6. Cultivating a heart of generosity
He who has a generous eye will be blessed, For he gives of his bread to the poor. (Proverbs 22:9 NKJV)
Generosity unlocks and manifests God's blessings in our lives. Generosity is an expression of love and selflessness. Generosity is sharing your time and resources for the betterment of others, and/or the pursuit of a worthy cause. Generous people are a prosperous breed of people. They are always increasing, always growing and always progressing.
Achieving a generous lifestyle
The key thing is to achieve generosity as a lifestyle, not just something you do once in a while. Mark 12 v 41-44, the story of the generous poor widow, shows us that generosity has got nothing to do with the abundance of resources, but everything to do with the condition of the heart, values and priorities. We learn that we should never miss an opportunity to practice generosity. Because according to the kingdom economics, 'he who is generous will be blessed.' An opportunity to practice generosity is an opportunity to breakthrough in prosperity.
Proverbs 11 v 25 says, “A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.” The key to prosperity is generosity. We also reap what we sow. If we refresh others, we will be refreshed. If we help others we will be helped. These are the laws of the Spirit that we need to activate on our behalf. Generosity is a trigger that sets in motion a harvest of prosperity.
An antidote to greed, hatred and selfishness is generosity. Because ultimately generosity is an act of love. That is why we should never give out of compulsion,but out of a motivation of love. Furthermore,if a gift is given out of any motivation other than love, it should not be given, and it should be returned by the receiver.
Let's us now look at three primary avenues of giving as we see in the Scriptures.
1. Giving to the poor
Proverbs 19:17 says, "He who has pity on the poor lends to the LORD, And He will pay back what he has given." Accordingly, giving to the poor makes one a creditor to the Lord. The question then is this, have you become a creditor to the Lord recently? Giving to the poor is equivalent to depositing money into heaven's treasury as a loan. This is the best loan to give because the Lord has heaven and earth as collateral. Psalm 24 v 1 testifies in this wise, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it;”
Therefore as we give to the poor and put a loan to the Lord, we should remember that we ourselves belong to Him. We owe Him our very self and we are eternally indebted to Him. Nevertheless, He will repay.
1 John 3 v 17 says, "But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” Giving to the poor is practically ministering the love of God. We should always be ready to recognize and meet a need when the Lord has empowered us to do so. Christian ministry is incomplete without a ministry to the poor and vulnerable in society. James exhorts us in this way, “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.” (James 1 v 27).
2. Giving to the work of ministry
The Lord has one basic desire, according to 1Tim 2 v 3-4, "For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth.” This desire is the clarion call for the Church to preach salvation to the rest of the world. This mission takes money and resources to fulfill.
We see in Scripture that the Church in Philippine supported Paul on his missionary work.
“Now you Philippians know also that in the beginning of the gospel, when I departed from Macedonia, no church shared with me concerning giving and receiving but you only. For even in Thessalonica you sent aid once and again for my necessities.”(Philippians 4:15-16). It is this kind of giving that leads to the advancement of the work of the kingdom. We can be called and anointed, but without resources we won't achieve much.
Most Christians like to quote Philippians 4 v 19, which says, “And my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” The contextual and correct interpretation of this verse denotes a principle, whereby those who give to the work of the ministry will experience God's supply. Therefore, if we are not giving at all, this verse can not be applicable to us.
3. Giving to your family
The Bible is very clear, “But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” (I Timothy 5:8).
A person can be attending prayer meetings, fasting, and doing all kinds of Christian duties, but if you fail to provide for your own family, then you have denied the faith. As a Christian, taking care of your family is very important. It is your primary duty and act of faith. The Lord has placed a high value on family, to an extent that failing to lead a family disqualifies one from leading in Church (1Tim 3v5).
We can not fail to fulfill our primary responsibility at home, yet want to appear to be responsible in public. In this case, charity does begin at home. Giving at church while your family is languishing in poverty is the pinnacle of hypocrisy. Generosity must first be practiced at home. Don't do at church what you never do at home.
Attitude in generosity
Your attitude while excersizing generosity is important because you could lose your reward. For instance, the Bible says, “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.” (Mat 6v1). Generosity is not a show-piece. It is a meeting of needs by the provision of God. If your sole purpose for giving is to be seen, then you are operating outside the realm of generosity.
Secondly, do not give out of compulsion. 2 Corinthians 9 v 7 says, "Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Unfortunately, because of ignorance, many saints have been robed by criminals masquerading as pastors. According to this scripture, no one should tell you how much you must give. You should always give what you decided to give, not what the 'pastors' wants. Unfortunately, the church has been infiltrated by people who peddle the Word of God for profit (“Unlike so many, we do not peddle the word of God for profit. On the contrary, in Christ we speak before God with sincerity, as those sent from God.”2 Corinthians 2:17 NIV).
Lastly, when you sow your seeds of generosity,expect to reap a harvest. 2 Corinthians 9 v 6 says, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” You can never reap what you did not sow. God is not unjust. God will never let you reap somebody else's harvest. If you desire a harvest, a bumper harvest, you have to sow accordingly.
photo credit: <a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/136644901@N07/24659409769">A Little Help</a> via <a href="http://photopin.com">photopin</a> <a href="https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/">(license)</a>
No comments:
Post a Comment