Getting the Most Out of Giving

A pastor once preached, “This church is like a baby, and every baby has to learn to crawl!” Upon hearing this, the congregation became excited. They replied, “Amen! Preach it - let her crawl!” The preacher continued, “But nobody stays a baby forever. After a while, this church is going to walk. It will stand and walk!” The congregation became even more excited and exclaimed, “Amen! Preach it - let her walk!” The preacher went on, “After a while, this church is not just going to stand and walk - it is going to run!” “Praise God!” the congregation chorused, “Amen, Father! Go ahead, let her run!” Then the preacher said, “In order for this church to run, it needs you to give!” And the congregation shouted, “Let her crawl!”

The scandals that rocked the religious world in the last couple of decades have made a lot of people skeptical about supporting religious or Christian leaders. Thus, “giving” becomes a sensitive subject in many churches, especially those in our country. But the Word shows us that God has a lot of say about this topic. According to Rick Warren, author of The Purpose-Driven Life, while the words “believe” and “believer” and “believing” are used in the Bible 275 times, and the words “pray”, “prayer” and “praying” are used 371 times, and the word “love”, “loves”, “lover” and “loving”, 714 times, the words “give” and “giving” are used 2,162 times!

It is God’s will for us to give and to grow in our giving. 2 Corinthians 8:7 says, “Just as you excel in everything else, in faith, speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness, and in your love for us, see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” God wants us to give because giving is the very essence of Christianity. Didn’t God so love the world that He gave His Only Begotten Son? (John 3:16) And aren’t we taught that it’s better to give than to receive? In giving to God, we are enriched rather than impoverished – because we can never out give God.

In 2 Corinthians 8:1-5, Paul used the churches in Macedonia to show Corinthians how people are enriched rather than impoverished when they give to the Lord.

The Gift of Grace – Verse 1 tells us that the Macedonians gave liberally, not out of surplus, but out of their great affliction and deep poverty. They are able to do this because they had experienced the grace of God. This grace is the very thing that motivates them to give despite their difficult circumstances. They gave out of an experience of God’s grace. It all began with God. 1 John 4:19 says, “We love because God first loved us.” A. W. Tozer also phrased it beautifully when he said, “God is always previous.”

The Gift of Love – In verse 3, Paul testified to how the Macedonians begged to give, and to give beyond their ability. They were giving not out of guilt, nor responsibility, nor a desire to boost their ego, but out of their love for God and for Paul. “…They first gave themselves to the Lord, then to us [Paul]…”

God is not after what we give but why we give. He is not so concerned with the gift than the giver, particularly the giver’s heart. Paul emphasized this in 1 Corinthians 13:3 when he said, “And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.”

In giving, we are invited not just to give something , but to give ourselves to God in a loving relationship with Him. Rick Warren described giving as a response to what God has done for us in the past, what He is doing for us in the present, and what He will do for us in the future.

The Gift of Faith – The Macedonians gave as an exercise of their faith in a sufficient God. Verse 2 tells us, “Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.”

Giving is an opportunity to exercise our faith in the Lord. And what is faith? Faith is not acting on what we already know is possible, it is not doing what we know can be done. It is only faith when it involves something that could not be accomplished unless God was the one doing it.

Our giving, or the lack of it, is directly tied to the level of faith in God to live up to His promises. The Bible tells us, “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”(2 Corinthians 9:6)

God wills for us to give not because He wants us to end up poor. On the contrary, He wants us to experience a richly blessed life. He invites us to “…seek first His Kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto us.” (Matthew 6:33) Remember David and how he couldn’t sleep with the thought of the Ark of the Covenant housed in a tent? God honored David’s heart by giving him the promise of posterity – and we know just how faithful God was in fulfilling this promise. God wills the same for us.

It is said that how we treat the things of God reflect our heart for Him. A good question to ask: are we working hard for our own houses while His house lay in ruins? God wants us to experience the blessings of giving. Because, really, we cannot out give God. So go on, give - give by the grace of God, give out of love for God and give in faith that God shall take care of all our needs.

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