Praying God's Wisdom: Giving Generously

 

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.  2 Corinthians 9:7

 How are you? It’s a question we ask others all the time, but do we really mean it? Are we really interested in how they are doing? Much of the time, I would guess we are not, because we don’t even pause to hear the answer or follow up. Our culture, at least where I live, has come to see it as a greeting, not a question. We are conditioned to reply “fine” or “great” or “ok.” It is very uncommon to hear anyone say anything else. My husband went through a season where he defied the cultural norms of this question-greeting and he actually followed up on it. He would ask people what “ok” meant to them, where their percentage was. Did ok mean 51%? 60%? 75%? He wanted to know how people were really doing, and wanted them to know that he cared about it. It led to dozens (hundreds?) of interesting conversations, and all because he wasn’t being stingy with his time.

 When it comes to giving, most people think of money. Tithes and offerings are frequently talked about in the Bible or in church. Charitable giving is a topic much discussed in tax season. In some circles, how much you give serves to define the type of person you want to be seen as, so it is advertised broadly – I’ve even seen Super Bowl commercials where companies paid millions of dollars to tell the world about how much they gave. In others, we don’t want our right hand to know what our left hand is doing, so we give in secret (Matthew 6:1-4). But giving isn’t just about money. I don’t know about you, but it is often easier for me to give my tithe to church than it is to stop and talk with a stranger on the street. Jesus gave of Himself in so many ways during His time on earth, setting the example for us to follow. We are to be a generous, giving people, and that doesn’t start and end with our finances.

 But what about healthy boundaries? What about taking care of ourself first (putting on our oxygen mask) and then helping others with what’s left? Here’s the amazing thing about God’s economy, it’s not set up on one-for-one transactions. Our finite minds see $5 in our wallet and if we give that $5 to someone, then we don’t have anything left. In God’s economy, if we have $5 and we keep it, we only have $5, but if we give that $5 away to someone that God directs us to, we might look back in our wallet and find that we still have $5 somehow. Now, that’s not literal. Don’t run out with $5 and see if magic happens. But I’ve had the concept hold true time and time again, both financially and in other ways.

 Remember, giving isn’t just about money, it’s about ourselves as well. I’ve been super tired, barley staying upright, and my kid needed something. Maybe it was help with homework or just a conversation about their day. I didn’t think I had it in me, but I wanted to do the right thing, so I met them where they were at. Not only did God give me what I needed to be there for them in that moment, I came out of it with more energy than I went into it with! I’ve mentioned before about my Bible study time. Yes, I spend hours each day on my Bible study and you would think that would eat into the time I have to do the others things I need to, but instead, I find that on days when I do my Bible study first thing in the morning I actually end up with more time and get more done. It’s like, when we do things 1+1=2, but when God does them with us 1+1=6.

Here’s the Thing: God math may not add up the way we expect it to, but we can always count on it. If He has led us to give $5 to someone who needs it or take 5 minutes to find out how someone really is, He will provide for the deficit, and we will find ourselves blessed far beyond what we gave. But it’s an act of faith. We don’t know how or when He will provide, but we trust that He will. I can tell you for certain that He’s never let me down!