That Which He Has Already Given to You He Will Give to You Again
Rev. Tim McConnell
I tend to believe that the spirit and action of giving is one of the most important spiritual practices a disciple of Jesus can claim. I also believe that the attitude we have toward our money and finances directly influences the condition of our relationship with Jesus. How we feel about tithing and sharing our finances can also reflect the level of giving in other areas of our lives.
Generosity is contagious, as it spreads from our money to our time, our talents, our abilities and our presence. Our lack of generosity and the willingness to share is also contagious.
We know as Christians we are taught to share what has been given to us with those who have less. We share our gifts, talents, time, ourselves and, yes, even our financial resources.
So we begin the discussion of giving back to God from our paychecks and the money that finds its way into our pockets and bank accounts. Talking and preaching about this subject can make most of us uncomfortable, because we tend to be very possessive with our hard-earned money.
James Harnish (author of "A Disciple's Path: Deepening Your Relationship with Christ and the Church"), in his discussion about financial generosity, insists that the starting point in a disciple's understanding of giving is the recognition that everything that we have comes from God.
David writes in Psalm 24:1 (CEB), "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it, the world and its inhabitants too." It all belongs to God. James 1:17 (CEB) echoes this truth: "Every good gift, every perfect gift, comes from above. These gifts come down from the Father."
So once we really believe that all the things we have ultimately belong to God, we can go forward into the practice of giving back to God.
The following story illustrates the concept of tithing, the practice of giving back to God what really belongs to him anyway.
Once upon a time there was a man who had nothing, so God gave him 10 apples. The first three apples were for the man to eat, the second three were to trade for shelter, and the last three were to trade for clothing. God gave the man the 10th apple so he might have something to give back to God in gratitude for the other nine.
So the man did just that, he ate the first three and traded the others for shelter and clothes. Then he looked really hard at the 10th apple, knowing that God wanted him to give it back with a grateful heart.
But this last apple seemed so much bigger and juicer than the others, and the man reasoned that God already had all the apples in the world anyway. Why would God need his apple? So, the man ate the 10th apple and gave the core to God.
We should not give because we think God needs our gifts in order to be God, or that the church needs our money to be the church.
Harnish writes, "The people of God — you and me — give to the church and to God because of our gratitude to him. We give back to God what is God's so that through our gifts the love of God can become a tangible reality in our world. Our giving is a reminder of the blessings God gives us and gave to us through Jesus Christ."
We find in John 3:16 three thoughts that should be the foundation of all our giving. God's motivation for giving was love; he gave himself in the person of Jesus; and God gave in response to our need. As we use this example for the basis of our giving, we realize that the only giving God recognizes is giving wrapped in love. In 1 Corinthians 13:3, Paul writes, "If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing" (NIV).
The story that Luke tells us in Chapter 21 reflects Jesus' teachings about our giving as his disciples. The widow gave two coins worth a penny, but her gift came from her heart. Jesus saw the rich people throwing their pocket change into the offering plate. Jesus commented that the poor widow had outgiven them all.
Jesus defines giving not by the size of our gifts, but by the condition of the heart from which it is given. For Jesus and for us, motivation is everything when it comes to giving. A disciple of Jesus will give because of his/her gratitude for God's gifts so freely given.
This is the opinion of the Rev. Tim McConnell, assistant pastor of Long's Chapel United Methodist Church in Lake Junaluska. Contact him at 828-456-3993 or pastortimmc.blogspot.com.
Source: https://www.citizen-times.com/story/life/2017/10/28/devotional-why-do-we-give-back-to-god/795253001/
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