For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich (2 Corinthians 8:9, NIV). There’s a story of a shipwrecked sailor on an inhospitable island. He was dying of hunger. One day a box was suddenly swept to shore and he rushed eagerly to open it. But he fell back to the ground with bitter disappointment, because the box was full of gems and pearls. It was filled with riches that could not sustain his life. The man in our Lord’s story in Luke 12:13–21 was a fool. He left out the greatest factor in life. He forgot God. The deceptiveness of covetousness is that if God is forgotten, life will not work out. How shall we save ourselves from this trap of covetousness? How shall we avoid being like the foolish wise man? Every Christian should have as his dearest desire to give all he can to foster the gospel of the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord Jesus exchanged all heaven for a cow-shed and a cross. As we consider that, what shall we withhold from him? Giving is the antidote to selfishness and covetousness. Only those who practice regular, systematic giving to the cause of the gospel will be safe and saved at last. May God guide us as we reflect on our responsibility to give. May we become like him in our giving. – Des Ford Eli’s Reflection: In 2 Corinthians 8:9 the Apostle Paul suggests that we become rich when we give, and that the opposite is also true: that we become poor when we don’t give. Are you rich or are you poor? Courtesy of Good News Unlimited