“A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is good; and an evil man out of the evil treasure of his heart bringeth forth that which is evil: for of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaketh.” (Luke 6:45)

Verse four of the precious hymn “Take My Life and Let It Be” speaks of the desire to consecrate one’s personal possessions and abilities to God, to be used by Him as He chooses.

Take my silver and my gold,
Not a mite would I withhold.
Take my intellect and use
Every pow’r as Thou shalt choose.

Regarding our financial resources, our prayer should be, “Take them, Lord, and use them as you see fit to meet the needs of others and to spread the gospel.” Without His blessing, we can never have enough; but with His blessing, we will never lack. Loving “money is the root of all evil” (1 Timothy 6:10). Instead, we should “be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5).

Our intellect and every talent we have should also be consecrated to God. “Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind; and thy neighbour as thyself” (Luke 10:27). Think what could be accomplished if Christians applied their entire minds and bodies to the job.

Consider the words of David to his son: “My son, know thou the God of thy father, and serve him with a perfect heart and with a willing mind: for the LORD searcheth all hearts, and understandeth all the imaginations of the thoughts: if thou seek him, he will be found of thee; but if thou forsake him, he will cast thee off for ever” (1 Chronicles 28:9). JDM