Perspectives to Christian Giving: More Blessed to Give

Perspectives to Christian Giving: More Blessed to Give

[My Offline Bible] Acts 20
35 I have shewed you all things, how that so labouring ye ought to support the weak, and to remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he said, It is more blessed to give than to receive.

We love to receive, that's the enjoyable part. Except for pride and some fears, we hardly are ever so reluctant of receiving. But receiving isn't supposed to be the focus of the believer, that's common even if not always good. There are conditions where we must be careful receiving, in situations like what the book of Proverbs portrayed here...

[My Offline Bible] Proverbs 23
1 When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before thee: 2 And put a knife to thy throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. 3 Be not desirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat.

6 Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats: 7 For as he thinketh in his heart, so is he: Eat and drink, saith he to thee; but his heart is not with thee. 8 The morsel which thou hast eaten shalt thou vomit up, and lose thy sweet words.

But basically when people give we are quick to receive...but receiving isn't as loving as giving though sometimes it takes love to receive from some people.

The nature we share is more eager to give. More eager to serve than to be served. More eager to make sacrifices than to seek to be preferred. Ready to suffer being defrauded than to take advantage of others. That's Christ's nature and not the other side.

[My Offline Bible] Matthew 20
28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.

[My Offline Bible] Romans 12
10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

[My Offline Bible] 1 Corinthians 6
7 Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded? 8 Nay, ye do wrong, and defraud, and that your brethren.

No matter what we lack, the giving nature we inherit from God supersedes the the needs we have and the motivation to receive when we can give. Our nature overcomes us, that's the way to prove the presence of whatever nature any living thing carries. That's why as poor as many of Christ's followers may be, they are ever on the lookout for needs to meet with the little they have...

[My Offline Bible] 2 Corinthians 8
1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia; 2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality. 3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves; 4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints. 5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.

It isn't Christ-like to be greedy and expect the giving system of the kingdom to feed our greed. It isn't Christ-like to seek to take advantage of those who have allowed the nature of God within them overcome the envious and covetous nature of Satan that we inherit in Adam. It isn't Christ-like to do nothing either in the ministry or in the secular only to live on those who are ready to give in response to the new creation nature. Only the flesh will do that.

Our nature is more towards giving than receiving. It's a sign of carnality and spiritual childishness when we see ourselves caring more about receiving than giving, seeking more to be loved than to love, seeking more to be blessed than to be a blessing, seeking more to be favored than to show favor, seeking more to be honored than to honor others, seeking more to be served than to serve, seeking more to be cared for than to show care.

We always have something to give, no matter how small, either financial, material or otherwise, even a little show of affection if that's all we have and the poor we always have around us, we will always have someone to give something to.

The fear of people when we speak of giving is this. People are always either afraid or cautious of being robbed or taken advantage of when giving is being preached or taught. We sometimes feel somebody somewhere who isn't ready to make money is out to rob us through giving.

While we can't rule that out. Particularly people who invest their moneys only to live off the gifts of others. Some spend their own moneys on such pleasures their givers can't even afford and keep expecting other to bear their profligate attitudes. These attitudes aren't Christian, we have not so learned Christ.
But we need not fear or permit those to discourage us. Such are enemies we feed with what God has given us and they heap coals of fire on themselves. Annanias and his wife Sapphira are examples. People may not be dropping dead like they did but their judgments are not different. But it isn't ours to judge them...but to teach and correct if we have the opportunity.

As for givers, God protects and defends them. God wouldn't want some to be eased while others are burdened, he doesn't desire that some will live in stupendous affluence while other live in penury and abject poverty.

[My Offline Bible] 2 Corinthians 8
13 For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened: 14 But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:

God is calling us back into faith in the divine nature we share. And not just to believe in it but to yield ourselves to its influence so that we would always project God's eternal life, love and light in this stingy, dark, hating and dying world.

We must constantly remember that it's more blessed to give than to receive. We may not always have money or materials to give and those may not always be needed but we'll always have something to give when the opportunity comes to meet a need.

We have been wired to always be ready to overlook our own needs to meet those needs that demand our gifts...

May the grace for the God kind of giving arise from within us to make us become more like Christ at this time...

God's blessings. More grace to you... Good morning!