Give away your life; you'll find life given back, but not merely given back—given back with bonus and blessing. Giving, not getting, is the way. Generosity begets generosity. ~Luke 6:38 (MSG)
Our human nature tells us to hold on to what we have while we strive to acquire more. But human nature doesn’t take into account the spiritual principles of giving. When we give, we should feel anticipation, not loss. Jesus tells us in Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” (NIV) If we aren’t seeing increase in our life, scripture teaches that we should check our giving. Giving is a spiritual law and was set in place by God just as the natural law of gravity was set in place by God. When we give to honor God, we find true and lasting increase. All honor and glory belong to God, we worship Him with our hearts, and we worship Him with our actions. God was our example in giving. He gave it all. Everything we have and everything we are goes to God’s credit. Every breath we take is a gift from Him. If we choose not to be like God and walk in His ways scripture teaches that we are just putting our money into “pockets with holes in them”. In other words, there will never be enough! When we are not following Gods way of doing things, we cannot expect His blessing. Not to mention that there is a blessing in giving that everyone should experience. Have you ever helped someone out? It feels good, doesn’t it? Have you ever been a blessing to someone who didn’t need what you had to offer but it made them feel loved and appreciated? That feels good too! Everybody needs to be blessed and we all need to look for ways to be a blessing every day. That’s how we operate in God’s Kingdom, which by the way, we have been translated to. God tells us in Colossians 1:13 He has “delivered us from the power of darkness, and has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son." (KJV)
The central theme in the book of Haggai is for God’s people to consider their ways. He tells them in Haggai 1:6 “You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it.” (NIV) This is because God’s people had begun to look out for themselves first. Who are you looking out for? God wants us to be aggressive about loving others and proactive about helping them get ahead. Paul writes in Philippians 2:3-4 “Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others.” (NIV) Being self-focused and striving to be at the top is going backwards in God’s economy. he says the first will be last and the last will be first. Pray for opportunities to show love to others by helping them get ahead and reach their goals, then you will receive it given back to you and God says it will be good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over.
But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. ~Matthew 6:33 (NIV)
In what tangible ways are you proactively helping others?
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