Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart. 1 Kings 8:39

 

“What is your net worth?” a financial planner may ask you. It’s an uncomfortable question to answer, because most likely the answer is: not very much!

We often measure worth by looking at wealth. But did you know heaven doesn’t have the same currency system or value things as we do? In a world impressed by vast amounts of money, Jesus said he ascribes value based on the heart. In fact, Jesus praised, and made great, some of the smallest and most forgettable gifts. He once fed over 5000 people with a little boy’s gifted lunch (Matthew 12:13-21). He pointed out a widow giving just (Luke 21:1-4), two cents, and said this greatly moved God because she gave all she had.

God has the ability to see and know everything. This means He can measure and value things not based on some standard system of worth, but based on factors no one else knows about–like a humble widow’s faith and generosity. The Bible book of 1 Kings says, “Give your people what their actions deserve, for you alone know each human heart” (1 Kings 8:39). Scripture does not say that God is only interested in big gifts, but it does say that God loves a person who gives cheerfully! (2 Corinthians 9:7) Each of us can move God by giving something precious or truly sacrificial, from a heart of cheer!

God uses even the smallest gifts to bless others many times over. When a child gives a favorite toy to another child in need out of love, a homeless man shares his bread or a teen gives to a mission from money they earned, we can only imagine how much that generosity, faith, and love matter to God.