A. Giving back what is God’s.

The possessions of a rich man were increased. He built larger barns and was satisfied. His pension was secured! What’s wrong with this story? – Luke 12:13-21

KJV ¹³ And one of the company said unto him, Master, speak to my brother, that he divide the inheritance with me. ¹⁴ And he said unto him, Man, who made me a judge or a divider over you? ¹⁵ And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth. ¹⁶ And he spake a parable unto them, saying, The ground of a certain rich man brought forth plentifully: ¹⁷ And he thought within himself, saying, What shall I do, because I have no room where to bestow my fruits? ¹⁸ And he said, This will I do: I will pull down my barns, and build greater; and there will I bestow all my fruits and my goods. ¹⁹ And I will say to my soul, Soul, thou hast much goods laid up for many years; take thine ease, eat, drink, and be merry. ²⁰ But God said unto him, Thou fool, this night thy soul shall be required of thee: then whose shall those things be, which thou hast provided? ²¹ So is he that layeth up treasure for himself, and is not rich toward God.

CEV ¹³ A man in a crowd said to Jesus, “Teacher, tell my brother to give me my share of what our father left us when he died.” ¹⁴ Jesus answered, “Who gave me the right to settle arguments between you and your brother?” ¹⁵ Then he said to the crowd, “Don't be greedy! Owning a lot of things won't make your life safe.” ¹⁶ So Jesus told them this story: A rich man's farm produced a big crop, ¹⁷ and he said to himself, “What can I do? I don't have a place large enough to store everything.” ¹⁸ Later, he said, “Now I know what I'll do. I'll tear down my barns and build bigger ones, where I can store all my grain and other goods. ¹⁹ Then I'll say to myself, ‘You have stored up enough good things to last for years to come. Live it up! Eat, drink, and enjoy yourself.’ ” ²⁰ But God said to him, “You fool! Tonight you will die. Then who will get what you have stored up?” ²¹ “This is what happens to people who store up everything for themselves, but are poor in the sight of God.”

The acts themselves were not wrong. As Jesus pointed out, the issue was that the man was greedy. He wasn’t willing to share what God had given to him with others – Luke 12:15

KJV ¹⁵ And he said unto them, Take heed, and beware of covetousness: for a man's life consisteth not in the abundance of the things which he possesseth.

CEV ¹⁵ Then he said to the crowd, “Don't be greedy! Owning a lot of things won't make your life safe.”

As long as we have good physical and mental health, we must do right with everything God has put in our hands: strength, talents, resources…
All these things must be returned to its Owner. How?

B. Preparing for the future.

What should we do with the things we’re going to leave behind when we die? 1 Timothy 6:7

KJV ⁷ For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. CEV ⁷ We didn't bring anything into this world, and we won't take anything with us when we leave.

It still belongs to God, no matter how much it is. The Bible encourages us to transfer our gifts from God to our children and relatives – Proverbs 13:22

KJV ²² A good man leaveth an inheritance to his children's children: and the wealth of the sinner is laid up for the just.

CEV ²² If you obey God, you will have something to leave your grandchildren. If you don't obey God, those who live right will get what you leave.

1 Timothy 5:8

KJV ⁸ But if any provide not for his own, and specially for those of his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel.

CEV ⁸ People who don't take care of their relatives, and especially their own families, have given up their faith. They are worse than someone who doesn't have faith in the Lord.

If there are no heirs, we should leave it to the Church.

In some countries, inheritance is automatically transferred to the children. If the inheritance laws in your country don’t agree with your plans, you should write a will or testament so your inheritance is left to the right people.

C. Enjoying our blessings.

Have your received blessings from God? Enjoy them! Don’t waste them, use them wisely – Proverbs 27:23

KJV ²³ Be thou diligent to know the state of thy flocks, and look well to thy herds. CEV ²³ You should take good care of your sheep and goats,

Give God your tithes and offerings – Deuteronomy 12:11

KJV ¹¹ Then there shall be a place which the Lord your God shall choose to cause his name to dwell there; thither shall ye bring all that I command you; your burnt offerings, and your sacrifices, your tithes, and the heave offering of your hand, and all your choice vows which ye vow unto the Lord: CEV ^5-19 Soon you will cross the Jordan, and the Lord will help you conquer your enemies and let you live in peace, there in the land he has given you. But after you are settled, life will be different. You must not offer sacrifices just anywhere you want to. Instead, the Lord will choose a place somewhere in Israel where you must go to worship him. All of your sacrifices and offerings must be taken there, including sacrifices to please the Lord and any gift you promise or voluntarily give him. That's where you must also take one tenth of your grain, wine, and olive oil, as well as the first-born of your cattle, sheep, and goats. You and your family and servants will eat your gifts and sacrifices and celebrate there at the place of worship, because the Lord your God has made you successful in everything you have done. And since Levites will not have any land of their own, you must ask some of them to come along and celebrate with you. Sometimes you may want to kill an animal for food and not as a sacrifice. If the Lord has blessed you and given you enough cows or sheep or goats, then you can butcher one of them where you live. You can eat it just like the meat from a deer or gazelle that you kill when you go hunting. And even those people who are unclean and unfit for worship can have some of the meat. But you must not eat the blood of any animal — let the blood drain out on the ground.

Fulfill the needs of your household – Proverbs 27:27

KJV ²⁷ And thou shalt have goats' milk enough for thy food, for the food of thy household, and for the maintenance for thy maidens. CEV ²⁷ From the milk of the goats, you can make enough cheese to feed your family and all your servants.

Don’t forget about those in need – James 1:27

KJV ²⁷ Pure religion and undefiled before God and the Father is this, To visit the fatherless and widows in their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the world. CEV ²⁷ Religion that pleases God the Father must be pure and spotless. You must help needy orphans and widows and not let this world make you evil.

It is up to us now to make provisions so that what we have been blessed with can be a blessing to others and the advencement of God’s work.

D. When should we give back?

Delayed return.

— As we grow older, we tend to hold on to our possessions.

It’s never enough, the richer you are the richer you want to be – Ecclesiastes 5:10

KJV ¹⁰ He that loveth silver shall not be satisfied with silver; nor he that loveth abundance with increase: this is also vanity. CEV ¹⁰ If you love money and wealth, you will never be satisfied with what you have. This doesn't make a bit of sense.

This is a trap from Satan to move us away from God.

— The Bible encourages us to never put our hope in riches – 1 Timothy 6:17

KJV ¹⁷ Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy; CEV ¹⁷ Warn the rich people of this world not to be proud or to trust in wealth that is easily lost. Tell them to have faith in God, who is rich and blesses us with everything we need to enjoy life.

But to be content with what we have – Proverbs 30:8

KJV ⁸ Remove far from me vanity and lies: give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with food convenient for me: CEV ⁸ Make me absolutely honest and don't let me be too poor or too rich. Give me just what I need.

— Some people may not give back to God what they can today because they fear they might not have enough during their old age. We are depriving people of blessings that they could have now, and we’re depriving ourselves of our own blessing.

Advantages of “now.”

— What are the advantages of giving back to God while we are alive?

(1) The giver can see the results of their donation: a new building for the church, a young person studying at the university, a gospel campaign…

(2) The receiving person or ministry can benefit today, when the need is greater

(3) It gives a good example of generosity and loving others

(4) It reduces the impact of the wealth tax

(5) It guarantees that the donation goes to the right entity, as no courts or disgruntled relatives are involved

(6) It shows that the heart of the giver as turned from selfishness to selflessness.

(7) We’re laying up treasure in Heaven.