If God told you to give something away and you said, “God, I could give anything else away, but not that,” then you don’t own that thing—it owns you.

Luke 16:13 says, “No one can serve two masters . . . You cannot serve both God and money” (NIV).

You’ve got to decide whom or what you’re going to serve—and your giving will reflect your decision. If God is Lord of your life, then he should be Lord of your wallet too.

There once was a wealthy man who gave to Christian causes far above his tithe. But it hadn’t always been that way for him. Years ago, he had met with a financial planner. After they had talked for a while, the financial planner took a sheet of paper and drew a box. Outside of the box, he drew two things: a dollar sign representing money and a cross representing Christ.

He said, “I hear two things vying for your attention. I can’t help you plan your life until you tell me which of these things you want in the center of that box, which represents your life.”

The wealthy man thought about it for a moment and then said, “I want Christ at the center of my life.” That was a turning point—that was when he started investing in eternity.

If someone drew a box representing your life and asked what was in the center of it, what would you say? Would you place a cross or a dollar sign inside the box? Would your bank statement support your answer? You can say that something holds first place in your life, but the way you spend your time and money reveals the truth.

When it comes to your finances, you have to make two key decisions: First, who will be your master? Second, where you will put your money—in eternity or in the here and now?

Jesus said, “Store up riches for yourselves in heaven, where moths and rust cannot destroy, and robbers cannot break in and steal. For your heart will always be where your riches are” (Matthew 6:20-21 GNT).

God doesn’t need your money. He wants what it represents: your heart. You can show God that he has your whole heart by surrendering control of your money to him. Commit today to giving what he tells you to give in service to him and others.