“One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.”
Proverbs 11:24 NIV

We gain by giving. We lose by withholding!

You may recall the story about the widow and her son who were about to eat their last meal, as noted in I Kings 17. After that, they assumed they would just starve to death, because they had no more food available and there was a famine in the land. In our culture today, this is very hard for many of us to comprehend. Some people teach that we should give to get. Others teach that we should sacrifice and withhold from our family in order to give more. Neither extreme point of view is correct. We must provide for our family. We should not give to get. Our attitude should be one of obedience and liberality. The best way to give to the Lord is to understand all that he has given to us, and then freely give back to him.

God removes His blessings from those who withhold. He cannot bless an act of disobedience. Our money becomes a curse when we think more of our money than we do of God. One of the greatest privileges God has given us is to participate in the blessings of regular tithing and the giving of our offerings.

When we freely give to God, regardless of our own personal need, we allow God to be big in our lives. We allow him to provide for us. This can only happen as we buy into the principle of giving freely. If we are stingy in our giving and withhold from the Lord, we miss the many blessings and provisions that He wants to shower upon us.

What do you think? Let’s hear your comment!

Content © Rich Brott, 2011

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