The Scope of my Scoop

I accidentally left the pitcher I use to scoop birdseed in the bag of bug-infested sunflower seeds I threw away yesterday. For a minute I considered digging it out of the trash, which at that moment was sitting out on the side of the road, waiting the collector's imminent arrival. God must've smiled when I decided instead to find another scoop, as that was what He intended all along.

He's been talking to me lately about the measure with which I've been doling out seed - not sunflower seeds, of course, but financial seed, especially. He's been challenging me to use a bigger scoop.

There was a reason my bag of sunflower seed went bad. I let it sit for too long. Moths found their way inside, and the resultant worm-like larvae ruined the seed. If I'd used it in greater measure each day it would have gone to its intended use. And God is telling me that my financial resources will similarly go to waste if I don't scoop them out in greater measures towards the purposes for which He's supplied them.

My spiritual bag of seed doesn't just contain my finances. The same principles apply in using all the gifts I've been given with which to bless others. I need to freely sow God's love into the lives I come across each day. The faster I empty my bag of seed, the sooner I'll receive a new supply.

I simply need to use a bigger scoop.

"One man gives freely, yet gains even more;
another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty."
(Proverbs 11:24 NIV)