Hoarding

All around us, creation confirms God’s desire to bless His people. Everywhere we look, we see beauty and abundance, diversity and balance, a world with the built-in ability to replenish.

But sin and rebellion changed everything! In fact, the world still is dominated by people making the same mistakes made by Adam and Eve. Instead of trusting and obeying God, they go their own way, thinking that independence is the path to fulfillment. These people miss God’s design.

Looking at the world in the time of Isaiah, God saw people who failed to understand His abundance. They were determined to hoard their resources. They added “house to house” and joined “field to field.” No matter what they had, they wanted more. They continued to collect, because they did not trust in God.

As the ultimate expression of this lifestyle, some even owned so much that “there is no more room.” Ultimately, they had “to live alone in the midst of the land!” They had no choice but to depend on themselves and live in greater isolation, never at peace, never able to trust God, always wanting more, thinking primarily of themselves.

But you can trust in God. He delights to give you His abundance. Trusting Him means not hoarding, but developing a lifestyle of giving; not being controlled by pride or selfishness, but always investing in His Kingdom.

Remember the promise of Jesus: As you give, “it will be given to you.” His abundance will overflow in your life…“pressed down, shaken together, and running over” (Luke 6:38). Don’t be a hoarder, but a giver!