I never stopped to think much about the fact that Jesus commanded his disciples to gather up the leftover pieces of bread and fish after he’d multiplied them for the five thousand.

John 6:12:

“…Jesus then took the loaves, and when he had given thanks, he distributed them to those who were seated. So also the fish, as much as they wanted. And when they had eaten their fill, he told his disciples, "Gather up the leftover fragments, that nothing may be lost.”

It seems like, if there were ever a time where wasting food didn’t matter, it would be this one. I mean, they started with some barley loaves and two fish and Jesus turned it into enough to feed thousands, then still had twelve baskets of food left over.

Jesus created food out of thin air, then determined that it was crucial that none be wasted.

I’m sure there’s a lot to think about here. But my own first thought was about stewardship. Especially as Americans. We really are, in some ways, in a kind of Jesus-feeding-the-five-thousand scenario. This little fledgling country in just a few hundred years exploded into one of the most powerful, prosperous countries on the planet.

But now, in so many ways (from portion sizes, to the number of cars on the road), as a nation we’re really not treating the prosperity with the kind of reverence that Jesus treated the miracle.

It really makes you think. Waste, even when it doesn’t hurt anyone, isn’t something to be proud of.

There are few things that I find more frustrating than drivers who aren’t courteous. I just mean simple things, like getting out of the left lane when someone is going faster than you. Using your turn signal so people know when it’s okay to go around you.

Well, today I was walking into Target. It was busy and there was a good bit of congestion right there in the parking lot. But it didn’t even cross my mind as I walked up to the store. I just walked across the road without even looking both ways. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I knew in general that I wouldn’t get hit.

It reminded me of my trip to Managua, Nicaragua several years back. The traffic was something similar this:

It reminded me how uncommon it is to have such a controlled and relatively safe traffic system. And not just on public roads either—in general, traffic in this country is pretty safe. In some ways, a mentality of courtesy and safety is conditioned into us.

It’s remarkable really. One good reason to feel grateful and an even better reason not to sweat annoying drivers on the road.

Proverbs 25:16:

If you have found honey, eat only enough for you,
   lest you have your fill of it and vomit it.

I suppose this is kind of a continuation from yesterday.

With all that the bible says about money and the way we ought to think of it and use it, it’s amazing that the American church seems to just ignore it.  Most of the church would never ignore a pastor slipping into sexual sin, when they were aware of it. But there’s thousands of churches with pastors driving $60,000 cars, flying first class to their summer vacation home and wearing $3000 suits, and no one bats an eye.

I just don’t get it.

I’d like to see it change, in me and in the rest of the church, but admittedly, I’m not sure exactly where to begin. Or, if it’s even my place.

2 Corinthians 8:1-15:

“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you— see that you excel in this act of grace also.

I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich. And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack.”

More than half of Christians do not give any money away. Americans who do give, average only about 1.9% of their income. It’s projected that we’ll spend more on our dogs and our weight loss, than our God.

I think I’d like to see us more concerned with our hearts, than our architecture. More interested in letting our lives prove our love for Jesus, than waiting for our awesome sound system and decorative fountain to do it. Does anyone take the scriptures about money seriously? Do I?