Giving

GIVING

2 Corinthians 9:6 But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.

7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

How would you rate your giving? I fear many of us think we give more than we actually do, You might say “I give my tithes to the church every week”, but that is not really giving, because tithes are expected you don’t give until you go over the tithe. How do you give sparingly or bountifully? The end results are determined by the way you “sow” or give. How do you give, gladly or grudgingly? The verses above tell us that God loves a cheerful giver. What is a cheerful giver? The Greek word for cheerful means to give willingly, gladly, merrily or hilariously. What should we give to? There are many worth while things to give our time and resources to. I think we should make sure the needs of your church come first on the list. Secondly there are many local needs that need to be met. We need not be like the scripture that tell of sending the needy away with a pat on the head.

James 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,

16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?

There are missionaries that need help funding their endeavors, other ministries that reach out here and abroad also need help. We know all these need our help, our giving. While we can’t give to everything, we must let the Lord lead us on which to support with our “cheerful giving”. The church is a given, the others need to be God directed.

While there are many worth while needs not all are to be given to, I believe. If they are promoting self and monies taken to build their self worth and buy extra lear jets and the such I don’t think we would be good stewards giving to this type of person or organization. Also I have a friend in law enforcement who warns against giving to these that are at exit ramps and shopping centers saying they are veterans, disabled or a long list of other things. Some have signs that they will work for food, but they aren’t willing to work at what you need them to do. He tells of being in a store in plain clothes when one of the sign holders comes in and tries to buy alcohol and the clerk refused due to no ID, the guy gets all bent out of shape and says” do you know how long I had to stand out there to get this money”. While all may not be like this enough are that it hurts the really needy. If you do get taken they will answer for it, if you give with a glad heart. Scripture gives us guidance on this.

Matthew 10:16 Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.

Be a cheerful giver especially this time of year.

Have a great day!