Anyway, after amassing the decorations and then starting to hang them up, I really felt God remind me that, in all the festivities, Christmas is an especially great time of year to give.
Every other time also is a great time to give. One of the reasons I see giving as so important is because it’s so close to the heart of God: We never have to wonder whether generosity is something He’s pleased with – we already know it is. As I’ve said before, one of my all-time favorite verses – and a life motto, which I remember learning in second grade, is 2 Corinthians 9:7:
Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (NIV).
I also believe that this is one of – if not the most – important verse on giving for the people of God. As I’ve said before, I strongly believe that it’s infinitely more significant for helping people understand God’s heart for giving than Malachi 3:10, which a lot of churches use to convince people to open up their wallets. Ultimately, God owns everything, and He doesn’t just want to use our resources for His kingdom, He is most concerned with our hearts. Further, as we can forget, The God of the Universe has a heart too, and LOVES it when we give from our hearts. Don’t you love the idea of making the God of the Universe happy?!? That’s awesome!
God’s been teaching me more lessons about giving this year. I’ve blogged before about some principles of giving (which you can revisit here if you’d like), so I don’t want to rewrite them. What I want to do is encourage us all to consider how God is calling us to give this season.
This whole year, God’s been showing me new ways and areas to give. In that spirit, I listened to this great message about giving from a pastor visiting Elevation Church, Robert Morris. He’s given in some big ways over the years – at God’s leading he’s voluntarily relinquished his transportation (including the two cars he owned at one time and use of a private jet and personal pilot that someone gave him voluntarily for his ministry); income he needed to pay bills, his house, his retirement accounts, and much more. He exemplifies, and notes, the adage, “you can never out give God.” It really challenged me, and would encourage you to check it out here, or on iTunes, Elevation Church: Charlotte > Banner Years…11/17/12 Message) !
I believe that many of us could stand to give more than we actually do. Sometimes there is a perception among God’s people that “as long as I’m tithing - or trying to tithe - I’m good.” But there are so many other needs in the world for which God can call us to give our money, time and abilities to that we’ll miss out on if we focus on just tithing. And further, if we’re tithing reluctantly or under compulsion – because we heard we’re supposed to, we want people to think we’re generous or just because of the money that we think we’ll get back from God, we’re not actually giving cheerfully as God desires that we do (I also note that I do not believe tithing is a command as in the Old Testament sense, but I do see tithing as a good minimum New Testament guideline for churches, but only a guideline – meaning that giving 10% does not necessarily fulfill God’s call to give for every person – and that following 2 Corinthians 9:7 will lead to true, God-honoring giving, while relying on a 10% command may not. Further, there is a lot of biblical study on Old Testament giving indicating that people actually gave more than 10 percent. But my point here is not even that everyone must give more than 10 percent– we give out of what God has given us – but to emphasize that giving is a heart matter, not a numbers thing. I believe that when the heart is right – cheerful, as God loves and intends it– the number will be right – whether that’s 2% or 50%, because we’ll be giving what He intends that we give. Biblical guidance on giving is a topic I plan to tackle in detail on this blog at some point after I’ve had time to do all the necessary exegesis, laid out in proper expository format, lol, so this is not the end of this long aside).
Christmas is a time that we thank God for the indescribable gift of His Son to save us from sin. It’s also a time when people have needs unique to this point in the year. It’s starting to get cold, and some people don’t have – and can’t afford – coats to keep warm, or to pay their heating bills. Others are separated from family during the holiday for reasons such as school, work or even prison. People all over the world – here and abroad - need basic necessities, and to hear - sometimes for the first time, The Gospel Message.
Jesus said that where our treasure is, our heart will be also. It’s year end. Some of us may be blessed with additional money or time that we didn’t have during the rest of the year. This season, we can ask God what needs He may be asking us to meet with the resources He’s given us – monetary or otherwise – to show His love at Christmas – and then go out and give. Let’s make God smile this season!
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