One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:24-25
Anne Frank once said, “No one has ever become poor by giving”. Sounds like a paradox. The generous always seem to have more to give. Is it because they give out of their abundance, so they still have more? Or because generosity begets generosity? The generous give and they receive more in return. A farmer doesn’t view sowing seeds as a loss and expects a harvest in due season. Likewise, when we give, we are not losing anything but merely sowing into eternity. We are storing up treasures in heaven.
True generosity is not about the size of our wealth but the size and posture of our hearts. The widow with two small coins gave all that she had, and Jesus praised her for giving out of her poverty. Jesus used the boy’s humble lunch of five loaves and two fish to feed thousands. The early church was willing to share everything it had. The Macedonian churches gave generously to the poor despite being in deep poverty. These acts of giving proved that generosity is not about abundance at all, but about availability. God looks at the attitude of our hearts more than the amount we give. We entrust God with whatever we have. God multiplies what we place in His hands. True generosity is not only sacrificial and joyful, but it also breaks the chains of selfishness in us. Ask God to give you a heart that delights in giving. Shift your priorities and attitude from “What can I take?” to “What can I give?”.
Giving leads to an increase, while stinginess leads to a loss. Paradoxically, the more we give, the more God entrusts us with. The opposite is also true. Jesus promises that when we cultivate a lifestyle of generosity, we will never be left with less. He is a generous God. He will never leave scraps to those who are generous to Him. They will never be forsaken. When we give with a pure heart, God gives back in abundance. As the saying goes, we can never outgive God!
If you don’t believe, see what God says in Malachi 3:10. He challenges us to test him and see if He will give us overflowing blessings in return. No one becomes truly poor by giving because God repays us in ways far beyond what we give and what we can imagine. Generosity opens doors to God’s abundant blessings that stinginess can never. It makes room for God’s blessings.
Are your resources at His disposal? Are you willing to give even when it stretches you? Ask God to help you see giving as a gain and not a loss. Partner with God and sow into something bigger than yourself. Allow God to make you a vessel of His generosity today.
DAILY MEDITATIONS
Monday: Luke 6:38
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.
Tuesday: Acts 20:35
It is more blessed to give than to receive.
Wednesday: 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap 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.
Thursday: Deuteronomy 15:10
Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.
Friday: Psalm 37:25-26
I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.
Saturday: Hebrews 13:16
And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
Sunday: Malachi 3:10
Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
All scriptures are quoted from the New International Version (NIV).
By Pastor Katherine Han
