Why Give
Giving is thanksgiving
When we understand God’s goodness and giving to us, we respond in thankfulness. When someone has been generous to us it challenges us to be generous to others. Thankfulness is a matter of heart, not of how much. Thanksgiving is a response to God’s grace, not an obligation.
4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name. 5 For the LORD is good and his love endures forever; his faithfulness continues through all generations. (Psalm 100:4-5)
Giving is stewardship
Whether we think we have a lot or a little, the resources we have been given come with responsibility. Jesus said, “When someone has been given much, much will be required in return; and when someone has been entrusted with much, even more will be required.” (Luke 12:48 NLT)
Giving is faith
Giving is an exercise in trusting God, trusting him with what you have, not with what you don’t have. Trusting him to provide you with what you need for the assignments he has given you.
7 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. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. (2 Corinthians 9:7-8)
Giving is an exercise in how we want to be treated
37 “Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. 38 Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (Luke 6:37-38)
