What is our part in giving? Giving is one of those areas of faith where the spiritual rubber hits the road of life. I was talking to my pastor about this, and Dave made an interesting point. He asked me this question, "Can you give without faith?" Obviously it's possible. After stating that, he asked me another question, "Can you have faith without giving?" That made me think. Faith in the greatness and ability of God requires us to give. More than just give though, give in the faith that the God who handles our future and our salvation, can also handle our finances.
If we give in faith, then we give not only when it's easy, but also when it's hard, when it's a sacrifice. It doesn't take much faith to give when it's easy.
There is an interesting story in the Gospels of Jesus teaching his disciples about this subject while observing people give in the temple. Have you ever just watched people? For more information on people watching and how to do it, go here. Jesus was people watching on this particular occasion. Mark tells us that Jesus sat down and just started watching people put money into the treasury. Apparently it was a high profile place to give, because rich people were coming in and giving huge sums of money. Now, in that day, they didn't have checks, so you could determine how much money they were putting in by watching them, and, knowing the church culture of that day, they made a big show of it. If we saw it, we would probably be impressed. Jesus, however, was not phased. What made Him stop in his tracks and call His disciples over to Him, was an old lady giving two small coins which amounted to a cent. Coming over his disciples must have been excited as they came over. 'Yeah, Jesus, we know. We just saw that rich guy put three thousand dollars in there also. Wow, that guy must have been really dedicated!' You can just imagine Jesus turning to them and shaking his head and pointing to the old lady hobbling up, and saying, 'Those rich guys have millions of dollars, their giving doesn't hurt them at all.' As the old lady dropped the two small, tarnished coins in the box, He tells his disciples, 'This lady just gave all she had to live on. She gave more than everybody that has given today combine!.' That kind of sacrificial giving in faith is what made Jesus stop in his tracks! To read this story go here. Giving is about more than just how many zeros you put after the number on your check.
//I looked through my wallet with a sinking feeling. Where did all my money go? As I checked my wallet for any holes or other means of escape for my ever-disappearing bills, I started running numbers in my head. Dave was talking about faith and money, and it had got me thinking. I had one lonely 20 dollar bill in my wallet. Where was I going to get the money to pay rent next week? And then there's the matter of eating. If I missed a meal at home in the next week, I was going to want to eat out. As I began to think of excuses like I usually do when confronted with the issue, I really began to think about faith. At that moment, I made the decision and leaped out into, what seemed for me, a deep, dark chasm as I dropped my bill into the box.//
To sum up so far, our part in giving is giving in faith and giving when it hurts, sacrificial giving. That's our part, but what is God's part? A key principle of faith is this, when we step out if faith, God always responds.
//One week later, as I was sitting in church looking in my wallet, my faith began to grow. In my wallet was a 20 dollar bill, and I had a substantial check on the way from working 50 hours last week. I had been expecting to work about 20-25 hours. God had provided. What boggled my mind about all this though, more than the extra hours God provided, was the 20 dollar bill. As I checked my wallet for any holes or other ways for money to sneakily get back in my wallet, I remembered how someone had given me 20 dollars for a debt I had written off weeks ago. I didn't think much about it then, but it struck me sitting there in that lovely pew-chair hybrid that Sunday morning. I had a 20, gave a 20, and then God gave it back. It was there, staring me right in the face. The coolest thing about all this though, was that I had put my faith in God, and God responded. I didn't give because of guilt, or because I thought it was the "right thing to do." I gave because I had faith that if I turned control of my finances over to God, he would take care of me.//
When you give in faith, God will take care of you. David says this, "I have been young, and now I am old, but I have never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread." More than God providing, however, the Bible promises us that God will "open up the windows of heaven and pour out His blessings." Now, I don't know about you, but I think that that might be kind of cool to see. Now about the old lady that we talked about earlier, (let's call her Agatha), we don't know what happened to her. But let me say this. God provided for her. I'm not going to say probably. I know God took care of her, because that's the kind of God that we serve. I don't know how or when, but I know that she didn't go hungry.
There are other good results of giving in faith besides God taking care of our needs, which he promised to do over and over again. When we turn our finances, essentially bringing God into our financial huddle, good things happen. We've all seen the commercials for the investment firms that want us to trust them, and the people they pay to go on their commercials and say, "The best financial decision that I ever made was turning my investments over to... (name of an investment firm here)." I want to state emphatically that the best decision you can make with your finances, is turning them over to God! He is the best financial investment firm there is! How does that look? It starts with your giving in faith.
I have seen the results clearly over the past few month or two since I started giving in faith, and the changes in my life have been dramatic. Now, I don't have a lot of experience in this area, but I can see the change in my thinking about money. I am starting to see money as a blessing from God to be used as a tool. My parents, being the concerned, amazing parents that they are, knew that I had a problem with money, so they gave me advice, tried to do things to help me, and even gave me me books like, "What to do when money is funny." They gave me the tools, but giving control of my finances to God by giving in faith is what really made the difference for me. I'm starting to live on a budget, I'm starting to get out of debt, and I am no longer constantly stressed out about money.
Giving in faith results in a changed view of money, more control in our finances (because God is in control), and the blessing of God in our life. I want to repeat this statement again, "when we step out if faith, God always responds."
Listen for GOD's voice in everything you do, everywhere you go; he's the one who will keep you on track. Don't assume that you know it all.
Run to GOD! Run from evil! Your body will glow with health, your very bones will vibrate with life! Honor GOD with everything you own; give him the first and the best. Your barns will burst, your wine vats will brim over.
(Pro 3:6-10)
Glory to God!!! You are such an encouragement and inspiration. Keep it up!!!
ReplyDeleteWhat a neat example of the ways God works!
ReplyDeleteYour mom told me that you had started this blog. It looks neat- I hope you keep it up!