A friend of mine called me yesterday afternoon to confirm that I stirred the pot with the blog on giving. Jesus did the same as mentioned in Matthew 19:
16 Now behold, one came and said to Him, “Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?”
17 So He said to him, “Why do you call Me good? No one is good but One,that is, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the commandments.”
18 He said to Him, “Which ones?”
Jesus said, “‘You shall not murder,’ ‘You shall not commit adultery,’ ‘You shall not steal,’ ‘You shall not bear false witness,’ 19 ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ ”
20 The young man said to Him, “All these things I have kept from my youth. What do I still lack?”
21 Jesus said to him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me.”
22 But when the young man heard that saying, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions.
This particular encounter is also mentioned in Mark 10:13–16 and Luke 18:15–17 thus it clearly is being emphasized for our benefit. One can present all sorts of arguments against giving and tithing but the fact remains that if you withhold anything the Holy Spirit instructs you to part with, you are worshipping another god just as the rich young ruler. Many of you would say “I’m not rich.” By U.S. standards you may not be rich but by Romanian standards you are. By African standard you are as well for it is all relative.
Proverbs 11:25 The generous soul will be made rich,
And he who waters will also be watered himself.
This simply states a Truth that FATHER will bless those who are willing vessels. Those who withhold blessing and opportunity to be blessed are mentioned in the next verse:
26: The people will curse him who withholds grain,
But blessing will be on the head of him who sells it.
If you withhold seed then the other person he has no ability to plant and receive a crop thus implementing the law of seedtime and harvest.
28: He who trusts in his riches will fall,
But the righteous will flourish like foliage.
Do you trust FATHER or your money in the bank? Some are currently predicting your money in the bank will evaporate to a value of zero. Now is the time to plant into the Kingdom. Your giving must be properly motivated for you should not be “giving to get” but “getting to give”. When you give expecting nothing in return, FATHER will be the Source of your blessing, not man. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus spoke:
1 “Take heed that you do not do your charitable deeds before men, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven.
2 Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
3 But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,
4 that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly.
Your left hand represents your judgment, reasoning, analysis whereas your right hand represents mercy being led by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit gives you an amount to give, often the left brain will begin reasoning why you should give less, possibly down to zero. When my wife and I give, I purpose to give the first amount I receive knowing that additional contemplation will result in a lower, watered down amount.
If you can’t overcome the money issue, how can you expect to be one of the Elect? We all know that this is the most sensitive topic that must be dealt with. I don’t need your money to go and build a 5,000 seat sanctuary. FATHER doesn’t either. YOU need to give in order to overcome the most subtle obstacle to moving toward complete maturity as a Son. FATHER is the ultimate Giver. Many quibble over 10% of their income and Jesus challenged the rich young ruler with 100%. Becoming a giver is the issue for FATHER Loves a cheerful giver. Consider if one of your organs such as your heart was unwilling to share with the rest of the body. Paul wrote:
13 till we all come to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ;
14 that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting,
15 but, speaking the truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head—Christ—
16 from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love.
In the end, giving is all about Love.