Giving
How are your finances? Are you burdened or concerned about going too far in debt? Are you anxious about saving up for retirement — have you started that process too late? How much are you going to need for retirement? What will prices be like when you reach retirement? How much are you going to need to send your kids to college? How would you pay for a serious and uninsured medical condition in your family?
Few situations age women and create stress in them (I can’t speak for men, it doesn’t seem to bother them the same way) than uncertainty in finances. You can look in the eyes of single mothers and see anxiety and the burden of responsibility written on their faces.
Do you believe what the Bible says about giving? Do you know what the Bible says about giving? Really? Let me remind you of some verses:
Prov 3:28 Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,” when you have it with you.
Prov 19:17 One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed.
Prov 22:9 He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor.
Prov 28:27 He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses.
How about Jesus’ words?
Matt 5:42 “Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you.”
Matt 6:31-34 “Do not worry then, saying ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself.”
Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
Do you believe that if you give what you have to meet the needs of others that God will make sure you are provided for? How about if your job just ended? You’ve saved up a rainy day account that covers six months of expenses. But you have a friend who has been out of a job for seven months and can’t find another. He’s in a desperate financial situation. Do you share some of your rainy day account with him? Or do you think, “What if I can’t find another job for six months — then I’ll need this money.”
Jesus Christ made very radical statements about giving. He praised the widow who gave all that she had in the temple offering. He didn’t say she was generous but her decision was ill advised. He didn’t give it back to her and say, no you should keep this for yourself — let others who are more financially established do the giving. He said, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.” He commended her giving, even though it left her with nothing.
He not only commended giving when in need, He said not to concern ourselves about the future. That if we focus on His kingdom and His righteousness, He’ll make sure all our needs are provided. And He DOESN’T say that if we put His kingdom and His righteousness first, then we’ll be enabled to take care of our own needs as well. He says, “All these things will be added to you.” He says we don’t have to worry about how they’ll be provided — we can just rest assured they will be provided. Did He mean that?
God makes claims throughout His word that He owns everything — and that He has control over the circumstances of our lives. When we give even when we’re in need, it demonstrates trust in His words — His promises to take care of us. Brothers and sisters, that’s our challenge — when you step out in faith and faith alone — when it looks like you could be making a big mistake, but you place your trust in the truth of Scriptures and the trustworthiness of our God.
I personally believe I’ve been called to be generous in all situations, even when tipping or with people in the parking lot looking for handouts. I also believe the best way out of a financial difficulty is to lay your situation in the hands of God, and obey how He leads you in giving what you do have. It’s just the opposite of what “makes sense” in our eyes and in the eyes of the world. Paul talked about this in 2 Corinthians: “For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave of their own accord, begging us with much urging for the favor of participation in the support of the saints, and this, not as we had expected, but they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God.”
Either we can look out for our own needs, and have that worry every day of our lives: “What if we lose our jobs, what if we can’t find another job, what if we lose the house, what if gas prices keep going up, what if food prices keep going up, what if …, what if …” Or we can leave it in God’s hands. Today, Lord, I’m going to trust You to provide for me, and I’m going to use the resources I’ve been entrusted with as You direct. Doubt will say, “But what if we become like our friend who spent all of his rainy day account and hasn’t found a job in seven months?” I don’t know — I don’t know his situation, and I can’t answer that question. But I can obey the Scriptures, and see what God does in my life.
I’m sure this will be a lifelong struggle for me. I want to believe He’s faithful, and I REALLY want to eliminate doubt from my mind and heart. Unfortunately, there’s no way to eliminate doubt without being tested. God continually tests my heart to see if I still want to be generous, even when the path looks rocky or I’m disappointed with my circumstances. In spite of my giving adventure with God having lasted seven years so far, I have to admit, He’s been faithful to His word (so far, anyway). Why not take Him up on His invitation to test Him in this (Malachi 3:10).