Part I – Giving
Guest blog by Pastor Pam Dyck, The River Community Church, Abbotsford, BC
Pastor Pam Dyck has recently been a guest on the “Let’s Talk Money with Dave and Reb”podcast. She is also the author of the book Soul Restored. (pamdyck.com) She has a heart to see people set free to receive the love of God the Father, and love Him in return. Her passion comes through in her teaching, her writing, and her life. Here are some of her thoughts on giving and receiving.
Giving and receiving are big subjects, and ones that have so often been tainted by wrong motives, or manipulation on both sides of this topic. So, I’m going to just wade right in and give you my thoughts!
Giving out of a heart full of love!
First, let me clarify that I believe all giving and receiving must be done by, and with, a heart full of love! It’s the love that changes how you give, and love that changes how you receive! When you know how loved you are by God, you can see His provision in however He chooses to supply it. Plus when you love, you also realise that all giving and receiving is not limited by money! There are so many ways to give – that’s why it’s important that we take the time to ‘think’ and actually hear God on what the need is that He wants to meet. It could be through finances, but it could be through time, some groceries, gift cards or even a tank of gas! Don’t limit giving just to dollars!
Many people have, at one time or another, been on the receiving end of what has felt like ‘arm twisting or sob stories’ to get someone to ‘give’ to a cause.
2 Corinthians 9:6-7 says, “Remember: A stingy planter gets a stingy crop; a lavish planter gets a lavish crop. I want each of you to take plenty of time to think it over, and make up your own mind what you will give. That will protect you against sob stories and arm-twisting. God loves it when the giver delights in the giving. (The Message)
The verses admonish us to give by taking plenty of time to think it over and decide, and this will protect us “against sob stories and arm-twisting.” Giving should not be manipulated. In fact this Scripture clearly puts the responsibility on us to take time to think over where we are to give, what we are to give to, and how much. Why? Because God clearly wants us to understand the importance of giving where we sense HIM directing us. By waiting and listening to Him, it also says that in the end, knowing we have heard God on the subject, will actually PROTECT us against ‘arm twisting and sob stories’. Amazing isn’t it? You may actually hear God say a ‘yes’ to giving to a specific person or project, but you could also hear ‘no’, without feeling guilty! God doesn’t want us giving out of guilt or manipulation, but out of a heart that has heard Him say, “Right here. Sow here!”
You can’t outgive God
Scripture also tells givers to be generous. The reality is this: you cannot outgive God, because He doesn’t just pour His love out on us, but actually LAVISHES His love on us. Now that’s going over the top.
Generosity that Frees Us
Let’s look at another reward for being generous. Proverbs 11:24 says, “The world of the generous grows larger and larger, but the world of the stingy grows smaller and smaller.” (The Message)
Hmmmm – picture that! A generous person’s world is extended and increased – why? Not because they are ‘buying blessings’, but because generosity frees them! Yes, generosity FREES us! We know who is our Provider and where our provision comes from. Plus, we know that all we have is HIS. We give away what is His, not ours. We are giving away, so we don’t worry or fret about having to hold onto things.
The Stingy Man’s World is Shrinking
While a generous person’s world expands, a stingy person has to keep her wealth or provision close to her. She has to watch it all the time, and live with the worry of someone getting more than her, or being robbed of what she has. Her world shrinks, as she gathers to herself.
Meeting Needs
In discovering generosity, remember we are not responsible to meet every need! What we are responsible for is to meet the needs that God assigns us. That’s it! It’s that simple. We partner with God to bless, to pour out, to provide for others, but doing only what we hear the Father saying to do! Jesus did it that way -we can too!