I had an interesting encounter this week. After last Saturday’s column which contained the line from Matthew 6:24 “ … You cannot serve both God and money” (NIV) a comment said: “I actually enjoy the money God gave me.” (the comment was later deleted, so I hope I recalled it correctly). I usually don’t even read the comments, but this week I did.

I really liked that comment, as it tributes God for what we receive, understanding money as a gift from God.

It appealed to me, as I also know people who think that what they own is just owed to their own effort and work, and to a certain degree it may even be.

Most of us have to work for a living, and some work may be especially challenging and may deserve higher wages.

Of course, some just inherited their wealth, or at least they had a lot of support to start off with. But some really worked hard to achieve a certain level of professionalism, of comfort, and I know some had to overcome a lot of obstacles to get there.

Especially in Bermuda, where professionals from all over the world come together and work for our local and international companies, there are some who only made it because of determination and hard work.

I have a lot of appreciation for that. Still, there is more than just intelligence, determination, effort, skill or talent that decides whether we may become successful or rich of at least content with what we get.

Circumstances can help or hinder, and thus in many cases can make the best of effort and talent to nothing.

Think of it, so many women in this world can never work and earn to their full potential because they just live in circumstances that don’t support them.

Some cultures and religions are very patriarchal and even forbid women to get a basic education. There are countries that because of poverty cannot support their young talents because they lack the education system to provide higher education.

There must be millions of people out there who could have the potential to become very successful, and may have had the ability to invent great things, but in the countries or circumstances they grew up in, or with the parents they had, the friends who influenced them, they never got a chance.

So yes, I believe it is God who gives us money, riches, success. In Christianity we call that God’s blessings. So that comment made me think what a blessing actually is.

In our everyday language, we might say “bless you!” after someone sneezed. Meaning, we want to bestow health on that person.

That is more than just a good wish. A blessing has its own effect. Actually we bless each other many times a day, when we greet each other of say “good bye”.

Those are moments of blessing, because when we say that we want the other one to have a good morning or afternoon, I want them to travel safely and come back well. I love Irish travel blessings. I like that, I like to give a blessing, and I like to receive a blessing.

But blessing can be much more. When God chose Abram (later called Abraham) in Genesis 12, he said in verses 2 and 3: “I will make you into a great nation, and I will bless you; I will make your name great, and you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and whoever curses you I will curse; and all peoples on Earth will be blessed through you.” (NIV, emphasis by me)

The last sentence indicates that the blessing God gives is not just meant for us. Blessings can grow when God’s children share it.

I know some people from faraway countries who regularly send a big portion of their paycheque to their family (I don’t just mean spouse and children, but brothers, sisters, parents, uncles and aunts) far away. They share the blessing the opportunity of working here gave them.

I also have to think of people who use their talent not just to become rich, but to make life better for others, to make a difference, whether as medical professionals, inventors, engineers, teachers, or in so many other areas.

Just lately I met a beautiful professional couple, who make very good money, who told me how they already support their parents with their gained wealth and how they plan to start an orphanage one day in their home country.

I told them about Bermudian Philip Rego who started a charity here (Feed my Lambs) and through that charity founded an orphanage in Haiti several years ago.

While the civil war in Haiti destroyed much of his efforts in the last two years, for more than a decade the orphanage was home to dozens of children. What would have happened to those children without this support?

Then he was able to add a school to the complex for more than 700 students who otherwise would not have had the change to learn. Think about that!

Together with the help of generous Bermudians they installed a water treatment system and a photovoltaic system there to provide clean drinking water and electricity for the school, the orphanage and the neighbourhood around them.

They had a basic health station with a small pharmacy as well. This was in the out back of Haiti, not in the capital, in a part of the country that otherwise had hardly anything. Some of their students were even able to go to college in the neighbouring Dominican Republic, financed by the charity. That is a true blessing. Wow!

So yes, it is God who gives us education, success, money, health, opportunity, support and whatever else we may consider his blessing. All of that is given by God. We can turn it into an even bigger blessing when we begin to trust His promise and share what He has provided.

I guess that is the difference between serving God and serving money. We can serve God and enjoy what He has given us by being generous ourselves.

How do we view the blessings we receive? Do we view them as given by God as an opportunity to work with it for the good of others, or are we afraid and fearful, holding onto every penny as we cannot trust God (or anybody else)?

It is the beauty of the Christian faith that it is all about trust. God invites us to trust his promises, to trust his grace and blessings, his forgiveness and grace.

When sociologists and psychologists research about happiness they often come to the conclusion that it is not receiving, but being able to give that makes us happy and satisfied.

There are very few happy misers out there (remember AChristmas Carol by Charles Dickens?). On the other hand, people who volunteer their time, who give for charity, who help a neighbour or stranger often report that this made them deeply happy.

So yes, God may have given us money and riches, maybe a talent or certain skills, and now it is up to us what we make out of this gift.

• Karsten Decker was the pastor of Peace Lutheran Church in Bermuda from 2010 to 2017, and after returning from Germany is now the temporary pulpit supply at Centenary United Methodist Church in Smith’s