Sharing can be both a joy and hardship at times in our lives. When it’s on our own terms it’s the best thing ever and we love to do it, but when we are called outside our terms, is when it becomes a chore, something that we do not want to participate in and can even bring us to unrighteous anger and bitterness.
Why is this? Well, it’s ultimately because we have the wrong perspective, we are seeing through the lens of the flesh and neglecting God’s perspective.
1 Timothy 6:17-19 says “Instruct those who are rich in this present world not to be conceited or to fix their hope on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly supplies us with all things to enjoy. Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, storing up for themselves the treasure of a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is life indeed”
While reading this passage, many questions started to emerge, which changed my perspective on giving, resetting my focus and allowing me to be thankful for opportunities to give. Here are a few that I think are beneficial for everyone, generous or not, to consider. And through these, I believe more intentionality will come when giving:
- What’s the purpose or goal of my giving?
- Am I really the one who is in charge of my giving? (Do I call the shots ultimately?)
- If I were a generous person, what would that look like ? (What does a generous person look like?)
- What does giving look like in God’s economy?
There’s a lot that can be discussed in all these questions, but let me share some of the conclusions I came to and would encourage you to sincerely ponder these things as well (and please share them with me too 🙂
Firstly, my goal in giving should always, always, always be to glorify God and then bless others. This fulfills the greatest commandments to love God and others, and often I can lose this perspective due to my selfishness, trying to hold onto something that isn’t even mine.
Secondly, God has allowed me to watch over a small amount of His money, yes, His money. It’s not yours because you’re under Him. Hearing this either leads us to push back or give in and we need God to soften our hearts constantly to His authority in our lives so we can be generous and cheerful givers (2 Corinthians 9:7).
Thirdly, this question struck me a bit and it’s something I’ve never pondered, and when imagining my “generous self,” I primarily think about my attitude when giving. I desire to be someone who loves to give and to give abundantly. I look back at the times when giving is a joy and how special those times were, that giving up something in my life was actually a joy, not a struggle that I felt somewhat bad about doing because of the worry about funds or the consequences, how hard I worked for it etc. God gives so freely. I want to become more like Christ and His willing and generous Spirit!
Fourthly, I believe giving in God’s economy looks like a constant flow of out, trusting that He will put it right back in. He has made us to be a blessing (Genesis 12:2, Ephesians 2:10). If I believe in the all-powerful God I say I do, why can’t I trust Him with my money, time and possessions? I want to, but Lord, please help me.
We must understand that God can make $1 under His control go longer and produce more fruit than $100,000 in our control. When we recognize that God has given us opportunities to give that some less fortunate people don’t necessarily have and that through these opportunities He wants us to know His sufficiency, seeing Him at work and to grow us into more of the image of Christ (Romans 8:29). This than leads us to thanksgiving which is apart of His will for our lives (1 Thessalonians 5:18).
To end, I will come back to 1 Timothy 6 and mention three points I want to leave with you:
V.17 – We need to fix our hope on God, not riches, having the perspective that He supplies all things for us to enjoy. It’s God who is our provider and security not the temporary riches.
V.18 – God wants us to be generous and ready to share. Are we ready to share His life through giving today?
V.19 – We have our treasure in Christ, knowing this allows us to give away because we have everything we will ever need in Him – “Life”
Blessings from your boy, Bubba, Bubski or Triple B
By: Ethan Bolhuis
