by Cindy Phillips
“He is no fool who gives away what he cannot keep, to gain what he cannot lose.”
This quote is universally associated today with the name Jim Elliot, one of five American missionaries who were martyred in South America in the 1950s. He had written it in his journal and it conveys a profound truth. He would say this phrase to encourage himself and others who engage in charitable acts. But it did not originate with Elliot. To find the original (or perhaps yet one more preacher who borrowed these words from someone else), we must go back almost 300 years, to the mid-1600s and the life of Philip Henry (1631-1696), father of Matthew Henry (1662-1714), the famous Bible commentator.
What a great Biblical truth this is. It demonstrates where our heart should be. The more we keep our heart/thoughts on earthly things (treasures) the more vulnerable we are if/when we lose them. But if we give them up for the sake of the Kingdom of God we are actually storing up for ourselves true riches.
Jesus said in Matthew 6:19-21, “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 19:29 “And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My name’s sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and inherit eternal life.”
Proverbs 19:17, “He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.”
The opposite of being generous is being covetous. We must be careful not to cling too tightly to the things of the world. Luke 12:15 He [Jesus] said to them, “Take heed and beware of covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of the things he possesses.”
We know God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor 9:7) but the truth of the matter is you can never out-give God (Luke 6:38)! Let your thoughts and actions be on how you can give of your time, talent and treasure for the Kingdom of God today. Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God (Matt 6:33) as you lose yourself to His service and what you gain will be of far greater, and permanent, value!