They're Giving None Away

One of my favorite prayer resources is the Church of Scotland's Pray Now site.
Here is their devotion for February 17.


Money

Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance; but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’ -- Mark 12:43–4

Prayer

We got our money’s worth
that night in a garden, Lord,
when silver changed hands as quickly
as a kiss condemned.
For you saved us from squandering our souls.

We got our money’s worth
that day on a hillside
when we gambled with your innocence
and landed a bargain.
For you reclaimed our torn and shabby lives.

We got our money’s worth
that morning we cursed our empty nets
and the hardship they hauled home
while you bought our breakfast and our freedom.
For you rescued us from a world of no rewards.

You invest so much in us, Lord,
often with little return.
Our money still betrays
the weak and condemned.
Our economy still hinders
the prospects of the poor.
Our need to have
is a shameful give-away.
And the table of the rich still groans
as loudly as the stomachs of the destitute.

Real treasure, you tell us,
grows not in saving, but in sharing,
not in hoarding, but in hand-outs,
not in storing, but in restoring,
not in the stockpile, but in the single sacrifice
made priceless through love.

Thank you, Lord, not for what we have, but what we may give.
Not for what we have earned, but what we owe.
Not for what we might gain, but for what we have to lose.
Thank you, Lord, for what it is worth.


Pink Floyd - Money (from Live 8)