Giving

Giving

Who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you have already given us! –1 Chronicles 29:14

One Christmas, a member of our church gave one thousand dollars to Roy Carter, a pastor at our church, to be given to people who needed it in whatever way he saw fit. The man wasn’t interested in getting a receipt to save on his taxes or accomplishing any particular agenda; he just wanted to experience the joy of giving. And he wasn’t the only person to get a big kick out of it. Roy had a great time giving the money away! As staff members told him about various people’s needs, he relished the fun of counting out the cash. “What made it so much fun,” explained Roy, “was that it wasn’t my money. I had no hesitancy to give it away because it wasn’t mine to begin with.”

It’s easy to give away what belongs to somebody else. But it is much more painful to part with what we think belongs to us. And because we have a foundational misunderstanding about who really owns the things we think of as ours, we have a hard time giving to others and to God. We believe what we own is ours to do with as we please. But when we understand that everything we call our own has come from God and is, in fact, still God’s, giving it away is not such a painful process. In fact, it becomes rich with joy. We’re able to give with abandon because we realize that what we’re giving away was never ours to begin with. We’re just stewards of what really belongs to God, and he allows us the pleasure of enjoying what he owns as well as the joy of giving it back to him. We become people who love to give out of our love for God. Giving becomes a way we worship.

Do you have resources to meet the material needs of others, spiritual strength that could encourage others, experience or expertise that could benefit others? Can you see everything you have materially, emotionally, professionally, and personally as a gift from God? Giving it back to him to be used (or perhaps even misused, in our opinion) by others is an expression of genuine worship, showing the world that you choose to rest in God’s provision for you.

Owner of everything, I want to experience the joy and freedom that come from worshiping you through giving. Show me how I can give myself and what is “mine” away in ways that bring you glory.

DIGGING DEEPER