Consideration of and care for those in need—especially those “at our gate,” the folks we actually see and know about—isn’t just a nice add-on to stewardship, it’s the heart of it. Scripture reminds us that hoarding stuff doesn’t make us safe, it just makes our garages hard to walk through. In fact, sharing what we’ve been given is how we loosen wealth’s chokehold before it tightens like last year’s skinny jeans. And here’s the Good News: it’s not on us to muscle our way out of greed’s grip. The one whom death could not hold—Jesus, risen from the dead— meets us right in our clinging and frees us, so our hands can open, not just to drop our offerings in the plate, but to receive life, joy, and maybe even a casserole at the church potluck.

Reading:  1 Timothy 6:6-19, Psalm 146 and Luke 15:1-10