“Give, and it shall be given you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured unto you again.’
People do not really care to hear about giving, but giving is an integral part of the Bible. We are not told in the Bible to just give but to be giving people. Giving should come from who and what we are as Christians. Are you a giving person? Giving covers every aspect of our lives. We should give of ourselves. We should give of ourselves to other people. This is what Christian service is all about. I remember that early in my ministry I asked the Lord what it meant to serve Him. The answer that He gave me in my heart was that to serve Him is to serve people. Think about what Jesus did while He was here. His service was concerned with people – all kinds of people. He served the poor, the wealthy, the sick and whatever other human need there was . Jesus was not afraid to give of Himself to others. That’s what Jesus did when He died on the cross. We have spiritual gifts, or we might call them talents, that are intended to enable us in our service to God and people. We need to share these gifts. They are not given to keep for ourselves. We should give of our time. This is what the Good Samaritan did. It took time for him to look out for the wounded man’s needs. Jesus said that this is what we should do. We need to give people our time and we need to give God our time. For example, we need to take the time to pray, to read the Bible, to serve the Lord in the church and in the community. We should give of our money. I call this meddling. People don’t seem to care when we talk about giving of time and talent, but when we get on money we “done gone to meddling.” During his sermon a preacher said, “Everybody who drinks liquor is going to hell.” A little old lady on the front pew said “amen.” Next he said, “Everybody who smokes cigarettes is going to hell.” The little old lady said “amen.” He concluded: “Everybody who dips snuff is going to hell.” The little old lady said,” Uh oh, preacher you done gone to meddling now.” That’s the reaction we get when we talk about money. It’s like, “Lord you can have my heart, but leave my pocketbook alone.” The Bible never hesitates to ask us to give of our time, talents and substance. But read on: There is a promise that goes with giving: “Give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure you mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” I know this is an old saying, but it is worth repeating: “We cannot out give God.” Giving is reciprocal. In modern language, Luke 6:38 is telling us that the measure that we give is the measure that will be given back to us. This reciprocation is true of all of life. The more give of ourselves, the more God returns to us. The more we give of our time, the more God returns to us. The same is true of money. This should not be our main motivation for giving, but it is true. The question is are you a giver? Do you withhold yourself? Do you withhold your time? Do you withhold your money? If so, you are cheating yourself out of a lot of blessings that God wants to give you. All I can tell you now is to give it a try, and you will be delighted at what God will do in your life. It’s true! Try it! Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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September 2021
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