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"I have shown you in every way, by laboring like this, that you must support the weak. And remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He said, 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'"
(Acts 20:35)
Jesus said the blessed life is the life of giving. The Bible overall makes it crystal clear that we should live generous lives here on earth. We can choose to be either generous or stingy. Let us embrace what Jesus teaches and avoid being leeches, as Solomon warns against in Proverbs 30:15 (NLT): "The leech has two suckers that cry out, 'Give me more, Give me more!'"
Ashley and I can give a testimony as so many others can as well. We give our tithes, offerings, time, and ministry to the Lord through our local church. We also give offerings to other ministries. God blesses us in ways too many to count. Yes, some of those ways are financial, and we are grateful. But God also blesses us in so many more ways, not only in what He gives to us, but also by what He protects us from.
Here are some practical pointers that I hope assist you in this critical area of stewardship:
- Everything you have is a gift from God.
Remembering this is the best place to start. He gives you everything you have, and so if God says to give Him 50%, then that is what we should do. I know of some who give 90% and live off 10%! So, if the Lord says bring me your tithes, your 10%, then by all means, do it! If you cannot be faithful in matters of money, then you are not going to be faithful in other matters. Jesus said in Luke 16:11, "And if you are untrustworthy about worldly wealth, who will trust you with the true riches of heaven?"
- Ask God for help.
If you are more a receiver than a giver, ask God to help you change that in your life, so you move from being always in need to someone who helps others in need. God wants you to have this blessed life. But it begins with you recognizing you are not in a good way or on a good path. Ask God to forgive you for being a bad steward and mismanaging your money. Ask Him to forgive you for robbing Him (Malachi 3:8).
- Start small and grow.
Cultivate a lifestyle of being generous. Start giving more of your resources and time. Buy a meal for a stranger, leave a couple of extra dollars in the hotel room for those who will clean it, tip well at restaurants, etc. Start working toward the goal of giving 10% of your income to your local church. If you currently give nothing, then start by at least giving something, and gradually work up to giving a full tithe consistently.
- Learn from others about how to be a good steward.
There are many followers of Jesus who can help you with a budget. We have them in our church. We have many who have gone through Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace program. There are many books and resources that will help you with stewardship.
- Commit to live within your means.
Live like nobody does today so you can live like no one does in the future. Delayed gratification is a wonderful principle for living a blessed life, a principle the Devil does not want you to know about, for he knows it will radically change your life for the better.
Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:21). You may ask, "Why does God ask for 10%? Does He really need my money?" Ha, no! He wants you to trust Him so He can show you how He is your provider. God loves it when we trust Him enough to obey Him even with our money.
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