Give unto the Lord

But remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth, and so confirms his covenant, which he swore to your ancestors, as it is today. (Deuteronomy 8:18)

Over the years, I have heard people use many different excuses to justify why they are giving meager amounts to the Lord, rather than giving back to the Lord the way Scripture instructs. It honestly breaks my heart to see people being stingy with their giving to God, considering that He gave everything to us in the first place.

Scripture makes it very clear that we are to give the first ten percent of everything we earn to the Lord. This way, we choose not only to be faithful to Him with our finances, but we also develop more trust in Him as we give back what is rightfully His. We give even when it feels like we might not have enough left over.

Our trust and faithfulness begins with our heart attitude on giving.  Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Are you a cheerful giver? God wants us to learn to be abundant givers, not legalistic givers. He doesn’t want you to say, “I gave the 10 %, now I'm off the hook.” God wants us to learn how to be abundant givers so that our hearts are moved toward meeting needs. As God gives us the ability to earn wealth, He uses that ability to meet the needs in someone's life, to fund ministry, and to reach many people for Christ.

While it feels great to give to those in need, you must remember that every time you give, you are giving to the Lord. You are not giving to the church or to a person. You are ultimately giving your resources, your time, and your treasures to the Lord, for Him to bless others. He can do so much more with what you give than you ever could do with what you keep. Don’t be stingy and don’t hold back. Be generous with your giving and give to the Lord with confident expectation of what He will do through your obedience to Him.