Rich is relative. I was just sharing with a friend this morning that sometimes I feel extremely “rich,” and other times, I feel anxious about the future and how it will all “work” financially. It does not matter how I feel, and for that matter, how you feel. The odds are, we are both well-taken care of from the worlds barometer of being “rich.”

Yesterday I had a friend tell me a great story. He took his grand-kids to ice cream last week The bill was $10.37. He had a $10 and he had two $100 dollar bills. As he stood at the counter there was a kid who was a friend with the young lady serving the ice cream. He was, from all appearances, a teenager with little means. As my friend was in the pause of the moment, this teenage boy assessed the situation and handed over a dollar to make up the change.

Here is the moment I just love. My friend as he left went back to that generous kid who gave to a person he didn’t know, and had nothing to gain from, but realized in that moment he had something that my friend did not. My friend handed him the $100 and said, “Thanks for sharing — share this with your friend and thanks for having a generous heart!”

Why do we have money? Sure, we have money to pay bills, get food, and live this thing called “life.” Here are a couple of principles about money to consider today.

• Money comes from God, not from anything else. It is amazing to me that my dad as an example could have thought his money came from I.B.M. It’s not true. God is the author of all gifts that come our way. It helps to use the mindset that God let’s money come to us from whatever the trail is to see how we will honor Him in it.

• Money is in your hands to DO GOOD. Have you ever thought this before? It’s like the tour of the chocolate factory for Charlie. In the end, Willy Wonka wanted to see who would be worthy to run the factory. It was a way to see who would be faithful and care about this factory the most.

• Money is to do two things: Good works and Generosity. I am speaking to myself right now. What good works, no matter how big or small, might God want to do through my life and checkbook? In what ways can I be generous that would have an impact.

• TRUE LIFE is experienced when we share our money. I believe that the night my friend walked out of the ice cream shop with his grand-kids he had a hop to his step, he felt good, he smiled, and he was experiencing more LIFE than he had all day. I believe that the kid, who maybe only had a dollar, felt a little air fill his chest when he gave the .37 cents. I believe he was experiencing more life than he had all day.

One last story for the day. I remember when we flew up to Oregon when our son Charlie was born. I remember flying home with the family and arriving back to our house with Charlie. We had been gone just over two weeks. It all transpired so fast we weren’t totally prepared. Boxes filled our front porch as one of our friends who knew we didn’t have a crib and all the necessary items that go into a nursery took it upon themselves and let’s just say it was covered. I will never forget this. Marni will never forget this. Everyone experienced TRUE LIFE in the exchange that in the end could only transpire with money.

What about you? What are your thoughts? How might you be a blessing to someone today?

^“17 Teach those who are rich in this world not to be proud and not to trust in their money, which is so unreliable. Their trust should be in God, who richly gives us all we need for our enjoyment. ¹⁸ Tell them to use their money to do good. They should be rich in good works and generous to those in need, always being ready to share with others. ¹⁹ By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life.”

1 Timothy 6:17-19