Acute Pecuniary Spenditis

Years ago, I entered the Central Virginia Speech contest which was to be judged by University of Richmond professors.  There were ten contestants and we were to write a speech about saving money.  Well, I wasn’t the writer in the family at the time, so my brother stepped up to the plate.  I knew if I had a good speech, I could deliver it and win the contest.(Big mouth and all!)  The grand prize was $100.00.  In 1978, that was a pretty good hunk of change.  I told my brother I would split the winnings with him.  I rehearsed. He rewrote and tweaked my speech several times and then the day came.  Of course, I had taken two Valium before I got there to calm my nerves. (It was a miracle I didn’t slur every word!)  Lo and behold, the speech was delivered to a crowd of about 300 and I won.  I beat out individuals who held degrees and this set me up for my first big branch manager’s job.  The financial institution I worked for hadn’t won this contest in over ten years and it was made clear that they wanted to bring the honor and trophy home again.   The speech itself was very clever.  It talked about how I couldn’t save any money because I would buy a new dress and then I would NEED (get the word need) this or that to match the dress.  The cycle would go on and on because I would need something and I couldn’t do anything else but keep spending because I needed more and more.  So I could never save.  I had a real case of SPEND-ITIS!

I was thinking about this speech today, about money and about the concept today in the realm of God’s divine order of things.  In the beginning of my Crosswalk, I couldn’t really help anyone else because I NEEDED some more money, or so I thought.   When I get some more money, THEN I can help someone else.  Well, that is not the way that God works and it certainly is not the way He taught me to think when it comes to giving and helping others. But I always thought I had to have MONEY, and lots of it, to help someone else.  It took a lot to get that out of my thinking.  Money was my main focus in life even though I have always had a tender heart for others who have a hard time.   

After walking on my journey of life with the Holy Spirit for years now, I can tell you: don’t wait until you have more of this or that to reach out with the hands of Jesus….start now right where you are and with what you have.  You might think you don’t have anything because YOU NEED, but that is not the truth.  I learned the hard way that when I hardly had two pennies to rub together, I still had a hand that could pat someone on the shoulder and tell them to have a good day.  I still could tell someone “God bless you” with a great big smile attached to it.  I will never forget the time I was in a convenience store and I told the clerk “God bless you” as I was leaving the store.  He hadn’t spoken to me and hadn’t been very nice.  I was in the middle of having my whole world turned upside down and on that particular day, I could have used a God bless you.  But the new Molly knew she had to be kind to others even when others weren’t kind to her.  I even knew I had to be kind when I didn’t feel like it and especially when I was in need myself. As I turned to walk away, I heard him say very quietly," Thank you. I have had a really tough day.  I needed to hear that.”  Funny how those two little words can melt the heart of people…even ones who really don’t believe there is a God.

Start where you are now with what you have and be “the hands and feet of Jesus.” Don’t think you have to have money, a savings account or stocks or bonds in order to help someone.  You don’t have to have two pennies to rub together but you do have to have a willing heart and attitude.  When you reach out with what you think you don’t have, God can take it and make you and the other person feel like a million dollars inside. Futhermore, if you do have a million dollars, reach out and help someone with a little of it….One of the biggest secrets in the Kingdom of God is to give and it will be given back to you. Don’t wait to start to make a difference in other peoples lives…start now….don’t just wait till you have.  You have now and you might not realize it…don’t go just one mile, go two and God will honor it. What you see with your natural eye as being barren doesn't look the same to God. Stop looking at what you have and look at how big God is. Remember His ways are not our ways. 

Love is free but it is the most expensive commodity we have available to us to use…nothing can match it.  It is free-flowing and you don’t have to have a dime to have it.  When you just start, you will soon find out that “Now all you will need to go with the good deed you just did is another one.”  Instead of SPEND-ITIS, it will be GIVE-ITIS.

Matthew 7: 2 “For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.”

Don’t look constantly at what is in your hand... look for what is hidden in your heart.                                                                             

Molly