BLESSED TO BE A BLESSING

I heard a great phrase the other day, ‘Blessed to be a blessing’. I think that is a great way to look at our life and resources. It makes me think of my friend Cyrus who pastors in Kampala, Uganda who doesn’t even have plumbing in his church, Dominion Temple. Yet, he organizes conferences where hundreds of village pastors come and receive rare, valuable Biblical teachings, which equip them for their pastorate. He gives away his personal suits and brings bicycles to be used as “ministry vehicles” for visitations and meetings. He does all of this at his own expense because in his words, “They are not as blessed and we are”. In the Untied States we hear a prosperity gospel taught as if we are not already prosperous. As if God has not already given us more than enough and more than we need. I believe when we see ourselves as blessed; it inspires us to be a blessing to others. A lifestyle of generosity is developed from a mentality of abundance. You cannot give what you go not have. So a position of giving is far better than a position of receiving. There is a local cafe in Africa that produces it’s own coffee. It is their attempt to boost the economy and become self-sufficient. On the back of their coffee can it reads, ‘Africa needs trade not aid to fight poverty’. Someone understood that a shift in mentality would produce a shift in position. It was Jesus who taught this principle.

In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’ Acts 20:35