Do you want to know how much God wants you to give? Have you been asking that question? Or have you been ignoring the question in hopes no one will bring it up? Do you know that God already knows your thoughts?
Some of us have heard all types of answers to the questions above. We have heard we are to give everything. We have heard we are to give generously. We have heard we are to give ten percent. We have heard we should give until it hurts.
Here is the truth of the matter, all those answers are correct—if they are given in the proper context. First, we should give all we have to God. That doesn’t mean we are not to use it ourselves. But we are to use all we have to serve God in doing the good works He has planned out for us in advance.
We are to give generously. After all, God has given to us generously. He has blessed us with everything we have, regardless of how much or how little. Think about your job, home, clothing, vehicle, food, drink, furniture, and on and on and on.
We are commanded to give ten percent. The same law God gave to the Israelites still applies today. Jesus did not abolish it, He fulfilled it. In fact, He more than fulfilled it–He gave all of Himself for us. So, giving ten percent of our income is not too much to expect.
We should give until it hurts. Only by giving sacrificially can we begin to understand in the smallest of terms what it means for God to give to us. He sacrificially gave of Himself to save us. He wants us to grow in our faith through sacrificial giving.
I pray we all decide to give sacrificially. I pray we will give generously. I pray each one of us will look to God as our example for giving. Give all you have to God. Give generously. Give ten percent. Give until it hurts. Give sacrificially.
Mark 12:41-44 Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents.
Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
Marty Pressey 