November 10, 2015 SHARE: Reading time: less than 3 minutes. This is our last stop on our current tour: What’s a Scripture that epitomizes the eight aspects of wellness depicted in the Lutheran Wellness Wheel? Peter and David are such beloved characters because they display in their lives both the best of a walk of faith and the worst. We love them because they are like us. Flawed. Toward the end of his life, David had one of those episodes where he showed us again what it means to be a man after God’s own heart. The heart of being financially healthy is to recognize that all things come from God and our first responsibility is to show our faith, trust and love for the Lord in our generosity in support of His purposes. David had a dream of seeing the temple built in Jerusalem, a place of residence for the Ark of the Covenant and the abiding presence of Yahweh. Solomon would bring it to completion, but David’s generosity paved the way. Not many of us are able to stuff our offering envelopes with 110 tons of gold and 260 tons of silver (okay, none of us!), but as always in God’s economy, it’s not the size of the gift that matters, but the passion of the heart. I’ll let David describe what’s going on inside in this act of worship and reverence. It’s one of the most stirring prayers in the Bible, found in 1 Chronicles 29. Praise be to you, O Lord, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Yours, O Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor, for everything in heaven and earth is yours. Yours, O Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all. Wealth and honor come from you; you are the ruler of all things. In your hands are strength and power to exalt and to give strength to all. Now, our God, we give you thanks, and praise your glorious name. But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand. We are aliens and strangers in your sight, as were all our forefathers. Our days on earth are like a shadow, without hope. O Lord, our God, as for all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name, it comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you. I know, my God, that you test the heart and are pleased with integrity. All these things I have given willingly and with honest intent. And now I have seen with joy how willingly your people who are here have given to you. O Lord, God of our father Abraham, Isaac and Israel, keep this desire in the hearts of your people forever, and keep their hearts loyal to you. As a pastor for over thirty years, I learned my best lessons about financial wellbeing from the generous people of the congregations I served. I am envisioning many dozens of families right now, people of the same faith, the same heart, the same faithfulness and generosity as David. We’re all still growing in that kind of faithfulness. My prayer is that David’s prayer will be your prayer! Thanks for reading. Do you serve on a professional church worker conference planning committee? Our staff has vast experience leading groups of all sizes from every church work background through innovative wellness programs custom designed to meet your needs. Contact Program Director Darrell Zimmerman today to begin exploring the possibilities or visit our website to see some of our ideas for your conference!