Giving.
We are told to do it: “Sell your possessions and give to the poor.” (Luke 12:33a NASB).
We are told that if we don’t do it, the love of God isn’t in us: “But whoever has worldly goods and sees his brother or sister in need, and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God remain in him?” (1 John 3:17 NASB).
We are told that we are blessed when we give: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35 NASB).
We are even told that if we don’t give, we won’t receive: “Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Cor. 9:6 NASB)
I don’t know about you, but although it is nice to receive something in return for our giving, this doesn’t seem like the right motivation for me. And the rebel in me would give begrudgingly if my only reason for giving was because God commands it. And if this is my reason, then the love of God surely isn’t in me, is it? Shouldn’t I give because I want to? Because I love God and want to follow His rules?
Yes, there are many Bible-given reasons to give, but I ran across one the other day that really hit me between the eyes. The particular reference is from Deuteronomy 26; but I feel the entire Bible is enlaced with the same idea: “…you take possession of it and live in it, that you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that the Lord your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where the Lord your God chooses to establish His name. And you shall go to the priest who is in office at that time and say to him, ‘I declare today to the Lord my God that I have entered the land which the Lord swore to our fathers to give us….My father was a wandering Aramean, and he went down to Egypt and resided there, few in number; but there he became a great, mighty, and populous nation. And the Egyptians treated us badly and oppressed us, and imposed hard labor on us. Then we cried out to the Lord, the God of our fathers, and the Lord heard our voice and saw our wretched condition, our trouble, and our oppression; and the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand, an outstretched arm, and with great terror, and with signs and wonders; and He has brought us to this place, and has given us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey. And now behold, I have brought the first of the produce of the ground which You, Lord have given me.’” (Deuteronomy 26:2-20a NASB)
I don’t know about you, but I am not in the habit of thanking God for my blessings each time I give something back to Him! No, I’m more likely to be thinking about how I’m obeying God, how He will now bless me! But what if I were to thank God for each blessing every time I give to the Lord? I know that not only would I be a lot more thankful, not only would I review God’s blessings a lot more often in my mind, but my giving would take on new purpose! I’m suddenly not giving to receive! I’m giving because I have already received!
And as such, my gift back to God becomes a way for me to review and remember God’s blessings in my life!
Counting one’s blessings is such a beneficial thing to do. Praising God will lift depression. It will open doors that are otherwise closed. It will make Him happy. The problem is, in the moment, I can never think of anything to be thankful for! If I were to review and remember God’s blessings on a regular basis every time I give, that would go a long ways towards making those same blessings an active part of my memory, and then in the moments when I should try to praise God, I would be able to remember something to praise Him about!
And, it would also stop me from giving so that I can receive, and instead, it would turn my focus onto God’s love for me and how much I want to do to repay Him. Hey! It would likely even make me more generous!
Would you like to try a Biblical formula for remembering God’s blessings? Give thanks to God for your blessings when you give back to Him!
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart
Author, Moderator, Acting Director, Answers2Prayer Ministries
