“You will be enriched in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.” 2 Corinthians 9:11 CSB
When this is published, and you are reading this, it will be three weeks from now, almost four. I will be excited to read this in the future, knowing what has happened to me today that has prompted this writing. I am praying that when I read this in the future, the prayer I have been praying for months will have finally been answered, God willing in a favorable way. But I don’t know that will be the case. I do know, however, God is asking me to give more today than I have ever given before this. I do know, He’s asking me who truly comes first in my heart, Him or me? I’m going with Him.
Giving more than you receive is difficult. We get attached to our money, our stuff. We work hard for all we have. Giving the things we have away seems contradictory to all of the hard work we do to achieve it. But we can’t out give God. No matter what He is asking us to give, we can’t out give all He has done for us. We can’t out give the health He has given us, we can’t out give the provisions He has given us, we can’t out give the life He has given us. I know when we play the comparison game, we can feel like He has given others more than He has given us, but don’t fall for that lie. Appearances lie, Facebook lies, people lie. No one wants to admit what their life is really like. No one wants to admit the things they worry about, or the things that keep them awake at night. Think about how hard we all work to cover up the truth. I color my hair to hide the gray because I hate to admit that I’m getting older. When I see a woman wearing a lot of make-up, dressed to perfection, I always wonder, “What is she trying so hard to cover up?”
When God asks us to give, He doesn’t do it to punish us. He does it to see who is first in our hearts. Tithing is giving the first 10% of our income back to God. People love to debate tithing, is it net or gross? Is tithing just money or does it mean our time as well? If I’m volunteering shouldn’t that count towards my tithing? All of these questions are forgetting the main point, everything we have, whether it be money or time, comes from God. When God asks us to give back the first 10%, we’re just giving back to Him what is already His. Giving isn’t about the money, it’s about the faith that is attached with the giving. Tithing isn’t a money issue, it’s a heart issue. When you give to God, you’re telling Him, “You come first with me. I know You can do more with the 90% than I can do with the 100%. And if You ask me to give more than that, that’s fine too. All I have is Yours, I’m just giving it back to You.”
I have no idea what God is asking You to give today, but I do know this, you can’t possibly out give God for all He has done for you. When you give, you always get more than you receive.
