Giving As Faithfulness

Giving as a part of a balanced redemptive lifestyle

There are many actions we can do, that if we do them right, we are displaying our faith in God. We can pray, and as long as we are doing it for God, not other people, then God recognizes it as an act of faith. We can get baptized, and as long as it is not an empty social ritual, God recognizes it as an act of faith in Jesus. But one of the most significant acts we can do to show that our faith is real is by giving. In James, giving to a brother in need is used as an example of faith (James 2:15-17). In I John, giving to a brother in need is used to show our love of God (I John 3:16-17). But even giving is only potentially an act of faith. It isn’t necessarily. We can give to others through empty motives, or we can give for the sake of God, wishing him alone to reward us.

How to give without faithfulness to God

Giving as a ritual
Sacrifices in the Old Testament were ultimately a gift to God, in hopes that he would listen to the needs of the giver. God often accepted the sacrifice, but if a person was just shallowly obeying a ritual, without any desire for God or his salvation, then God refused to accept the sacrifice (Isaiah 1:11-15). And most often, God was unhappy with sacrifices because the people were giving to God, but refusing to give justice to the poor and needy (Isaiah 1:17; Isaiah 58; Matthew 12:7). Also if the people offered sacrifice without love of God, he would refuse it (Hosea 6:6). God desires giving to assist the needy—not to just increase a church’s coffers. And he desires people to give out of a desire for him—not just because they are “supposed to.”

Giving just for personal gain
Some people give because they know they can receive from others in the long run. If we give parties and do favors for the wealthy and important, then later we can ask them for favors. Perhaps they will treat us kindly and give us gifts. The thinking, says Jesus, is not wrong, but our only patron should be God alone. If we want to gain good gifts, we should give to God alone. And who does God want us to give to? The needy. So Jesus tells us to gain God’s favor, we should shower parties and gifts on the needy and do favors for them—and then God, the greatest benefactor, will do us mighty favors. (Luke 14:12-14; Luke 16:9)

Giving to impress others
Some people give in order to gain praise and recognition from others. Some of the most famous philanthropists give huge amounts of money so that they will gain recognition as philanthropists—and their every gift is advertised. Others are interested in recognition only by the IRS, in order to gain a tax deduction. Or some want their name on a plaque, or even a newsletter, gaining recognition of their gifts. However, Jesus told us to give in secret in order to give in a way that only God sees. (Matthew 6:1-4) If we are only trying to impress God, then we will gain God’s reward. But if we are trying to impress other people, then God will not give us any reward—no matter how good we think we are. Remember, God doesn’t care about how “good” our reputation is, only how faithful we are before Him.

How to show your faithfulness to God through giving

1. To give sacrificially is to impress God
Jesus saw many people giving to God. Many people gave many huge gifts. But the only gift that impressed him—the only one that caused him to take notice was the small, sacrificial gift. God doesn’t care how large our gift is. It could be millions or dollars, or it might be just a few dollars. But our love to God is shown when we give all that we have to God. And God does not reward a large pocket, but a large heart. (Mark 12:41-44; Luke 7:47)

2. To give willingly is to show pure motivation
Many people give, but they feel that it is a terrible trial, an overwhelming burden. And often they let everyone know about it. But the Lord is looking for those who give to him and to his people willingly—those who give happily to those who need it. These people who give with open hearts show the purity of their love for God, for they give out of joy, not because they feel forced by God. (II Corinthians 9:7)

3. We give in love, for to love is to fulfill the word of God
It is easy to give without a desire to benefit another. We can sacrifice everything we have, and only do it because we are forced to. We can give because of social pressure. We can give because we want something out of God or out of someone else. But Paul warns us that even if we give everything we have, if we do not give out of a concern to benefit others, then our giving was pointless (I Corinthians 13:3). To love is to fulfill God’s word, and to do God’s word is life, both now and eternally (Romans 13:8-10; Matthew 7:21). To love is to do all that God requires of us, and we will gain our reward from Him.

4. To give to the needy is to represent God’s interest
When God told us to give, he did not tell us to build buildings or to create statues. There is nothing wrong with these things as gifts of love to God, but they are not God’s heart. God’s heart is with the needy, those who cry out to him day and night for justice. God hears the people who have no one else to turn to, no one else to save them. They are God’s true heart, and God wants us to give to them. To give to a church is not necessarily to give to God. Rather, to give to the poor—that is storing treasure in heaven. (Luke 12:33; Mark 10:21; Exodus 22:22-27; James 1:27)

5. To give to the representatives of Jesus is to give to Jesus
If we give to those who love God, then we are giving to God, and showing our love of God as well. The world can know how much we love God by how much we love those who love God. The world can know that we belong to Jesus if we love those who love Jesus. And the world can see that we love Jesus if we give to other’s who come in Jesus’ name. On the last day, our love of Jesus will be measured—not by our prayers to God or by our faithfulness in evangelism—our love will be measured by how much we showed our love to Jesus’ people. (Luke 16:9; Matthew 10:40-42; John 13:35; Matthew 25:31-46)

6. If we give for the next age, we are increasing our reward from God
All that Jesus said about giving could be summarized in this way: don’t make investments for this age—this age is falling apart. This age will soon be destroyed. Rather, give so that you can gain great benefits in the next age, where the only rewards are handed out by God. If we want to impress someone with our giving—impress God. If we want to gain something from our giving—let’s get something from God. If we want to make investments for the future—let’s invest in God’s future. When you compare a finite present to an eternal future, eternity is all that counts. (Matthew 6:19-24)