Tag: Giving

 ⁹ Generous people will be blessed,
because they share their food with the poor. – Proverbs 22:9

Last Post, I posed this question: “Will Your Giving Count?” and The last of the suggested readings was 2 Samuel 24:24 where David has been sent to build an altar on someone else’s property. Araunah, the owner, offers to give David the property and the Oxen to make the sacrifice, but he refuses and insists on paying for it. He says, “I will not offer burnt offerings to the LORD my God that cost me nothing.”

I hope that jarred you into thinking about your giving.

We are entering the season where we will have opportunities through raffles, formal dinners, parties, payroll deduction and more from well-meaning people to try and fulfill a lot of worthy needs. My thought is this: Does enjoying a $100 formal dinner with wine and waiters equal handing $5 to the next homeless person you see? Is your payroll deduction to United Way equal to keeping the heat on for a family that you know has fallen on hard times?

I can’t give you those answers as it ultimately depends on what is in your heart. What I will do is point out some of God’s guidance on how our giving should be:

• We should give Liberally – Luke 6:38
• Our giving should be Sacrificial – Hebrews 13:16
• Giving should be on purpose and cheerful – 2 Corinthians 9:7
• Give in secret – Matthew 6:3-4

God loves a cheerful giver and rewards those who are. Take a look at 2 Corinthians 2:6-13

 ²⁵ Lazy people’s desire for sleep will kill them,
because they refuse to work.
²⁶ All day long they wish for more,
but good people give without holding back. – Proverbs 21:25-26 NCV

One of Scripture’s recurring themes is a strong work ethic and liberal giving.

Paul gave us the gold standard for the correct attitude: There will be no U-Haul on our hearse (1 Timothy 6:7) and laboring because “it is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:34-35).

²⁷ The Lord hates sacrifices brought by evil people,
particularly when they offer them for the wrong reasons. – Proverbs 21:27 NCV

Giving to the Lord is a very specific and purposeful act and God wants us to give cheerfully (2 Corinthians 9:7). The Proverb writer tells us God hated those that offered their sacrifices with a wrong heart. Take a look at the New Testament version of God’s feelings: Acts 5:1-9. Was the amount of money they gave or the way they gave it wrong?