When my guy and I were first married, we lived and worked in an inn. Our “front” door opened into the front office. Guests checking in smelled whatever I’d made for dinner, and co-workers would have needed earplugs to not overhear what was said in our living room.
The proximity to others was a privilege- and came with a lot of lessons.
Since our practical resources were scarce and the opportunities to be generous were plenty, we got to learn firsthand about God’s giving nature.
One instance of this learning I remember too well.
My husband and I had purchased juice. The kind that comes in a bottle and has flavor and vitamins that weren’t added later. It was a rare treat! But company was coming over…company likely to enjoy the juice as much as we wanted to.
“Should we hide the juice?” we wondered.
“Is it okay to keep the best for ourselves?” we debated.
It seems silly to get into a theological discussion over a bottle of juice. But we did. And I haven’t forgotten the decision…
God’s Perspective on Paying the Price
I really wanted, during the great juice debate, to justify keeping our best for ourselves. (Or just myself, even.)
Knowing our finances, remembering how exciting it was to find the juice on sale and just enough in the budget to pay for it, considering how hospitable we were, I felt like that juice was a prize I’d earned. If I had to give it up for someone else…well, when would I ever get juice again? Wouldn’t that set a precedent for our guests to always get our best, leaving me perpetually juiceless?
Entangled in the (silly) moral dilemma, we:
Recalled together how God provides for us. An unrequested ride to the grocery store when we had the budget for either gas or food. An extra shift out of the blue. A gift in the mail. New part-time work in an area with little opportunity for employment. The apartment we lived in!
Remembered we have nothing He hasn’t first given us. From salvation to each other to friends to the home we got to open to others so often…we remembered all we have, we received. There is a difference between enabling and godly generosity, and it’s rooted in recognizing what gifts from God are.
Recognized whose budget we were operating on. When it came down to it, we couldn’t argue that God’s pattern of giving is without reserve. He doesn’t save the best. He gives His best. Christ paid what costs most to save us. God gives us His very own Spirit to help us glorify Him (despite our constant battling.)
From God’s perspective, our very best is best shared.
Giving our best is His best for us. Share on X2 Questions to Ask Yourself
On that day, years ago, a godly perspective on paying the price meant pouring juice into guests’ glasses. It was a small step in learning to pour ourselves out as living sacrifices to the only One worthy.
“I appeal to you therefore, brothers,by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” –Romans 12:1
We debated about juice because we wanted to live aligned with God’s will.
Too often today, the things we’d like to hold back aren’t as obvious as the juice. They’re more likely to be affection, attention, or a willingness to defer out of love for others…
All the while, we tend to wonder “what’s God will in this?”
As Romans 12:1 highlights- we’d know if only we weren’t confining ourselves to a limited budget of self, refusing to give ourselves to God. He can use us- weak, sinful, temporal us- abundantly!
Would you join me in seeking to understand God’s perspective on price and the budget believers are invited to operate from?
{In the next two weeks, I’ll be sharing two helpful questions to ask yourself on these topics.}
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I love how this story with the juice prompted you to see it as a spiritual lesson. And I love these two questions. May we truly give our best for the glory of God! Thanks for these encouraging words today!
We are nerds, haha. God’s worth our best! Thank you and happy Easter Stacey!
You and your husband live an intentional, thoughtful life. Having a theological discussion about juice made you both grow and think, which is the best way to live. Ultimately, you made the decision to give generously, as God gives to us. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
Thank you, Laurie! It’s Gods Grace that every dilemma comes back to what’s true in Him. Happy Easter!
I love how God can teach us through even the little things, and if we are to be living sacrifices even the little things matter. Look forward to reading more of your thoughts on this topic.
Me too! He can! The little things do matter, in the best sense! Happy Easter!