God’s Introduction to Giving

God’s Introduction to Giving

Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” (ESV)

             Since the beginning of man’s creation, God has been giving selflessly to His creatures. He began with making man from the dust of the ground and giving to him the breath of life. Genesis 2:7 Then the LORD God formed a man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. (NIV) Man was able to function in accordance to God’s design by receiving a gift that could not have been given from anyone else but his Creator. Without the gift of life, man would have been an empty vessel on display – unmovable, unusable, and unsuitable for any purpose and yet, just one breath from God made all the difference in the world.

            God’s giving to mankind did not stop there – once man sinned, God promised to send His son as a gift to the world to save him from his sins. All man needed to do was to repent and accept God’s free gift of salvation and redemption would be granted. Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. (NIV) There was nothing that man could do to save himself. No amount of money could compensate his debt to God, but Jesus was willing to pay the price of sin for you and me in order that we may have eternal life.

            If the debt of sin has already been paid for on the cross, why is it that so many Christian leaders place a high emphasis on paying tithes? Does God curse us for something that has already been paid for? Is it true that a person’s money is cursed if tithes are not paid out of every paycheck? Do we as Christians have a financial obligation to report our earnings to our local house of worship so they can keep record of our giving? Do we have to sign promissory pledges, give first fruits, seed offerings, and give extra money to pastors after they have preached a powerful sermon?

           

          As Christians, we are to do good deeds to others in order to show them the love of Jesus. Unfortunately, many Christians are erroneously placed under bondage to the traditions and false teachings of men for personal gain. They are made to feel that they are cursed and/or blessed by God dependent upon what they place in an envelope. God, however, is neither a genie nor lottery machine that gives wishes or jackpots at will. God does love for us to give and in so doing, He is all too willing to bless us in return, but we must separate truth from fiction. We are not to attempt to manipulate God nor His people with money because He does not need it, but His ministry does. May God bless you as you gain wisdom, knowledge and understanding as given from the Holy Spirit in order to be free in Christ, independent of guilt-ridden manmade ideologies, by coming to the revelation that giving is to be a blessing and not a curse.