Christians are known for their generosity. The generosity of their blessings, time, talents, and resources. Paul said:
Acts 20:35 NIV
The Gospels do not record Jesus saying this. Jesus must have told this to Paul either through the Holy Spirit or through direct revelation. However it came to be, the church has undoubtedly taken this responsibility seriously throughout its' history.
The Bible tells us 69 times to take care of the needs of orphans, widows, the poor, and the needy. Even without the direct words of Jesus in the Gospels, the Bible gives Christians an explicit mandate to give.
One of the basic principles of giving is that you must have something to share in order to share! I know that sounds elementary; however, while we Christians are great givers, we are pretty terrible at receiving. I am lousy at receiving!
is a pride issue!
A few years back, my wife and I entered into a rough time with our finances. In the middle of our struggle, I was diagnosed with lung cancer. This diagnosis transformed our financial situation from bad to devastating. Through God's grace and mercy, we received a lot of support from our family and friends. People gave us gifts of money - sometimes we would know who the gift was from, but sometimes money came anonymously in an envelope. My sister and brother-in-law also gave us a substantial gift. These gifts made all the difference to us. It was the difference between survival and defeat. Without these gifts, we simply would not have survived!
The act of receiving money (and other things) from people because I could not provide them was the most humiliating condition I had ever faced. It broke me and profoundly humbled me. I could only depend upon God for our sustenance. Receiving! It was excruciatingly difficult. Growing old is equally humbling.
Here's the most fantastic thing about receiving, not only is the recipient blessed but the giver is blessed as well.
When we deny gifts or help from others, we deny not only our blessing, but we deny their blessing as well!
not to accept gifts or help from others
whether you need it or not.
It is like when your two-year-old daughter colors a picture and proudly gives it to you. You proudly take it. You are blessed, and she is blessed.
Even in our prayers, we Christians rarely pray for ourselves. This is because our pride will not let us admit to ourselves that we need anything. There is nothing more humbling than to take help from someone or even to ask God for help in an area where "we are supposedly in control."
Somehow, we perceive that praying for ourselves is wrong, or asking God to give us something is wrong unless it is to allow us to aid someone else. There's a fine line between selfishness and wanting the best for ourselves and our family. Only the Holy Spirit can help us to define that line in our lives. When our life becomes about the acquisitions, then we've crossed the line.
When we do ask God for things for ourselves, we try to assuage our "guilt" for such selfishness. For instance, we might ask God to provide us with a house. We might mitigate the guilt of asking for ourselves by adding to the prayer "to use this home to bring you glory." Or, we might ask for a better-paying job, the ability to take a vacation to Iceland, or a nice car.
Now, Jesus is not a magic Jeanie, but according to the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30), he does expect us to be good stewards of his resources. Jesus called the servant who did not increase what was given to him "You wicked and lazy servant!" (vs. 26). Jesus's statement shows us how God thinks when it comes to good management of the resources he has given us.
Then we have the basic tenets of Christianity. Some of them are:
Receiving is just as important as giving. Receiving is the beginning of giving.
I'm not suggesting a Prosperity Gospel here. I'm not talking about Jesus and prosperity. I am saying that we can give only out of our abundance. We can't give what we do not have, whether blessings, time, talents, or money. We can't share the Gospel unless we have received the Gospel. We can't share the power of God unless we have received the power of God.
we first need to learn
to be a good receiver.
It's essential, as Christians, that we learn to be good stewards of the things that God gives us. This stewardship includes our families, homes, assets, time, occupations, etc. God expects us to be good managers of our lives. He expects us to be good managers of the things he has provided us, whether a little or a lot. He expects us to take "the little" or "a lot" and increase it through good management. To be a good manager, we have first to be a good receiver. Here are some of the characteristics of being a good receiver:
Don't get caught up in the false teaching of the modern church about receiving. This teaching says that "God wants to give us much so that we can give much!" This teaching sounds really great, but the Bible doesn't say that. The resources that God gives to us, he provides to us to bring glory and honor to his name.
of the modern church were true,
all Christians would be
wealthy, healthy, and living the life.
We receive so that we may give. That giving includes blessings, time, talents, money, and praise. If you want to be a good giver, learn to be a good receiver! Don't be afraid to ask for God's blessing in and on your life. When God blesses you, receive it! Then give God the praise and glory.
See Also:
