Then he said to them, “Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions” (Luke 12:15).

I remember my first teaching job after college. It was my first time living on my own, paying my bills, and managing my money. My “saver” personality wanted to save as much as I could and not waste any money. 

But even though saving money and using it wisely is godly, I had an underlying heart problem that I needed to overcome. I was closed-handed with my money. When my roommates wanted to decorate our apartment, I didn’t want to spend the money. When my roommates wanted to take a taxi, I chose the bus because it was cheaper. I found myself storing up money even at times when I should have been willing to share it with others.

Although I wasn’t rich, I think my heart was a bit like the rich man that Jesus taught about in Luke 12. He stored up all his wealth for himself and his comfort but didn’t share it with others.

God brought many people into my life to help me with this heart issue.

I remember…

• my friend, Kelley, who gave up her money and time so generously
• Church volunteers who donated huge amounts of money to the orphan ministry where I volunteered
• my high school teacher who secretly paid the remaining balance of my tuition because he knew my mom couldn’t afford it
• my husband who always has the heart to give double what I would normally choose

As I write this, I can think of more examples than I have room to list. Each time I observed this kind of generosity, I felt convicted and started to become more open-handed.

God called the rich man, who stored up his wealth a fool. Jesus said that instead, we should be rich toward God. That doesn’t mean that we should be unwise with money. Jesus had a lot to say about money and how to use it wisely. It’s actually so important to God that there are about 2,350 Bible verses dealing with the subject of money.

One of the lessons God taught me over the years was that the money we earn isn’t ours-it’s His. We are just stewards of it. We aren’t meant to use this money only for ourselves, but to help others. When we invest in others, we are being rich toward God.

If you are looking for a practical way to be more open-handed, you might consider opening a bank account just for giving. Pray and ask God for an amount to save each month, and then look and pray for opportunities to give. Once you start doing this, I think you’ll find great joy in giving. I also doubt that you will miss the money. And the ones you help will feel so blessed, they will never forget it.