With the arrival of the internet and all the social media that followed, we’ve become inundated with pleas for financial support and donations from friends, family; not to mention, a host of other charitable / non-profit organizations. It can become tiresome as we all have our own daily life struggles and no one is coming to our aid.

As Christians, the Word of God reminds us of our commission to help those in need. It’s what Jesus did while living on earth and He did it without complaint and big sighs.

Giving should be God’s grace in action through Jesus Christ and a manifestation of His character.  It should be done in prayerful obedience in order to determine how, what, when, how much and to whom God desires to give through us. Our giving is not always monetary. It could be in a donation of time, meal preparation or a designated ‘Uber’ driver.

What God Says About Giving

• It’s not an afterthought. It’s a priority. We are given resources, so we can give resources.
  Proverbs 3:9 says,“Honor the Lord with your possessions and with the first produce of your entire harvest.” 
• Sacrificial giving always supersedes amount given. God considers us conduits through which His generosity and compassion flows. Consider the widow woman who gave her last two coins in Luke 21: 1-4,
  “As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. ² He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ³ “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. ⁴ All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” 
• Giving should be done with a cheerful heart. In 2 Corinthians 9:7, Paul says,
  “Each person should do as he has decided in his heart – not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.”

• Giving is an outreach ministry. Let me define the work ‘outreach’. ..

Surpass, go beyond, exceed, overdo, excel…

Isn’t that exactly what God did for us when He sent Jesus to die on the cross? God’s redemption did all those things and more and yet we complain because an act of giving back might inconvenience us, interfere with our lifestyle or require time committed to things of no eternal value.

Focus on Eternity

We serve a generous God so why would our giving be anything less? It’s easy to give out of surplus; it’s much different when you give out of lack. It could be lack of time, finances or just plain selfishness.

“It’s more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

When you are only giving leftovers to others in need, you will get leftover blessings or no blessing at all from God. Sound harsh? It should! God gave His only Son to die for your sins so that you might reap eternal life and all the blessings that follow as a Child of God. We should give out of thanks for what God has done for US! He didn’t gift us leftovers.

TODAY’S PRAYER:
Father God, your heart is forever bent toward loving humanity. Teach us how to love and give to others to show your divine character and desire for all mankind.

Your love conquers every circumstance; ordained from the beginning of time to exceed anything we can imagine. Make me a ‘take-out’ service of love instead of a ‘left-over’ service.

AMEN