Giving can be such a touchy subject when brought up at church. It's usually followed up by a tablespoon of guilt and a dash of shame. My hope is that in this post, you feel no guilt or shame but hope and gratitude and motivation. God has blessed you in more ways than you can count and I hope that this post is a reminder of those blessings.
I have countless stories about how God has provided for us and more stories about him providing for other people around us. His provision is literally everywhere and sometimes we don't even see it. His love for us is so immense that our humanly brains can't even comprehend it. One way he shows his love is in his provision. Provision comes in many forms: jobs, houses, cars, food, family, time, money, resources, wisdom, creativity, etc. Like in any relationship we are familiar with, when something is received, usually you like to give back. It's a natural response that stems from a feeling that swells up inside our hearts called gratitude. We give back because we want the other person to know how grateful we are for their act of kindness. If you've never experienced this feeling, I encourage to ask God to show you; without it, you're missing out on one of life's greatest gifts. For example, when you receive a birthday gift from a friend, It makes you feel special and loved and you can't help but want to return the favor for their birthday. You want them to feel important and loved too. This is the same feeling you should get from giving back to God. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says
1) Percentage
We know from the Bible that the standard tithe is 10%. Some people make a religion of 10% and stick with that their whole lives. I'm totally respectful of that lifestyle but it might not be realistic for some people. Some people are so far in debt that they don't have two pennies to rub together but what's important is where you heart is in the matter. You can give 1%, 5%, 8% if that's what your conscience and budget allows. If you literally have nothing, you can give a toilet paper roll, time, services, prayer; I can't express how important it is to give back to God. We've personally found it beneficial to give our FIRST fruits to God. It is the FIRST thing that comes out of our bank accounts when we get paid. We do this because we've seen time and again that by the end of the month, we have enough. Most times if you wait to give at the END of the month when all your bills and entertainment and emergencies are paid, that you won't have anything. You'll be stuck in a selfish circle of providing for yourself and there won't be enough left over for Jesus. Give first, faithfully expecting God to provide.
After I quit my full time teaching job, Jarrod and I made $500 total a month; we've been homeless; we've had debts; we've been in time sensitive money issues more times than I can count. And do you know what? We tithed faithfully every month and God showered us with provision. I'm so humbled by the life he's given us and the way he's surpassed all our hopes and dreams. I can't express to you the feeling I get when I look around me at the house he built us and remember all the hard times we had before it. No matter what your position in life is, please give back to God with joy and thanksgiving in your heart; the result is astounding.
2) Propositional
This is a type of giving where you let go of what you need and let God provide for himself through you. You already give a percentage and then you have more to give - God's blessed you so much that you have more than your standard giving and God uses the surplus to bless his kingdom on Earth. For example, let's say you've paid your bills, you've tithed and you have $200 surplus. You go to church and a guest speaker is preaching. God lays it on your heart to give the speaker $200 for coming and giving a word and the desire to do this for him bubbles so much inside you that you don't even think about the fact that it would be real nice in the savings account...you just give it because you know God gave it to you to give to the speaker. From experience, I know you should just go ahead and give it because if you don't, he'll find something really boring to spend it on like a flat tire...
3) Prophetic
The last type of giving is when you live according to God's needs. You're wealthy because of your lack of need - you give according that what God says he needs and you live your life knowing he'll never let you go hungry. Money shows up out of nowhere, water turns into wine, loaves of bread multiply...you lack for nothing because you trust God completely for your well being. When we had to move out of our rent house and had no where to go, a couple in our church offered a house they had open on their land. When they needed the house for a family member, God prompted people in the city to give us money, time, resources, and volunteer to build us a home. We had no skills or money to do this ourselves but God has infinite resources at his fingertips. He uses his people to usher forth his blessings on Earth and I've never experienced anything like it. It's so humbling to look around me and see all the blessings he's given us - everything we have has a story of his provision through his people. We feel so blessed and loved because of all he's given us and all we want to do is to give more. Give bigger.
Please be grateful for what you have and recognize the value in giving it away. If you have any cool stories about how God has provided for you, please write them in the comment section below. I'd love to hear YOUR story.
I have countless stories about how God has provided for us and more stories about him providing for other people around us. His provision is literally everywhere and sometimes we don't even see it. His love for us is so immense that our humanly brains can't even comprehend it. One way he shows his love is in his provision. Provision comes in many forms: jobs, houses, cars, food, family, time, money, resources, wisdom, creativity, etc. Like in any relationship we are familiar with, when something is received, usually you like to give back. It's a natural response that stems from a feeling that swells up inside our hearts called gratitude. We give back because we want the other person to know how grateful we are for their act of kindness. If you've never experienced this feeling, I encourage to ask God to show you; without it, you're missing out on one of life's greatest gifts. For example, when you receive a birthday gift from a friend, It makes you feel special and loved and you can't help but want to return the favor for their birthday. You want them to feel important and loved too. This is the same feeling you should get from giving back to God. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.When you go to church, or are part of a Christian small group, or listen to a live feed, or whatever body you choose to be part of, you receive something. You receive wisdom, love, peace, support, advice, and God's word through his called people. We see through the Bible (1 Corinthians 16 and other passages) that God wants you to sow back into his kingdom. I am most certainly not saying this because I'm a preacher's wife and daughter. I give back too where I've received; I want to sow into God's people and help increase his Kingdom on Earth. Personally, I've learned that the more I give, the more I receive...it's a constant cycle that takes me higher and higher in the giving game. Here are three ways you can give. If you never do #1, you'll never do #2 and #3. You can, however, flow throughout 1, 2, and 3 once you consistently do #1:
We know from the Bible that the standard tithe is 10%. Some people make a religion of 10% and stick with that their whole lives. I'm totally respectful of that lifestyle but it might not be realistic for some people. Some people are so far in debt that they don't have two pennies to rub together but what's important is where you heart is in the matter. You can give 1%, 5%, 8% if that's what your conscience and budget allows. If you literally have nothing, you can give a toilet paper roll, time, services, prayer; I can't express how important it is to give back to God. We've personally found it beneficial to give our FIRST fruits to God. It is the FIRST thing that comes out of our bank accounts when we get paid. We do this because we've seen time and again that by the end of the month, we have enough. Most times if you wait to give at the END of the month when all your bills and entertainment and emergencies are paid, that you won't have anything. You'll be stuck in a selfish circle of providing for yourself and there won't be enough left over for Jesus. Give first, faithfully expecting God to provide.
After I quit my full time teaching job, Jarrod and I made $500 total a month; we've been homeless; we've had debts; we've been in time sensitive money issues more times than I can count. And do you know what? We tithed faithfully every month and God showered us with provision. I'm so humbled by the life he's given us and the way he's surpassed all our hopes and dreams. I can't express to you the feeling I get when I look around me at the house he built us and remember all the hard times we had before it. No matter what your position in life is, please give back to God with joy and thanksgiving in your heart; the result is astounding.
2) Propositional
The last type of giving is when you live according to God's needs. You're wealthy because of your lack of need - you give according that what God says he needs and you live your life knowing he'll never let you go hungry. Money shows up out of nowhere, water turns into wine, loaves of bread multiply...you lack for nothing because you trust God completely for your well being. When we had to move out of our rent house and had no where to go, a couple in our church offered a house they had open on their land. When they needed the house for a family member, God prompted people in the city to give us money, time, resources, and volunteer to build us a home. We had no skills or money to do this ourselves but God has infinite resources at his fingertips. He uses his people to usher forth his blessings on Earth and I've never experienced anything like it. It's so humbling to look around me and see all the blessings he's given us - everything we have has a story of his provision through his people. We feel so blessed and loved because of all he's given us and all we want to do is to give more. Give bigger.
Please be grateful for what you have and recognize the value in giving it away. If you have any cool stories about how God has provided for you, please write them in the comment section below. I'd love to hear YOUR story.
Thank you for sharing. I have found that to give is more blessed than to receive. I haven't thought about giving in the 3 categories you wrote about, but they make sense. I will be praying about how God wants me to give more liberally. Happy Thanksgiving to you and your awesome clan.
ReplyDeleteI totally agree with you. I get way more satisfaction out of giving than I do of receiving. It's a nice end the be on.
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