Do you keep a piggy bank? Have you ever earned money by doing chores around the house? Or maybe the tooth fairy left some money under your pillow? Have you ever given any of your money away to someone who needed it?
One time when Jesus entered a place called Jericho, there was a man there named Zacchaeus. Zacchaeus was very rich, but he had not earned his money fairly. He cheated and lied and stole other people’s money. But somehow he had heard about Jesus, and so when Jesus entered the city, Zacchaeus climbed a tree so that he could see him through the crowds. When Jesus was passing by, he looked up at Zacchaeus and said, “Zacchaeus, come down. I must stay in your home today.” And many people in the crowds gasped, saying, “Zacchaeus is a sinner and a bad person. He does not deserve to host Jesus.” But Zacchaeus was changed in that moment, for he told Jesus and the crowds, “I will give half of my possessions to the poor and I will pay back four times as much money to those I owe.” Zacchaeus had been a very selfish and greedy man, but when he met Jesus, he learned a new and better way to live—to share generously with others.
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