuff to workers is better than layering soft gold to impress people who pass by, barely noticing. 

Our joy, peace, hope are from Him, we should mind that and be good stewards of our attitude. We should give our best to not be flashy. We should keep our promises. We should pay our workers. 

This means our kids and our workers too – if we ask them to do something and they do it – we should not move the bar and make a sliding target. Keep it simple and keep it real. CLEAN AGREEMENTS…

And always consult God.

Amen 

—

2nd Kings 12: 1- 15

In the seventh year of Jehu Jehoash began to reign; and forty years reigned he in Jerusalem. And his mother’s name was Zibiah of Beersheba.

And Jehoash did that which was right in the sight of the Lord all his days wherein Jehoiada the priest instructed him. But the high places were not taken away: the people still sacrificed and burnt incense in the high places.

And Jehoash said to the priests, All the money of the dedicated things that is brought into the house of the Lord, even the money of every one that passeth the account, the money that every man is set at, and all the money that cometh into any man’s heart to bring into the house of the Lord,

Let the priests take it to them, every man of his acquaintance: and let them repair the breaches of the house, wheresoever any breach shall be found. But it was so, that in the three and twentieth year of king Jehoash the priests had not repaired the breaches of the house.

Then king Jehoash called for Jehoiada the priest, and the other priests, and said unto them, Why repair ye not the breaches of the house? now therefore receive no more money of your acquaintance, but deliver it for the breaches of the house.

And the priests consented to receive no more money of the people, neither to repair the breaches of the house. But Jehoiada the priest took a chest, and bored a hole in the lid of it, and set it beside the altar, on the right side as one cometh into the house of the Lord: and the priests that kept the door put therein all the money that was brought into the house of the Lord.

And it was so, when they saw that there was much money in the chest, that the king’s scribe and the high priest came up, and they put up in bags, and told the money that was found in the house of the Lord. And they gave the money, being told, into the hands of them that did the work, that had the oversight of the house of the Lord: and they laid it out to the carpenters and builders, that wrought upon the house of the Lord, And to masons, and hewers of stone, and to buy timber and hewed stone to repair the breaches of the house of the Lord, and for all that was laid out for the house to repair it.

Howbeit there were not made for the house of the Lord bowls of silver, snuffers, basons, trumpets, any vessels of gold, or vessels of silver, of the money that was brought into the house of the Lord: But they gave that to the workmen, and repaired therewith the house of the Lord. Moreover they reckoned not with the men, into whose hand they delivered the money to be bestowed on workmen: for they dealt faithfully.