Christ First Forum

Proverbs 11:24, “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty”.
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What is a generous giver and would you consider yourself one? When we think of generosity, we might look at the size of the gift or the nobility of the cause. We might call someone “generous,” for example, who contributes a modest sum to a charitable cause to promote the good of society. However, Jesus measured generosity by a radically new standard: the condition of the giver’s heart. The apostle Paul said that even the most lavish donations are empty acts in God’s sight if the giver’s heart is hardened toward him (1 Corinthians 13:3). So, a truly generous giver is, first, a person who has been reconciled to God through faith in Jesus Christ, whose perfect life and sacrificial death can generously free any person from sin, and thus the stage is set for a person to emerge as a “generous giver”. Such a person should then be characterized by several particular attitudes and behaviors, such as:

(1) They experience the joy of giving. When giving, it doesn’t feel like a burden but a pleasure.

(2) They live and give with an eternal perspective, and are unconcerned with how much they own in this life because their attention is on the age to come.

(3) They model the proverb, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35b). A person not only believes these words of Jesus, but actually prefers giving over getting, so that they regularly choose to give more and receive less.

(4) They recognize that God owns everything. If God owns everything and we are simply His steward, then what does He want us to do with His stuff? The Bible gives a number of answers to this question, some of which would include, saving (Proverbs 6:6-8), investing (Matthew 25:14-30), providing for family (Proverbs 13:22), staying out of debt (Proverbs 22:7; Romans 13:8) and more. However, the Bible gives special attention to one use in particular and that is giving. To give (especially to the poor) is equivalent to lending to the Lord and investing your money in heaven (Proverbs 19:17; Luke 12:33). In the end, everyone will give an account to the Lord for how we handled His “stuff” in the brief time we had here on earth.

(5) They offer gifts as an act of worship. Their driving motivation is neither self-concern nor love for others, but love for God. The most important truth in their life is God’s saving love in Christ, and they give in order to thank and to honor Him. They also enjoy giving of themselves to help others. One may be generous with time, volunteering to help in places such as soup kitchens or crisis shelters. One may be generous with money, giving to individuals or to charities that help individuals. One does not have to be rich to be generous. Children who save up their coins to give away or who devote time to help wrap Christmas gifts for poor children are practicing generosity as well. You could say that generosity is the opening of one's heart, giving of one’s time and/or wallet to provide help to others. Other words for it are unselfishness and kindness; however, the opposite of generosity would be stinginess or selfishness.
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How has God showed His generosity to us? Well for starters, He showed enormous generosity in His work of redemption. He gave His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ as our Savior, and in so doing, He displayed His generous and all encompassing love for the whole world. No one should be able to look seriously at the cross of Calvary and doubt God’s generosity. The apostle Paul wrote, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift” … (2 Corinthians 9:15). Thus, our giving ought to differ sharply with the materialistic ways of the wacky world of today. Jesus taught His disciples to be content with food and raiment while on this earth. Their focus was to be on storing up treasure in Heaven. Hoarding is contrary to the teachings of Jesus, and contrary to the teachings of Solomon, who taught that we should hold God’s material blessings with open hands. So often we think of giving as an obligation; here it is viewed as an opportunity. Moreover, while this may seem inconsistent to those of us who believe a tight fist rather than an open hand will lead to gain, the Bible goes to considerable lengths to show this to be false, such as.

(1) Psalm 12:5, “Good will come to him who is generous and lends freely ...”; (2) Proverbs 13:11, “Wealth gotten by vanity shall be diminished: but he that gathered by labour shall increase”; (3) Luke 6:38, “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you ...”;

(4) Luke 12:33, “Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will not be exhausted ...”; (5) 2 Corinthians 9:6, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously ...”; and, (6) 1 Timothy 6:18-19, “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life”
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Further thoughts:

The wisdom of the Old Testament confirms the wisdom of generosity. Job, for example, reminds us that this life is a naked-come and naked-go affair. Unthinkable amounts of money may be here at one moment and gone the next. Therefore, it is no less than utter foolishness to hoard more than we need. Whether gradually throughout life or suddenly at death, all our money will be lost (Job 27:16-17; Proverbs 23:5; Luke 12:13-21). Let us therefore remember it isn’t the amount we give toward helping the Lord’s work; it’s our motive that He looks at. Thus, our attitude and especially proper motives are essential in our service, whether it’s our money, time or talents. The Lord is more concerned with why we give than with how much we give, whether it’s our time, money or talents. We should never ever give to receive the praise of others, rather we should give because we love God and desire to see His name honored and glorified. The Apostle Paul said, “Let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). Whenever we give to the work of God, may it be honestly said, “It’s for the Lord!” So, are you a generous giver and, if so, do you:

(1) Experience the joy of giving?
(2) Live and give with an eternal perspective?
(3) Model the Proverbs … "It is more blessed to give than to receive"?
(4) Acknowledge that God owns everything?
(5) Offer gifts as an act of worship?

Always remember that God sees the giver as well as the gift and the heart as well as the hand.

Great post :)