Are You a Generous Giver?

Most of us would say that we value generosity as an important part of stewardship. To be sure, stewardship is broader than giving – but we recognize the priority Scripture places on being generous. Whether it’s stories of overflowing generosity in giving toward the building of the Tabernacle and later of the Temple, or stories of personal generosity like the parable of the Good Samaritan, or injunctions to share with others – Scripture consistently portrays generosity as a bedrock characteristic of believers.

Not everyone who gives is a generous giver. Some people are grasping givers. They consider all their possessions as their own and resent the implication that they “owe” anyone anything. Others are grudging givers. They think of giving as a responsibility – a duty imposed on them by a God who, after all, does provide for them. To them, giving is either an obligation or a means of seeking favor with God and with people.

It’s Not About…

Generosity is a condition of the heart. True generosity comes from a heart of gratitude, contentment, and worship. That’s a far cry from the world’s view of what makes a person generous. The world (and often the church) values what is seen more than what is unseen. But true generosity is not based on what is seen.

Amounts

Generosity is not first and foremost about amounts given. It’s a heart characteristic, not a math problem. Amounts do matter, and the Biblical benchmark has always been the tithe (that is, 10% of income). But throughout Scripture we see that God is more concerned about the heart behind the gift than he is about the amount of the gift. Generous people will likely trend toward increasing giving over a span of time – not because they’re looking to hit a benchmark but because their hearts are increasingly drawn to give out of gratitude to God.

Rule-following

Like amounts, obedience is important. But it’s not the most important thing about generosity. A focus on obedience to rules can lead to blind spots in understanding God’s heart. This was true for the Pharisees whom Jesus upbraided for remembering the tithe but forgetting more important matters (Matthew 23:23). Jesus doesn’t condemn their rule-following – in fact, he condones it. But he condemns the emphasis on rules over matters more important to God.

Similarly, rule-following can lead to pride, as it did in Jesus’ parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector praying in the temple (Luke 18:9-14). This isn’t the heart of all rule followers, of course, but it shows that simply following the rules isn’t enough in God’s sight.

Meeting Church Budgets

Too often, stewardship has been limited to the annual fundraising campaign in churches. As a result, we can come to equate generosity with meeting specific needs, like a church budget. There are many problems with this, but an important one is that such giving is more likely coming from grudging givers who have been cajoled or guilted into supporting the church (or any other cause), rather than from generous givers who give out of a heart for God.

Like amounts and obedience, meeting needs is important. But it’s more important to meet them in a way that brings honor to God. Consider the difference between the gifts of Barnabas and of Ananias and Sapphira (Acts 4:36-5:11). Both sold houses and both brought money to the apostles to meet the needs of people in the church. Barnabas brought all the proceeds of the sale, while Ananias brought only part of the proceeds. But that wasn’t the issue; Peter confirmed that the money was Ananias’ to do with as he pleased. The problem was that Ananias represented that he was bringing all the proceeds to the apostles, not just part of them (note Peter’s accusation of lying in verse 3). Ananias and Sapphira weren’t concerned about God’s glory or compassionate about the needs of the people; they were after the praise of men in recognition of their gift.

So how do we know what kind of giver we are? If amounts don’t tell the whole story, what can we look at to help us examine our hearts?

Back to top

You Might Be a Grasping Giver if…

• You give only sporadically. Giving isn’t something you think about or participate in with any regularity. Once in a while, if something comes up that catches your attention, you give.
• You give the leftovers. You don’t base your giving on your income but rather on how much (if anything) you have left at the end of the month. All the other parts of your spending take priority over giving. This is the kind of giving that God accused the Israelites of in Malachi’s day (Malachi 1:7-8).
• You get defensive about the topic. You feel like others don’t have the right to ask you for money and you resent the requests. You quickly jump to reasons you can’t give when asked to support a cause or organization.
• You think of giving in terms of what you would “give up”. When you think about giving, your mind quickly turns to other things you could spend on if you don’t give.

Back to top

You Might Be a Grudging Giver if…

• Giving feels like an obligation. You don’t take joy in your giving; instead, it feels like a duty – like something you owe. Maybe you feel like you “owe” your church for being your church or like you “owe” those less fortunate because you have more. Giving feels like discharging a debt or paying a bill.
• You resent requests for help. Like the Grasping Giver, you resent requests to support a cause or an organization. You don’t want to support the cause, but you feel like you shouldn’t have to keep saying no; people should just stop bothering you.
• You’re not motivated to give. You give when asked (sometimes) and perhaps you give somewhat regularly. But you don’t go out of your way to find opportunities to give.
• You take pride in your giving. In your mind, your generosity sets you apart from others who don’t give or who give less. You may not boast about it to others like the Pharisee in Jesus’ parable, but you’re keeping score – and you’re ahead.
• You think of giving in terms of benefit to you. Whether a tax break, a social perk, recognition of some sort, or other benefit, your first thought about giving is “What’s in it for me?” You may occasionally give to things that don’t benefit you, but you tend to think of these as a waste.

Back to top

You’re Probably a Generous Giver if…

• You prioritize giving in your spending plan. Giving comes first in your planned spending. You plan your giving based on your income rather than giving the leftovers at the end of the month. You make room for giving by cutting back in other spending.
• You give systematically. Whether to your church or to other organizations, your giving is regular and planned. Perhaps you automate it through recurring transactions or perhaps you take a conscious action to give on a regular recurring basis. Either way, when you look back over several months, you can see that your giving is consistent.
• You give without thought of receiving. You’re not motivated by what you might get out of a donation. Following the words of Jesus about inviting those who can’t pay you back (Luke 14:12-14), you give without expectation of return.
• Giving brings you joy. Whether it’s funding a kingdom project near to your heart or helping a neighbor in need, you take joy in giving. At Christmas, you probably get more joy out of the gifts you give than out of those you receive (Acts 20:35).
• You have a sense of partnership with God in your giving. You see giving as a way to participate with God in his purposes – whether spreading the Gospel, blessing those in need, pushing back against evil, etc. Giving fulfills a sense of purpose for you.
• You sometimes make sacrifices to give. Occasionally, you make a specific decision to forego something in order to give more. Like David, it matters to you that giving costs you something (2 Samuel 24:24). Like the widow at Zarephath, you respond to specific occasions by prioritizing giving over your own needs (1 Kings 17:7-24). Sometimes, like the woman who anointed Jesus’ feet with expensive perfume or the widow who put all her money in the temple treasury, you give beyond all reason (Mark 14:3-9; 12:41-44).
• You have money set aside to give when a need arises. Like the Good Samaritan in Jesus’ parable (Luke 10:25-37), you set aside resources so that you can respond to the needs of others – a sort of “benevolence fund”. As needs arise, you respond from what you’ve set aside (see Acts 2:44-45; 4:32-37).
• Your giving tends to increase over time. You give more as your income increases. As more and more of your needs are met, your giving increases as a percentage of your overall spending. You have a lifestyle cap (whether explicit or implicit) so that increased income doesn’t automatically go to increased lifestyle.

Back to top

Becoming a Generous Giver

Generosity, like stewardship in general and like discipleship even more generally, is a journey, not a destination. If we really consider God as the owner of all the resources in our care, then we’re always looking for ways to grow in generosity.

This doesn’t look the same for everyone. One person gives away all of their raise and bonus income because they’ve reached the lifestyle they believe is right for them; another chooses to step back from an advancing career in order to spend more time volunteering.

But regardless of our circumstances, there are specific steps we can take to grow in generosity. Here are a few; note that most of them don’t involve numbers but rather the condition of our hearts.

Approach With Prayer

Offer up whatever you have – whether it’s money, possessions, time, expertise, etc. – to God. Ask him to show you how to put these in play for his kingdom. Confess anything you may be holding on to and ask God to enable you to will and to act according to his purposes with all that you have (Philippians 2:13).

Connect With Purpose

Study the Scriptures to learn God’s purposes for his creation (which includes us!). Repent of determining your own priorities and commit to living for God’s purposes. This doesn’t mean that everyone will become a missionary! But it does mean that wherever God leads us, our focus is on bringing him glory in that situation.

As you study, note what’s important to God – what Jesus referred to as the “more important matters of the law” (Matthew 23:23). How can your life serve the purposes that are important to God? How has he uniquely gifted you to be part of his plans? None of us can address all of God’s purposes – but aligning our lives with God’s purposes ensures that we are living for his glory.

Understand Our Place

One of the major barriers to generosity is a mindset that emphasizes the importance of this life and that sees earth as our home. This is part of the “ownership” mentality. But Scripture consistently teaches that this is not our home (1 Peter 2:11; Hebrews 11:13-16). As a result, we need to store our treasure in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21).

Set the Priority

Generosity is not natural. It’s natural for us to think of our possessions as our own, to do with as we please. It’s natural to pursue our own purposes and our own pleasures. Setting a priority on God’s purposes is supernatural (which is why it has to start with prayer and Scripture). But once we’ve determined to make God’s purposes our own, we then need to prioritize how we will fulfill those purposes.

When it comes to generosity, this starts with prayerfully determining our priorities and non-negotiables based on what we’ve seen in Scripture that God declares to be important.

Make a Plan

Our best intentions will never come to fruition without a plan to make them real. Once we’ve discerned the priorities that God has for our lives, we need to create a Spending Plan that reflects these priorities. As we track our spending month by month, we’ll be able to tell if we’re on track with actually meeting what we’ve discerned to be God’s plan for our generosity in particular and stewardship in general.

Beware of Pride

The besetting sin of the Pharisees (and, if we’re honest, of many of us) was pride.  Pride in their knowledge of the law and in their detailed observances. Pride in their prayers. And yes, pride in their giving. Jesus rebuked those who made sure that everyone knew how generous they were by announcing their giving (Matthew 6:1-4). He specifically condemned the Pharisee’s prideful prayer about his giving (Luke 18:9-14).

But not all pride is public pride. Some pride comes in the way we think about ourselves (see Romans 12:3). If we keep in mind that all that we have comes from God – including the ability to get wealth (Deuteronomy 8:17-18) – we can guard our hearts against pride in the area of giving – after all, we’re only giving back to God that which came from him in the first place.

expand the purview

For most of us, generosity starts with money. It has to, because our hearts follow our treasure (Matthew 6:21). But truly generous givers don’t stop with finances. They look for other ways they can give and serve. Some people like to use the acronym LIFE for areas in which we can be generous – Labor, Influence, Finances, and Expertise.

God’s work in our lives falls into two broad categories: what he’s doing in us now, and what he’s preparing us for in the future. All of our experiences (good and bad), all of our endeavors, all our talents and learnings – they all fit into God’s plan for how we are meant to fulfill his purposes. As we grow in generosity, we will also grow in awareness of the many things God has provided for us to give back to him and to others.

Back to top