When Joseph became a ruler in Egypt, he saw hard times on the horizon. So he 'stored up huge quantities of grain... The seven years of abundance in Egypt came to an end, and the seven years of famine began, just as Joseph had said. There was famine in all other lands, but in the whole land of Egypt there was food.' (Genesis 41:49-54 NIV) Joseph had been warned of a coming famine, so he acted responsibly in the years leading up to it.

The hard truth is that many of us are not so responsible. Take money, for instance. We probably don't need half of the small things we buy but we buy them anyway. We've heard somewhere that we're supposed to give ten per cent of our money to God but, hey, we excuse ourselves by thinking that's just for the people who've got the big bucks... and, anyway, if you gave ten per cent you'd have nothing to buy your small things with, right?

Jesus isn't necessarily looking for set figures or budget breakdowns. He's more concerned about your attitude. He commends a widow for giving a few cents to the church offering because he knows her attitude is right. He challenges the Pharisees for giving buckets of dollars because He knows their hearts are wrong. Consider your attitude to money. It is meant to be a blessing to you and to others. God doesn't want you to hoard the blessing for yourself but to share it responsibly with others, just as Joseph did.