We were created to give. The world, the devil, and our flesh (our old nature) tell us that we need to take and get, but this is a lie. We were made in the image of God, and so we should operate on the principle of giving and receiving, not taking and getting. We receive from God and we give generously to others.
Giving is not a burden but a joy and a gift. It has been shown that one of the key factors that makes people happy is giving. Jesus said it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). Now we tend to fear giving because we think it will make us poor, but this is not the case. If you read the Old Testament you will find that one of the keys to security is being generous (Psalm 112:8,9). We live in a different kingdom and we have a different relationship. We live in the kingdom of God, and we have been adopted as children of God. Giving is about living in this new kingdom and this new relationship.
Now sometimes people teach as if the sowing and reaping bit her means that as we give money we can expect to receive money, as if there is a causal relationship between the two. This is not the right way to look at it, for it is a legalistic way. When we give money we should give in order to achieve a purpose. We give to enhance the work of the church, to support missions, to help the poor. The harvest we should be looking for is the growth of the kingdom, seeing people set free. And we do all this knowing that our God will supply all our needs (Phil 4:19), we do not do it so that God will supply our needs. God supplies our needs not because we give, but because He loves us. But giving is a vital part of kingdom life, if we want to experience the life of the kingdom we need to be people who give.
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