Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.

Proverbs 3:27
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due,                              when it is in your power to do it.

This will more than likely not be a very popular post, but it is one of which God has placed on my heart.  I’ve always hated the month of October in the church because, in my experience, that’s when there’s a stewardship campaign designed to encourage church goers to commit to giving a regular offering.

As a youth, I can remember giving generously of my baby-sitting earnings.  I don’t understand where it came from, but I gave with a cheerful heart.  I often volunteered in the nursery, but would make sure someone took my offering into church for me. 

As an adult, I struggled with giving to the church mostly because there were other things I needed to spend my money on like rent, utilities, food, and a little fun with what was left over.  Once I began working for a paycheck in my church the struggle with giving to church grew stronger.  There was an added pressure…well, expectation for me to give since I was church staff.  I began to resent the concept.  I wanted to get back to the simplicity from which I gave as a youth.  But how?

My initial encouragement came from a source who is often criticized for her teachings on giving – Joyce Meyer.  In this particular teaching she talked from a verse in Malachi.  

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house,

and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.  Malachi 3:10

What I heard in her teaching and what I gathered from studying this scripture a little on my own was that God was asking me to trust Him with my offering.  And He was promising me that He would take care of me.  That in Him, I would never go in want for putting my financial resources to work in His house.  So that was the beginning of my journey to becoming a cheerful giver.

My story is not one in which I began tithing and instantly became wealthy…not even close.  But I have become rich in God’s daily mercies and blessings.  Having a different perspective on my money gave me new insight into God’s ways.  I began seeking ways to invest in building His kingdom here on earth and found great joy in seeing His Kingdom grow.

Yes, I still struggle with giving at times.  Materialism and greed are enticing fruit for me.  I want to have a beautiful home, drive a nice car, and wear stylish clothes.  Yet, I realize that God has blessed me with financial resources for a much greater purpose…for growing His kingdom.

I must be honest.  The church is not perfect.  It is in the hands of humans.  It has flaws.  There are times that I give my money and wonder if it’s being used in the best way.  There are times I don’t agree with my current Pastor and I really don’t want to give to his/her leadership.  But I remind myself that all of that is in God’s hands, not mine.  I am called to give to His church and that’s the part for which I am held accountable the rest is between God and someone else.

There are many great ministries in need of financial support.  Please consider doing your part in investing in God’s kingdom so His ministries can grow beautiful fruit and His kingdom can come and His will be done on earth as it is in heaven.  Give generously to the ministries that have helped you grow.  The ministries from which you are spiritually filled.  And find other ministries that are doing the same for others and give generously to them as well.  Start with your local church and then ask God to help you multiply your impact by giving in your community and around the world. 

I pray that God will begin to grow in you a heart of cheerful giving.  And if you are already blessed with the gift of being a cheerful giver, I pray that you will seek ways that God can continue to expand His kingdom through the gifts of your resources.   Remain faithful to the ministries to which you are already supporting and seek out a new one to bless.  His storehouse will never go empty.  He will provide for you. 

This brings me to an interesting question….If God has such a huge storehouse, why is there need in the world?  Why doesn’t he just provide for all of us and then we can all be happy and no one will go without?  Now, that’s a head-scratcher!

Maybe the storehouse has already been entrusted to us humans.  Maybe the riches have already been poured out.  Maybe the only thing stopping us from having a world free of poverty and hunger is the simple act of giving freely out of what each person has.  Everyone has something to give.  Some large, some small, but all God sees is the heart from which it is given. 

Here are a few additional scriptures about money and giving to encourage you.

Mark 12:41-44
And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”

Hebrews 13:5
Keep your life free from the love of money, and be content with what you have.

Matthew 6:31-33
“Do not worry then, saying, ‘What will we eat?’ or ‘What will we drink?’ or ‘What will we wear for clothing?’ “For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. “But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Proverbs 24:3-4
Through wisdom a house is built, and by understanding it is established; and by knowledge the rooms shall be filled with all precious and pleasant riches.  (not earthly riches, but heavenly ones!)

Luke 3:11
And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.”

Luke 6:30
Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. 

Luke 6:38
Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. 

2 Corinthians 9:6-8
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed.

Luke 6:35
But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.

Romans 14:8
For if we live, we live for the Lord, or if we die, we die for the Lord; therefore whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.