HOW TO BECOME A GIVER

In the last several years, I have been blessed to work with giving people... people who set a great example in front of me. People who have been showing me how to be more giving. Based upon what the Bible says and what I have seen in these generous people, here are some steps you can take to become a more giving person.

1. SUBMIT YOURSELF AND ALL THAT YOU "OWN" TO GOD. 

• Matthew 22:37 (ESV)  And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 
• If you love God with all of your heart, all of your soul and with all of your mind, then you are not focusing on yourself, you are focusing on God. 
• If you are focusing on God, then you will recognize His authority over your life as well as the fact that He is the One who has blessed you.

2. STUDY GOD'S WORD AND OBEY WHAT HE SAYS ABOUT GIVING. 

• 2 Corinthians 9:6 (ESV)  The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 
• If you are holding your money with a tight fist, it is true that it is harder for any to get out but it is also harder for any more to get in. This principle is taught in the last phrase of this next verse as well.
• Luke 6:38 (ESV)  give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” 

3. RECOGNIZE THE FACT THAT GOD HAS BEEN TAKING CARE OF YOU.

• Matthew 6:31 (ESV)  Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32  For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. 33  But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you. 
• God knows what you need and He will take care of you if you put your trust and faith in Him. 
• The answer in all of this is in verse 33... "seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness". If you will focus on serving Him, He will take care of you.

4. SYSTEMATICALLY DECIDE WHAT TO GIVE.

• 2 Corinthians 9:7 (ESV)  Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 
• "Each one must give as he has decided in his heart" means that you have planned out what to give instead of waiting until you get to church and seeing what is in your wallet that you can let go of.
• The ultimate goal is to not only give the 10% of your income each time you get paid but to give above and beyond that amount because the tenth belongs to God already. 
• Malachi 3:8 (ESV)  Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. 

5. SET ASIDE WHAT YOU ARE TO GIVE BEFORE YOU DO ANYTHING ELSE.

• 1 Corinthians 16:2 (ESV)  On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. 
• Paul told the church to give based upon how they prospered. As your income fluctuates, your giving will as well if you are giving a percentage each week instead of a set amount. For example, if you give a set amount like $20 each week but your paycheck ranges anywhere from $200 a week to $400 a week, then you are holding back on God and your church.
• In the Old Testament, there is a principle called "first fruits" which means that you give God what is His first before you do anything else. That is how we should handle our finances. Whatever comes in, we should determine how much we are to give to God through our local church and then pay our bills and make our purchases.
• Exodus 23:19 (KJV)  The first of the firstfruits of thy land thou shalt bring into the house of the LORD thy God. Thou shalt not seethe a kid in his mother's milk. 

6. SIMPLIFY YOUR LIFE SO THAT YOU CAN BE MORE GENEROUS.

• Luke 12:16 (ESV)  And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17  and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18  And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19  And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20  But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21  So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.” 
• This man was truly blessed with a bountiful harvest but instead of trying to use it as way to help others in need, he focused on himself and how he could benefit from it all.
• Notice the fact that God called him a fool because he laid "up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God."
• It is not wrong to have stuff, just make sure that your stuff doesn't have you.

I want to close this post with a great illustration for us to follow...

• Jonathan Edwards, the seventeenth-century theologian and pastor, set an excellent example when it came to his salary. At the beginning of his career, Edwards determined how much money he would need to live reasonably on. This sum covered his necessities and comforts. At the end of his life, having become very successful, Edwards continued to live on the determined sum from his early years as a pastor. It was not his standard of living that increased, but his standard of giving.
• Randy Alcorn says "God doesn't prosper us to increase our living standard, but to increase our giving standard."