Remember the fable of the grasshopper and the ants?  [No, not the "revised" version in the Disney movie, "A Bug's Life".]  In the original fable, the grasshopper played and danced all summer long while the ants worked hard to prepare for the winter ahead.  When the cold weather came, the grasshopper was in trouble and had to rely on the kindness of the ants to survive.  I'm not sure this is an accurate description of what really happens in The Animal Kingdom, but it helps us understand the truth of the Human World.

 God's Word has been telling us the same thing all along.  "Good planning and hard work lead to prosperity" - Proverbs 21:5.  Saving is important too.  "Wise people store up the best food and olive oil" - Proverbs 21:20.  

 But, does this conflict with trusting in God?  Shouldn't we just wait on the Lord to provide?

 Working hard, making strong plans, and saving is not a lack of faith in God.  It's trusting Him enough to listen to what He says, and to make an effort to do what He says.  

 As we learned Sunday, every financial decision we make is actually a spiritual decision which should point us back to our Father in Heaven, the source of all of our blessings, including money and the ability to earn.  These spiritual decisions include the decisions we make regarding giving.  As you might expect, Scripture gives us guidance when it comes to giving.  "Honor The Lord with your wealth and the best part of everything you produce." - Proverbs 3:9.  The "best part", at the very least, means we shouldn't give to God just our "left-overs".  By the way, if we actually do what this verse says, there is an amazing promise from God in the very next verse: "Then your storerooms will be so full they can't hold everything!" - Proverbs 3:10.  

 We learned a new phrase Sunday that I hope we will all commit to memory: "God trusts me."  Amazingly, God trusts us to manage the resources He provides.  As we think and plan how we will participate in the up-coming Special Contribution on November 3rd, and as we continually evaluate how we will participate in our regular on-going giving, it might be good to think in these terms: "God trusts me; now I am going to trust Him." 

~Shepherd Ambrose Ramsey