This is Day 15 of a month of blogs designed to change our thinking! It is hard work to change the way we think. God says His ways are higher than our ways; His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. It’s critical to admit to ourselves that we need to change. My encouragement today is that we all prepare ourselves to change! One of the best ways to challenge our current status is to challenge us to learn to BECOME WEALTHY so we can be BIGGER GIVERS!
Luke 6:38 (New Living Translation)
38 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.
Let me start by saying I believe this is one of the most over-taught and poorly taught subjects in Christianity today. I believe that every follower of Christ should have a strong desire to be a BIGGER GIVER and should therefore have a strong desire to BE WEALTHY. One of the prerequisites for being a BIGGER GIVER is to first be a good steward. Good stewards realize that they have an obligation to multiply what they have. Their giving is done without taking from the resources they need to multiply their current supply. What I’m saying is that if we want to become BIG GIVERS then we must become wise stewards and multiply what we have. While it is true that you cannot out-give God, rest assured, we never become wealthy by foolishly giving away (even to the church) that which we need to prosper. We become wealthy by being good stewards. Our giving should be done in obedience to the Word and under the direction of the Holy Spirit. The Word makes it clear that we should willingly give of our abundance. However, we are not told to give irresponsibly. If and when the Holy Spirit commands us to give more than is responsible in our current situation, we must obey – but only then. In ever other instance we should give as directed in the Word of God but retain our “seed” resources so we can invest and multiply our seed.
Matthew 25:29 (New Living Translation)
29 To those who use well what they are given, even more will be given, and they will have an abundance. But from those who do nothing, even what little they have will be taken away.
True happiness and true fulfillment come when we give of our lives in some way to others. And it is true, God promises to multiply back to us what we give. When we step out in faith, we open a door for God’s hand of blessing to move on our behalf. It is a simple principle and it works! But hear me. While being good stewards requires that we be givers, we are never told we will become wealthy by giving. We are told we become wealthy when we are faithful with what we have.
God has a specific plan for every one of our lives. And that plan involves reaching out and touching other people with the good news of Jesus and His Kingdom. One of the things that restrict us most in this work is a lack of resources to facilitate the mission. I believe we are deficient in the church today because we have spent too much time training people to be givers and too little time training them to be good stewards. My challenge today is that we all learn to BE WEALTHY so we can become BIGGER GIVERS.
Prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, in Jesus name, thank You for the precious opportunity to expand Your Kingdom on earth. I repent of my laziness in thinking You would simply bless my giving and make me richer. Instead, I ask You to help me learn to be a better steward of all You have given me because my desire is to be a BIGGER GIVER. Thank You for Your goodness. Thank You for Your forgiveness and Your grace.
