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Guarding by Giving

A few weeks ago, while we were in Bethel Brentwood in Nashville, Pastor Fikri Youssef gave a short but very powerful reminder that I want to share with us today.

He started by reading Proverbs 4:23 –

Above all else, guard your heart, for it is the wellspring of life.

He said that guarding our hearts is a primary command for all believers. Then he added this:

Nothing protects my heart like giving. It protects my heart from fear. It protects my heart from greed. And it protects my heart from lack of purpose. Nothing quenches the fire of the spirit of God in my heart like lack of purpose.

That is another reason for why it’s good for us to give money and things away. It’s for our own good.

Several times a week, gifts, products, and food will come to our home as samples for my wife’s work. She’ll sample whatever she needs to for work, but after that, we always make it a habit to give away the sweets – doughnuts, chocolates, and pastries.

Part of why we do this is to be generous. But the greater part is because we know ourselves – leave that box of Krispy Kreme on the table and I’ll devour it all in a moment of peckish insanity. It’s better to give it away.

"I don't even remember what happened. I blacked out then they were all gone."
“I don’t even remember what happened. I blacked out then they were all gone.”

The same goes for money and other things. Leave it unaccounted for in our possession long enough and we’ll consume it all. Better to assign it to something and give it away. It’s for our own good.

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