The Wealth You Forgot You Had

I recently met a new Cru staff couple who had people raising eyebrows at a few of their decisions.

After they became empty nesters, they bought a large three-bedroom home with an attached apartment as an investment. God gave them the idea of inviting two widows and a young couple from their church to live with them in Christian community. Picture it: six adults from their mid-twenties to mid-seventies living together in one home.

Each invitee accepted, at least partly because they were in challenging financial positions. It raised a lot of eyebrows, and some of their friends kept watching, waiting for things to fall apart.

But they never did.

They formed a life group in the home, did fun things as a group regularly and often ate together. They became close friends. God used the time to bless all of them relationally, and the guests were able to regain a firm financial footing. They experienced true Christian community, much like the believers in Acts 2. The large home has since been sold, and each guest is now living elsewhere, but all have treasured memories of their time together.

This couple had uncovered extra wealth that wasn’t tied to their bank account.

It got me thinking about how much each of us have and how little of it gets used to its capacity. Homes, cars, tools and toys – and even the skills we possess. God calls us to be good stewards, and it’s easy to think that it’s just about money, but that is only the beginning. Everything we have is entrusted to us to put love into action and build the kingdom of God.

Are you using everything you have to its full capacity? You might not be swimming in cash, but has God blessed you an abundance of other gifts? Take some time to creatively explore new ways to use what He has given you.

Consider the following questions:

• What has God given you, not just for you to enjoy, but to be a blessing to others?
• Is there a skill, talent or space the Lord has been putting on your heart to share with others?
• Do you have an extra room in your house that someone could live in? (Talk about expectations ahead of time)
• Would you ever loan out your car?
• Do you carpool?
• Do you loan out your tools? (I have found using a “Check out” sheet to keep track of where things are is helpful.)
• Do you borrow household items from neighbors instead of buying new ones?
• Are your children playing with all of their toys? (You could help them understand the power of giving through lending or donating their toys to others.)
• What skills do you possess that others don’t? (Maybe you have technical or professional skills you could use to help non-profits, or neighbors and businesses as a path to talk about the gospel. Perhaps you could help someone without a job create a résumé, or coach a children’s sports team.)
• Do you have any intellectual property you could share? (Maybe you’ve written a Bible study that you’re willing to share freely.)
• Is there someone younger that you could mentor in his or her life or career?
• Would you commit to praying regularly for your pastor?

Since I work in training new Cru staff members, I often see their needs firsthand: housing while developing their team of ministry partners, cars that need repair, and a need for encouragement and counsel. Both in and outside of the body of Christ, there are many opportunities to invest what God has entrusted to us to build the kingdom of God.

The needs are many, but fortunately so are the resources within the body of Christ. What forgotten wealth could you tap into today?

I’m sure there are many other creative ways to accomplish more with your resources. What have you tried? Share in the comments below!