| "God's Rules For Giving" According To Income "Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessings of the Lord thy God which hath given thee." Deuteronomy 16:17 Without Show "But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth; that thine alms may be in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret Himself shall reward thee openly." Matthew 6:1-4 Without Coercion Freely ye have received, freely give." Matthew 10:8 With Simplicity He that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; Romans 12:8 Systematically "Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." 1 Corinthians 16:2 Cheerfully "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: For God loves a cheerful giver." 2 Corinthians 9:7 True Christians are to focus on giving to those in need. "Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself." Mark 12:31; Galatians 5:14 "Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." Galatians 6:2 A life that is full of the blessings and the grace of God should share those blessings with others. We are to give because it is the natural outflow of a life that is already filled with the blessings of God, physically, spiritually and emotionally. We are to give freely, wisely, and generously to the needs of those about. Even though we may not know how or even if they will use our money wisely, we are to be willing to take a chance where a real need is evident. When we see people in need, we need to be generous. Cast your bread upon the waters, for in the wisdom and purpose of God it may very well return to you some day when you are in need of help. We are to give to as many as we can, and then some. You do not know what evil may be averted by your gift. Ecclesiastes 11:1-2 The necessity of giving is to be done with the right attitude. The principle here is to help others, especially the less fortunate. Want to be blessed? Don't give to get. Give from your heart to the needy because it is the right thing to do! "Lord, because You have given to me, I am gladly giving back to You." "Wherever your treasure is, there your heart and thoughts will also be." Matthew 6:21 There is a story of an old Scotsman who inadvertently dropped a gold sovereign in the collection bag at a church service. In Scotland, when the ushers take up the offering, they use a long pole with a bag on the end of it, which they pass among the pews. This old Scotsman put in a gold sovereign by mistake, when he meant to put in only a shilling. As soon as he realized his mistake, he tried to retrieve his sovereign. But the usher pulled the bag back and said, Nah, once in, always in! The old man said, Ah well, I'll get credit for it in glory. But the usher replied, Nah, you'll get credit for the shilling, because that's all you intended to give. |
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