That precious time of year when the practice of giving comes front and center is right around the corner. I don’t know about you, but I have friends that begin shopping for Christmas gifts at the start of the new year. I might not be as organized as they are, but it is always a goal. Quite a few people complain about the commercialization of the holiday, but we shouldn’t waste our time talking or thinking about the negative. Whether it’s commercially motivated or authentically reverent, the truth is that the thought of Christ in any regard should prompt us to overwhelming gratitude, and it should inspire us to want to give and be a blessing to others.
Whatever we’re seeking, whether it is good health, spiritual growth, meeting the right marital partner, greater prosperity, job promotion, or other opportunities; the acquisition of any of these is tied to your giving. I’ve heard it all. Some have said that we live in an administration where tithing is no longer required. Others have preached that we are covered under grace, and therefore are somehow not held accountable for our lack of giving. Depending on the religion and leader, opinions and teaching differs, but the Word of God isn’t open to personal interpretation. God backs His Word where it is believed and practiced. So, we can know the truth simply by continuing to do as we have always done, and then examine if the increase God has promised is manifested.
We will not witness different results from habit patterns that are not broken. It is because of our gratitude for God’s grace that we should do more and not less. We should endeavor to increase our standard of Godliness, not decrease it. Heavenly Father doesn’t want us in a mind-and-heart-set of condemnation. We shouldn’t walk around feeling poorly about ourselves because we haven’t given in the past. God’s desire is that we are educated in His Word so that we can be corrected, and then excel in faith.
Romans 8:37 declares that we are more than conquerors through our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. The belief that you are powerless to change your life for the better, and that you will never triumph over lack and problems is the definition of hopelessness. It is the antithesis of our reality as sons and daughters of God, and joint heirs with Christ. It is not our destiny to be downtrodden and without all we need to fight for our lives and win.
The victory for each of us has been won by the Lord Jesus Christ, but you and I have the privilege and responsibility to stand in it through our free-will choice to trust him and not waver. Our neglect, refusal, or misunderstanding of the law of giving and how it impacts our spiritual ability to walk with the authority of Christ has caused us to live beneath our privilege. We continue to look to God for answers when the solution to many of our conditions is to wrap ourselves completely and utterly in the ministry that Christ has committed to our hands.
2Corinthians 9:8 (NLT) says, “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.” We worship a God that deals in the exceedingly abundant. He goes above and beyond what we ask or think, but our faith in Him is required. Our faith in Him is non-negotiable. We can’t serve two masters at the same time. In other words, we can’t hold on to our pocketbooks for dear life, and expect to squeeze faith out of our hearts; it won’t work. We hold on to those dollars as if our next breath depended on them. We will get our hair done, nails done, spend our last penny on the electric bill, but hold back on the Kingdom. There’s no faith in that.
Faith comes by hearing, digesting, living the Word of God. We cannot extract faith from something that isn’t true. So if we’re believing something that isn’t Word-based, the end result will not be the production of fruit, but more of the same. God generously provides so that we can operate out of the overflow. Digesting this piece of knowledge requires us to have a deeply rooted intention and conviction to share with others out of the plenty God has provided.
Many years ago, as a pre-teen I was introduced to a close family member that I had never met. When the news of his coming was first announced, my cousins and I were very excited. He was highly regarded, and believed to be wealthy by those who often spoke of him admirably. In the back of my mind, I wondered why he hadn’t visited us before. How was it that he could stay away all those years from the people I knew to be so warm and openhearted? I put my reservations on hold, and we all allowed ourselves to imagine that he would come bearing gifts and delight. There were four of us girls anxiously waiting to see him, and when he arrived, he came with lukewarm reception and only two small red umbrellas as gifts.
His heart had not been plentiful, and his gifts were the perfect match. This should not be said of us. Our hearts should be filled with gratitude and generosity. Some of us have had the sad occasion to observe the life of a Christian who doesn’t have this kind of heart; they haven’t made a habit pattern of giving. We observe not from the perspective of assessing blame or judgement, but from one of learning the impact of a life lived well through Christ and one lived poorly, where the Word has not taken root, and God’s blessings are forfeited.
As believers and followers of Christ, we cannot measure ourselves or compare our standards to the wealthy and famous of the world. Many of them sell their souls to please the masses and receive satan’s payment for doing so. We are not under the evil one’s economy of darkness and sin. We are under the law of giving that Jesus Christ spoke in Luke 6:38(NLT) which says, “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”
God has set the standard by which we navigate through life, and it has no equal. It isn’t only tithing, giving, and sharing with others. We also have an obligation to make a spiritual investment through our prayers and intercession. This is how we can help break strongholds, and bust up evil principalities at work. To carry forth the mission we’ve been called to, it is paramount we realize that if our hearts are such that we only give when it is convenient, we will not fulfill our obligation to the faith. But if our hearts are wide open to Heavenly Father, our giving will match it, and we will receive from Him in an exceedingly abundant way.■
Scripture taken from the New King James Version. Copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.
“Plenty Leftover to Share” written by Reverend Fran Mack, edited by Kim Times for Sundie Morning Sistas ©2017. All rights reserved. All done to the glory of God through Jesus Christ, our Lord! SMS is dedicated to inspiring and encouraging Christian Women through the Word of God.
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