Giving is an act of praise

Deuteronomy 26: ⁸ So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders. ⁹ He brought us to this place and gave us this land, a land flowing with milk and honey; ¹⁰ and now I bring the firstfruits of the soil that you, Lord, have given me.” Place the basket before the Lord your God and bow down before him. 

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Spring was finally here! I wasn’t excited about the trees blooming or a warm breeze gently blowing on my face. It was bonus season!  This particular year I was going to take the vacation of a lifetime. I mean it was going to be first class all the way around! I think I watched my account daily to make sure I could pull the trigger on purchasing multiple tickets to some of the finest places!

• When I have plenty I sometimes forget to give first and plan later.
• When I have plenty I sometimes think it’s all mine.
• When I have plenty I sometimes believe I deserve a break from all of “my” hard work.

It’s amazing how easy it is to think my bank account is “mine.” When it has a lot, I start thinking about some great exotic places I haven’t been and some nice toys I can now afford. I then have more conversations about fine dining, entertainment, better schools and gadgets. But what does GOD want?

• GOD wants me to remember where my wealth comes from so I won’t become arrogant.
• GOD wants me to remember HE is in control of my bank account even when it is low.
• GOD wants me to remember to give when I have plenty and give when I little in order to break the grip of fear money can place me in.

GOD wants me to celebrate the fact that HE is the provider, not me!  HE wants laughter and smiles and celebration rather than giving out of obligation with a staunch, somber, teary eyed face. By taking the firstfruits off of what I make, I am showing GOD that I trust HIM to do what is necessary to provide for me. 

HE can give me plenty and HE can take riches away, but that shouldn’t change my celebration of HIS provision!

• Do you feel you can’t give right now because you don’t have much?
• Do you feel you can’t give right now because you have too much?
• Are you saving up for more stuff?
• Can you give and praise GOD about your giving?
• Won’t you put your trust in GOD instead of your bank account?

Plan for generosity

Deuteronomy 14: ²⁸ At the end of every three years, bring all the tithes of that year’s produce and store it in your towns, ²⁹ so that the Levites (who have no allotment or inheritance of their own) and the foreigners, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns may come and eat and be satisfied, and so that the Lord your God may bless you in all the work of your hands.

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Anticipation and exhilaration flowed through my veins as I waited on a statement from my investments. I was saving up for a cruise and I wanted to make sure I had enough money to go. I planned this trip for months. I booked the plane and excursions. Yes this was a well-deserved trip!

• When I want something I plan for it.
• When I desire something I save up for it.
• When I yearn for something I get excited over it and anticipate its arrival.

Giving is quite the opposite of my vacation planning.  Sometimes I grumble over giving and other times I look up and whatever money is left I give. I say to myself, I don’t have enough to give right now, yet I run out and buy new stuff because I “need” more stuff.

• GOD wants me to plan for giving.
• GOD says “prepare your tithes.”
• GOD says “pay attention to those in need.”

When I know I am going to give then I automatically deduct the amount I have in my hand by what I have already planned. I no longer say to myself I have $1000 rather the LORD has $100 and I have $900. But wait, what if my income doesn’t cover my bills. Well, that’s a longer discussion but I know GOD loves when I am cheerful in my giving.

Giving frees me from wanting more and more for myself because the focus is on others. Through GOD’s generosity, I can be generous.

• Are you planning to give?
• Are you planning to give in big way or have you squeezed GOD’s generosity into your tiny world?
• Has GOD given you a vision for generosity?

Do I really “have” to give?

2 Corinthians 9: ⁶ Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. ^7 8 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.

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One dollar. What can anyone buy for a dollar? Yet this was my “offering” to my local church on a weekly basis. It’s not the dollar that’s the problem, it’s how much I earned that was the issue.  I was making a lot more than that dollar but my “lifestyle” had changed. I mean I wasn’t very extravagant and I had my needs.

• I needed the new watch that would go with the suit I had just purchased or so I thought.
• I needed some shoes to match the new suit I had just purchased or so I thought.
• I needed a lavish vacation to fit in on the conversations at work or so I thought.

GOD doesn’t need my money but HE wants me to not love is so much that I don’t want to share it.  HE wants me to give and be excited that I am able to give. HE provides me with people who are generous and they show me great examples of excited giving.

• GOD wants me to view my bills as the annoyance and my giving as excitement.
• GOD wants me to sometimes do without in order for someone to have their needs met.
• GOD wants me to surrender what I think is mine so HE can take care of me the way HE wants to.

At the end of my life the measure of success should not be my bank account rather it should be how much I have given. It actually is exciting to see someone receive a little relief from the debts that are sometimes hurled in our path. GOD loves when I am a part of helping someone.

• Are you a cheerful giver?
• Are you generous?
• Do you know generous people or are you the only one giving?
• Can you modify your thoughts on giving and remain cheerful?

Got any spare change?

2 Corinthians: ¹³ Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. ¹⁴ At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, ¹⁵ as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

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My first assignment downtown was an eye-opener. As I stepped off the train I found myself marching to the rhythm of the massive crowd migrating toward my destination. Amongst the flurry of activity of taxis, coffee shops and traffic I heard a voice, “got any spare change?” Of course I do was my first response and I donated gladly.

Days, months and years into the routine my zeal for giving turned into a critical statement. “Look at them… I bet they are using the money for drugs or alcohol. I’m not giving my hard earned money to them.” Then it hit me, I forgot to make my reservations in the three star hotel for our vacation. Three stars instead of five kept me humble right?

• Many times I avoid people in need.
• Many times I avoid direct contact with someone who wants something because I think I don’t have enough to give.
• Many times I rationalize not giving and wind up using the money on myself.

It is extremely easy to avoid giving. In fact the more I had the easier it was to avoid seeing people who truly needed my help. I found myself in conversations with people discussing wine cellars and humidors when at one point I didn’t even know what those things were. Lavish vacations were quite enjoyable BUT GOD wants something different.

• GOD says “The poor you will always have” and HE desires I seek to serve when I’m wealthy or be served when I’m poor.
• GOD says “When you serve someone a cup of water you have served ME” so HE wants me to seek other to serve.
• GOD says “Show and share your talents and I will give you more” which means HE will give as long as I’m willing to give.

GOD isn’t looking to make me wealthy just to be a snob, HE wants me to give when I have plenty and if HE takes my wealth away HE wants me to accept gifts from others. Humility in giving and accepting gifts is GOD’s balance.

• Are you nervous about giving?
• Do you think you don’t have enough to give?
• Are you hoarding money for yourself or are you purposefully seeking opportunities to give?
• Does GOD want you to give to “that” person today?

What direction does my heart point?

John 12: ⁴ But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, ⁵ “Why wasn’t this perfume sold and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages.” ⁶ He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.

   ⁷ “Leave her alone,” Jesus replied. “It was intended that she should save this perfume for the day of my burial. ⁸ You will always have the poor among you, but you will not always have me.”

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Many times I have given to “causes” that I didn’t even know what they were.  I wanted to maintain a relationship so I halfheartedly gave some amount to fulfill my “obligation.” “Well at least it was a tax deduction” I would think to myself.

• Many times I am so focused on my world that I am not focused on “giving” to someone else.
• Many times I am so focused on what I can get that I lose track of what I can give.
• Many times I am so focused on trying to keep what I have that I justify not giving to those in need.

As a consummate provider, I abhor wasteful spending but a flaw in my accounting is that in many cases it does not include GOD’s style of generosity. Giving for a “tax break” protects and shelters my funds which one could argue is wise because I can give more, but my motivation isn’t truly focused on helping.

Judas’ words were actually wise. Mary could have sold the expensive perfume and given it to the poor, BUT GOD said something different.

• When I pray for wealth my reason for wealth cannot be based on greed.
• When I pray for wealth my reason for wealth cannot be based on fear.
• When I pray for wealth my reason for wealth cannot be based on lust.

Mary anointed the most HIGH GOD with a valuable gift, prior to that she cleaned dirt and animal feces from JESUS feet with her hair. She recognized the valuable thing that was right in front of her. Now when I give maybe I should consider who and what I am giving and be excited about who I am serving.

• Are you so worried about your situation that you cannot give generously?
• Do you do things for GOD out of love or obligation?
• Is it lack of faith that keeps the “poor” in poverty?
• If GOD has blessed you with plenty, what are you doing with it?
• If your desire for wealth has not been realized, then have you tried to be generous anyway?

What goes around comes around

Luke 16: ¹⁹ “There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. ²⁰ At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores ²¹ and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

   ²² “The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. ²³ In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side.

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“What goes around comes around” is what the old folks used to say. In other words “how I treat people is how I am going to get treated.” If that’s the case then either I have to start treating people nice real soon or my past will catch up to me.

• Laughing at the demise of the “idiot” boss was my forte’ until my position was eliminated.
• Ignorance of the poor and downtrodden was my mode of operation until I had to worry about my finances.
• Thinking my parents and other adults were stupid was my mantra until I grew up and had kids of my own.

Now that I am older I understand the old folk’s statement. Truly “what goes around comes around.” It may not happen in this lifetime, but whatever seeds I sow on this earth will come to fruition. GOD wants me to plant heavenly seeds on earth to reap the harvest of eternal treasure.

• Even though “that” person is not treating me right I have to treat them with grace.
• Even though I may think I need “that” luxury item maybe there is a person whose “needs” aren’t being met.
• Even though I have my own family I’m still not too old to glean wisdom from those who are older and wiser.

I need to treat people the way I want GOD to treat me. I want to be the center of HIS attention so my focus needs to be on HIS humans.

• How are you treating people?
• Are your relationships strong?
• Do you seek out the poor for the purpose of serving them for GOD?
• Are you feeling the effects of treating people poorly?
• Can you begin treating “that” person with grace?

Generosity is not conditional.

Luke 3: ¹¹ John answered, “Anyone who has two shirts should share with the one who has none, and anyone who has food should do the same.”

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As an executive I drove a company luxury car but when the position was cut from the company I found myself without a car. For the first time in years I had to think about survival rather than excess.

Without asking any questions my father in law gave me his van and told me to keep it as long as I needed to. Wow! “I wish I could do that” I thought to myself.

• Generosity is not a condition of how much excess I have.
• Generosity is not a condition of how well my investments are doing.
• Generosity is not a condition of a tax write off.

It actually takes practice to be generous. I cannot wait for conditions to be perfect in order to start being generous. In fact most times it takes sacrifice to be generous because needs tend to pop up at absolutely the “wrong” time.

• To be generous like GOD wants I have to give up worrying about me and think of others.
• To be generous like GOD wants I have to want to please HIM instead of always seeking pleasure.
• To be generous like GOD wants I have to remove my conditions of how someone looks, acts, smells, or how they treat me.

It is never going to be the right time to be generous BUT GOD has given me just the right amount or right thing to share with “that” person. GOD has been extremely generous with me so it won’t hurt for me to do the same. Since GOD owns everything HE wants me to be generous with HIS possessions.

• Are you waiting for more money or stuff to be generous?
• Are you angry because you don’t have more?
• Will GOD ask you how much stuff did you acquire or will HE ask how much did you share?
• Will you sacrifice just this once to help “that” person?

I’m giving! Please tell the news!

Matthew 6: ³ But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, ⁴ so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

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As I developed my business plan, “giving” was going to be one of my headlines in the press release. People feel good about a business that gives and I wanted my business to grow so I developed a plan that would get that crowd of generous people.

I could just see the headlines, “He gave a boatload!” This of course would be followed by applause and excessive back patting.

• Giving with the wrong intent does not move GOD.
• Giving with the motive of getting something here on earth does not move GOD.
• Giving with the loudest bragging only brings attention to me and does not move GOD.

Anytime I’m giving in public I draw all the fanfare towards me when it really should be going to GOD. HE truly loves when I give in secret because many things change.

• When I give in secret my motive is pure.
• When I give in secret, the more I give the more GOD rewards me in heaven.
• When I give in secret the recipient and others praise GOD and not me.

Unfortunately I like the praise and honor from humans but when I take a moment to stop bragging GOD says “well done” “thank you for serving one of MINE.”

• Do you like the recognition for your efforts?
• Can you do the things you do only for GOD instead of being recognized?
• Is there someone you can give to in secret?