Real Hope: GivingSample

The Starting Point For Giving

As with all things pertaining to God and the Christian life, the best starting point is always to start with the heart. God is not after our money; He is after our hearts. When Jesus was teaching His disciples, He encouraged them not to hoard or stockpile wealth here on earth. He said – ‘For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also'. Matthew 6:21 (NKJV).

Jesus was not laying down the law to His disciples but rather teaching clear living principles with clear biblical promises. He said, ‘generosity begets generosity’. Proverbs teaches – ‘A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed (themselves)’. Proverbs 11:25 (NIV).

Giving should come from the heart and be done ‘by faith’, including believing that, as Jesus said, ‘what you sow, you will reap’. Once Kathryn and I had the opportunity to give a significant gift that, by its nature, had to be made public. Someone challenged us about how much faith was in our giving and said, ‘otherwise you won’t get it back’. My response to them was to say that we gave it by faith and also by love and would be thrilled to do so even if it didn’t return to us in some way. But, of course, we were blessed a thousand times over since that time.

Go ahead and make your next giving decision based on faith working through love. Galatians 5:6b (NKJV).

Written by JOHN SCOTT