Giving

One test of Christian maturity is giving. Do you tithe – give – ten per cent of your income to the church each and every week? Above your tithe do you occasionally give additional money to Godly causes as an offering to the Lord? If you cannot answer yes to those questions, I can tell you from personal experience “you” are missing out. I “enjoy” giving my hard earned money to the church and to worthy causes. That is right I used the word “enjoy” and I am honest and sincere when I say it.



To explain is really not that difficult. First I do not believe that the wealth that I have accumulated or that comes to me belongs to me. I do not own anything. Think about it, the moment I die it is passed on to the next person and when they die the next and so forth. Ultimately after our brief stint on this earth is over, we face the Lord completely naked with no possessions. Everything from this old world is going to be left behind. We are merely managers, or stewards of what we have and we do not “own” anything.



Who are we managing it for? You guessed it, God. Everything already belongs to God. We use it for a few years and then He gives it to the next person and so on. If you will look at your possessions and the management of them from this perspective it becomes second nature to tithe. God has instructed us to take a tenth of our income and give it back to the church in the form of a tithe. Beyond that we can give offerings as we are led; however God wants us to be good managers and to manage what he trusts us with wisely. Don’t go overboard. It is His money and we are managing it for Him. A good steward manages wisely. God said a tenth not 90% as some misguided people might like for you to believe. God also stated that your tithe should be put into the “storehouse” (church) to pay for God’s servant’s needs. The tithe should not be given to other causes; those causes are financed through additional offerings that are over and above your tithe as you are led.



I consider it a privilege to give what I give. I know that it will be used to spread the gospel and that one of the main purposes God has in this life for me is to give and help finance the spreading of the gospel. The more I give, the more God blesses my life. I know that I am on the right track. I am cheerfully fulfilling one of God’s primary purposes for my life when I tithe and support other Godly causes. I sincerely believe that all good things come from God. The Bible teaches us that. God blesses those who love him and obey his commands. If you do not obey God when it comes to your hard-earned cash, you will miss out on His special blessings and indeed what He has graciously given you may be taken away from you and given to someone else – worst case scenario. Listen to what the Bible says about a cheerful giver. It does not get any better than that my friends. Know that God LOVES a cheerful giver!



2 Cor 9:7

So let each one give as he

purposes in his heart, not grudgingly

or of necessity; for God loves a

cheerful giver.







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