Why and how you give reveals your heart.

Last week I had the opportunity to talk about giving just before the offering at New Life Family Church was collected.  I based my talk on 2 Corinthians 9: 7  Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

I spoke of how God looks more at your heart than what you give.  Why are you giving and how are you giving is more important than what you give.

I grew up listening to Paul Harvey and one of his favorite sayings was, "Now for the rest of the story".  Well now I want to share the rest of the story concerning giving.

If we look at verse, 6 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. and then verse 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work., we find that God indeed does looks at our heart as we give and although He tells us that we should decide what to give instead of feeling forced to give and we should give with a happy heart He also says we will reap according to what we sow.  If we give sparingly we will receive sparingly and if generously we will receive generously.  

So is God telling us we have to give 10%, 12%, 15% in order to be blessed? NO! He is telling us that we are to decide according to how we have been blessed what to give and for us to give it  with a happy heart.

For example: I could write a check for $1,000 and drop it into the offering and it would be pretty much worthless if I gave because I wanted to get something, or if I felt I had to, or if I wanted to make an impression on the Pastor and I did so with a frown on my face.  If I write a check for $100 and did so because I felt God had blessed me and I thankfully placed it in the offering, God would look upon that as more valuable than the $1,000 the person that I mentioned first.

God does not judge your offering by it's size but by your motive and attitude you give it in.  See if Jesus can take a few fish and some loaves of bread and feed 4,000 men with them He can take your $100 and make it do what $1,000 can.

The bottom line is this, "If God has blessed you abundantly shouldn't you give abundantly?" and if at this point in your life you have a small amount of income shouldn't you gladly give something just to express your thankfulness for what you have?

If God walked into your house and asked to see your checkbook and calendar would He see that you spent more on soda pop, junk food and entertainment than you did contributing to the building of His Kingdom?  If He watched you drop your offering into the collection plate would He see you doing so with joy or with regret?

It is your choice what you give and how you give it.  What does your giving reveal about you?

Take control of your finances

Six years ago I lost a job that paid over $30,000 and I am still working to get my total income over $22,000. My wife, Kat, and I made the decision to get out of debt and stop depending upon our credit cards. We stopped using the ATM and gave up on some adventures together although we still take day trips. One thing we did not change is what we give to our church. We gave 10% back then and we still do today.

Today we have almost totally gone to a cash bases and have only about $1,500 in credit card debt. We have a house payment under $400 and do not make large purchases unless we have the cash.

We have not totally adopted the Dave Ramsey "Total Money Makeover" but we are close. Another good product by Dave Ramsey is "Financial Peace". I believe if you purchase one of these books from ChristianBook.com or Amazon or at your local book store you can gain control of your finances too.

Although I believe our decision to control our debt helped us to gain control over our finances I believe the commitment to continue to give 10% to our church has gain us favor from our Creator. I do not believe the tithing thing is magical or legally binding on Christians but I do believe God honors trusting Him by doing so even in tough financial conditions.

Malachi 3: 8-11 "Begin by being honest. Do honest people rob God? But you rob me day after day.

"You ask, 'How have we robbed you?'

"The tithe and the offering—that's how! And now you're under a curse —the whole lot of you—because you're robbing me. Bring your full tithe to the Temple treasury so there will be ample provisions in my Temple. Test me in this and see if I don't open up heaven itself to you and pour out blessings beyond your wildest dreams. For my part, I will defend you against marauders, protect your wheat fields and vegetable gardens against plunderers."

The above is an open plead by God for you to give Him a try at His word and see how He responds.

Here are 7 things to do to gain control of your finances?
1. If you are not doing so begin to give 10% to your church.
2. Buy Dave Ramsey's book.
3. Begin to budget your money.
4. Quit using credit cards!
5. Pay off your debt, one at a time. Once you have one paid off use that extra income to pay off
the next largest bill.
6. Refuse to let what the news says to control your life.
7. Continue to have fun together.

As a result of what we have done the last six years we have decided not to participate in the 2009 recession.

I Can Tell Where Your Heart Is by.....

Several years ago I was at a business convention and a speaker said the following: "I can tell where your heart is by looking at your calendar and your checkbook." Where you spend your time and how you spend your money reflects where your heart is.

I went home and looked at my checkbook and my calendar to determine what he was talking about. Here is what I found: I was giving at least 10% of my income to my church but I was spending more time in trying to build a business and make money than I was in serving others.

I do not believe it is wrong to develop wealth or to spend time in recreational activities. Besides what I believe or think is not important but what God says about how you spend your time and money is. So let's look at a few scriptures from the Word of God to see what He commands us to do.

1 Timothy 6: 10 For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang.

Today there are those who would say that the desire to prosper is wrong but God says the love of the money produced by this drive is what is wrong.

In Malachi 3: 8-10 God challenges us in the use of the first 10% of our income. 8 "Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, 'How have we robbed You? In tithes and offerings. 9 You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you. 10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this, "says the Lord of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows."

That was God speaking to the nation of Israel and although I do not believe we are bound by having to give 10% of our income I do believe that the principle of giving is still valid for the church today.

Let's look at Paul told the church at Corinth about giving: 2 Corinthians 9: 6-7 Now this I say, he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver.

In Genesis 1: 28 God told Adam and Eve to God blessed them: "Prosper! Reproduce! Fill Earth! Take charge! Be responsible for fish in the sea and birds in the air, for every living thing that moves on the face of Earth."

In Ephesians 4: 28 Did you use to make ends meet by stealing? Well, no more! Get an honest job so that you can help others who can't work.

God is not against Christians or anyone else creating wealth but He is against Greed! and He wants us to give out of our abundance to help others.

When I took the challenge to looked at my checkbook and calendar I found I was giving 10% of my Gross Income to my church but I was not giving of my time in service to others.

Let's look at some scriptures about helping others.

James 1: 26-27 Anyone who sets himself up as "religious" by talking a good game is self-deceived. This kind of religion is hot air and only hot air. Real religion, the kind that passes muster before God the Father, is this: Reach out to the homeless and loveless in their plight, and guard against corruption from the godless world.

Ouch! The challenge revealed I was talking a good game but I had no action in my life. But it got worse when I read Matthew 25: 31-46 I was convicted by my lack of service. In these verses Jesus tells us when He returns some who thought they were following Him will be separated with those who did not follow Him. They will be shocked. And He will then tell them why: verses 41-43 "Then he will turn to the 'goats,' the ones on his left, and say, 'Get out, worthless goats! You're good for nothing but the fires of hell. And why? Because—

I was hungry and you gave me no meal,
I was thirsty and you gave me no drink,
I was homeless and you gave me no bed,
I was shivering and you gave me no clothes,
Sick and in prison, and you never visited.'

44"Then those 'goats' are going to say, 'Master, what are you talking about? When did we ever see you hungry or thirsty or homeless or shivering or sick or in prison and didn't help?'

45"He will answer them, 'I'm telling the solemn truth: Whenever you failed to do one of these things to someone who was being overlooked or ignored, that was me—you failed to do it to me.'

I sank in my chair as I realized I spent more time having fun than I did serving. I cared more about my own problems than I did the problems of others. I did not hear when others hurt because I was so self focused. I decided that I would work on changing this.

I now want to challenge you to take a look at your checkbook and your calendar and consider what they reveal. I am not saying you need to give 10% to your church or to charity and I am not saying you should spend more time serving others than doing anything else. I am only challenging you to consider what your checkbook and your calendar reveal about what your priorities are. Where is your time and money being spent? It will more than likely show you where your heart is. If you are more focused on pleasing yourself then maybe, just maybe you need to do what I did and begin to make some changes. It is not important what I believe or say about how you spend your time and money but what God has to say is.

Listen to what Jesus says: Matthew 19-21"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or—worse!—stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being."

Please share with me your thoughts on this subject. Did God speak to you through this post?