The Attitude of Giving

One subject that preachers are famous for talking about, but which many sincere ones hate to talk about, is money. We really shouldn't feel that way because it is a subject that is very much a part of Scripture; so even though there has been a lot of poor teaching about money in our day, we are entering this series of study without apology. In our last lesson we talked about the whole general concept of stewardship and investing our resources, not just for this life, but for the rest of life, in Heaven and beyond the grave. Today we are continuing our study by thinking about the underlying attitude that the Scriptures teach about money. In our next study we will be talking about the principles of giving that the Bible teaches. Then in the last study in the series we will be talking about a special kind of giving, the faith promise , that God sometimes calls on us to make.

As we talk about this underlying attitude for giving, we are going to do so from three standpoints: the meaning of giving, the merit of giving, and the method of giving. The basic underlying passage from which we will see these things is one that is not usually associated with money and giving, but that is the starting point for any discussion of those topics. Notice I John, chapter 3, verses 10-23:

As I said a few moments ago, the first thing we want to talk about today is the meaning of giving. Even a cursory reading of this passage will show that it is an obvious reference to material things. Look at verse 17, for example:

The underlying principle relates to the giving of all things, an attitude of giving in every area of life---spiritual, emotional and material. Look at verse 16:

This verse cites the best possible example of giving, the Lord Jesus Himself. How do we know that God loves us? ``By this we know love..." What was the chief characteristic of the Cross? Philippians, chapter 2, verses 4-8, answers that question. Notice as we read:

The key to understanding this passage is verse 5. ``Let this mind be in you..." That phrase is there to illustrate the meaning of the statement just before it in verse 4. The chief characteristic of the Cross was that Jesus didn't focus on His needs and desires (His own interests) but on our needs and desires (our interests). Many times we are so busy seeing to it that we have our rights and our needs met that we can't think about the needs of others. The Apostle Paul is a perfect example of this. Look at Philippians, chapter 3, verse 8:

There had been a time when he had focused solely on his beliefs and practices, his attempts to earn his own righteousness, but when He came to understand what Christ had been willing to do for Him, his whole focus changed and he became a ``giver" of grace to others. So that is the meaning of giving---stretching far beyond the giving of money.

We also need to think carefully about the merit of giving. What is so important about having this attitude? First, our text in I John, chapter 3, verse 17, points out that it is a manifestation of spirituality. Notice this verse again:

Many people think that the manifestations of spirituality are long prayer times, deep Bible knowledge, etc., and that they will never attain these. Those things are important and not to be overlooked, but Scripture gives a much more obvious sign, one that we don't often think of, and that is how we respond to the needs of others. The last line of verse 17 says, ``How does the love of God abide in the person who is able to meet a need and yet won't do it?"

Another merit of giving is that it is a manifestation of salvation. Look at verse 19:

If you are absolutely unmoved by the spiritual, emotional, physical or financial needs of the people around you, you have reason to question whether or not you are even saved. Again, this goes against the grain of our traditional definitions of spirituality, but it is what the Bible says.

There is a third aspect of giving that should be discussed, and that is the method of giving. When we talk about giving, we assume that we are talking about giving money, or at the very least used clothing or canned goods, but let's think about that for a moment. First, it should be pointed out that giving is directly related to receiving. Look at verse 22 again:

If you will glance just above that verse to verses 17-18, you will see that they are some of the most ``giving" verses in the Scripture. Yet, they are found right in the context of receiving things from God, and this is true throughout Scripture in regard to all aspects of life, not just money.

II Corinthians, chapter 1, verses 3-4, applies it to being a spiritual blessing to others.

We plan to look at these verses in more detail in our next studies, but for now, notice again the correlation between giving in verse 7 and receiving in verse 8. These verses basically say that if you will trust Him to do so, God will ``give you the grace of giving," enable you to give to the things He leads you to give to.

The principle of giving flowing out of receiving also applies to our being available to other believers in all kinds of situations. Look at Matthew, chapter 7, verses 11-12:

Verse 12 is what we commonly call The Golden Rule , and you can see that it is not ``he who has the gold rules." This is a very important rule. In fact, many claim it as their only religion, but notice that it comes in the context of giving and receiving (verse 11).

You see, what this law of receiving/giving means is that the important thing in any situation is not how rich you are or how talented you are or what a good host or hostess you are, but whether or not you stay under the stream of God's grace. Remember what II Corinthians, chapter 9, verse 8, says:

I hope you see that the subject of giving is so much broader than just money. It encompasses every area of life, and it includes several important principles. First, there are some cases where money won't help. God may want you to give time or attention or prayer. Second, even if money is needed, He may not want you to give it. He may plan to supply it through somebody else and want you to pray for them. Third, whatever it is that He wants you to give, He can supply you with whatever it is you are supposed to give; but to receive it we have to ``stay under the stream of His grace," or like the old song says it, ``Stay under the spout where the blessings pour out."