Spurgeon, Living, and Giving (Part 1)

As best I can tell, Spurgeon’s Morning and Evening devotions are public domain, but I would recommend this version if you want a hard copy. 

“You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away Why?” declares the LORD of hosts, “Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.” Haggai 1:9

“Churlish [Grudging] souls stint their contributions to the ministry and missionary operations, and call such saving good economy; little do they dream that they are thus impoverishing themselves. Their excuse is that they must care for their own families, and they forget that to neglect the house of God is the sure way to bring ruin upon their own houses.” – Spurgeon (Morning and Evening) 

The initial reaction to these selections is something like: “Ok, if I neglect God’s work in my financial plan, then my financial life will struggle.”  I think this is far from Spurgeon’s intent (or Haggai’s for that matter).  The challenge placed before us is of much greater scope.  As I mention in the introduction of Dollars and Doctrine, people “always have time and money for what matters most to them.”  I believe the correct “diagnosis” of the condition described by Spurgeon is an individual in which the things of God are only of secondary interest.  God’s work is only attended to with the funds, focus, and energy that are “left over” after primary concerns and interests are fulfilled.  In this light, the ruin coming upon such a household is much more logical.  On the other hand, the household in which the things of God are of first and primary importance will be blessed.  We do our households a great disservice when we put our interests before the Lord’s.