Generosity is the overflow of the stewardship mindset that says God owns it all and I am only a steward of the resources in my hands, including my life. This truth has far-reaching implications in the way we live our lives and use the resources entrusted to us including money, possessions, our work, our business, and everything else we got.
God bestows material blessing to his people in order that they can help those who have less in this life. Giving and sharing liberate God’s people from hoarding material things and loving mammon. If we train ourselves to give away our money and resources it will free us from the power of money. This freedom will lead us to depend wholly on God and to trust that he will
provide for all our needs.
You do not have to give away all your money and possessions in order to learn this principle. You can start by first, acknowledging that all these belong to God and ask him to guide you to be a wise and faithful steward. Begin by tithing faithfully. God does not need our money, but the practice of tithing helps Christians to give a portion of their income back to God.
Our security will not be on the amount of money we have in the bank but on God who is able to freely supply us far more that we can ever imagine. As we experience God and his provisions we grow in our knowledge and intimacy with him. We also grow in giving and generosity.
God modeled generosity for us. He withheld nothing back to freely give us all things, including the gift of his beloved Son who gave his life in order that we may live. How can we not respond with gratitude and surrender to this loving God? Our response today is to give up our love for material things and invest in things that matter to God and for his kingdom.
One practical step that you can do today is to examine where you spend your money. What percentage of your income go towards maintaining your personal lifestyle? Do you have expensive hobbies, interests, vices? How much goes to giving and kingdom work?
One exercise that has been helpful to me when I decided to be a better money steward was to record all my income and expenses for three months to determine where my money was spent. It has since become my habit to record my personal income and expenses for the last 30 years. I find it helpful for budgeting and monitoring and finding joy to see how my giving increases through the years.
Giving and generosity is a lifestyle that is not developed overnight. It starts with a grateful heart and a willingness to surrender to the will of God, the owner of life. If you want to read more about the joy and freedom of giving and generosity, a must-read book according to Catalyst Services Best Mission Books of 2015 List is Christ-Centered Generosity: Global Perspectives on the Biblical Call To A Generous Life.
Well I have understood something a bout giving but how best can we teach christian to understand giving as a principle in christianity? and is giving or tithing a law or unconditional? Coz a times we think God is annoyed when we do not give. Some reply pliz
Hi Pr. Godfrey, Thank you for your comments. The best way to teach Christians about giving is to point them to the Word of God and what the Bible says about giving and generosity. There are many verses about this topic but the biggest example is God giving us the gift of his begotten son Jesus Christ that we may be reconciled to him. Jesus paid his own life for us to have life eternal with God. Our life is therefore a gift from God.
Everything else is a gift from God. When we give out of our resources or when we tithe we are merely returning to God what belongs to him. God does not really need our money or wealth but it is for our good that we can let go of our money or possessions and offer these as thanksgiving to God. It is for our credit. Giving is good for our soul.
It’s funny that you feel that God is annoyed when we do not give. I think you sense that God is not pleased when we withhold our tithe or the gift that we give to church or other people. You are right to see it that way because how can we say that we give our life and our all in all to God when we hoard our money and we do not tithe. There is something amiss when we do that because if our hearts are right with God, then we want to be like him, loving and generous.
Zenet