The world of the generous gets larger and larger; the world of the stingy gets smaller and smaller.
A generous person will prosper;
Proverbs 11:24-25
What is generosity? Generosity is the quality of being generous. A generous person is willing to give money, help, kindness, etc., especially more than is usual or expected (Cambridge Dictionary).
The above verses present a paradox: you become richer by being generous. The world says to hold on to as much as possible, but God blesses those who give freely of their money, possessions, time and energy. When we give, God supplies us with more so that we can give more. In addition giving helps us gain a right perspective on our possessions. We realise they were never really ours to begin with, but they were given to us by God to be used to help others.
What do we gain by giving? We gain freedom from enslavement to our possessions (your possessions will not possess you), the joy of helping others and God’s approval.
In John 6:1-14 we see that God’s math works in this way:
Everything you have x God = everything you need + more
Do you struggle with giving? Do you feel your possessions possess you? If so what are you going to do about it?
How we should approach giving
God gave us his most precious "possession" – his Son (John 3:16). So here is the thing: Refuse to serve God leftovers.
And when you offer the blind as a sacrifice,
Is it not evil?
And when you offer the lame and sick,
Is it not evil?
Offer it then to your governor!
Would he be pleased with you?
Would he accept you favorably?”
Says the LORD of hosts. . - Malachi 1:8
In the above passage people kept the best animals for themselves and offered God leftovers. They assumed God would be pleased because they had sacrificed something. Refuse to give God a scrap or two just because you feel guilty for giving him nothing. Refuse to mumble a few words at the end of the day, when you lie in bed half asleep. Refuse to have a mindset that says: “Do I have to give?!”
God described this practice as evil. Let’s stop calling it: busy schedule, bills, forgetfulness, sickness and call it as it is: Evil. Your greatest fear should not be of failure but of succeeding at things that don’t really matter.
Do you offer God leftovers of your money, time and energy?