The Right Heart Behind Giving. By Laurence Torr

 

The Right Heart Behind Giving.

 

The most important thing in giving is not the amount we give but the heart in which we give, this is of up most importance’s to God. and is consistence throughout the Scriptures.

In 2 Corinthians 8 Paul uses the example of the Macedonians believers as an example to the believers  at Corinth and shows them the heart behind the giving of the Macedonians believers.

This Record in 2 Corinthians also stands as an example to the believers of the body of Christ today.

Now I do not want you to think about money now we are on the subject of giving but rather keep your mind on the subject of giving. Paul never mentions money, but talks about giving.

Many believers do not understand how to give properly, I believe many are giving for wrong reason and not understanding  how to give properly Many  are giving for wrong reasons, giving in wrong ways, or not giving at all, so we desperately need some teaching in this area.

God by way of Paul in 2 Corinthians, Instruct us in this chapter and other chapters in 2 Corinthians  and anyone wanting to know and understand from God hearts how they can and should give can know and understand It. It is no good just only listening to your minister or best friend, God has given you the Scriptures where you can read it and see it clearly, and He will open it up to you.

2 Corinthians 8:1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit (we want you to know) of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;

Here Paul says to the church at Corinth we are letting you know, of the grace of God.                  The true heart behind giving,  is the grace of God, we see here Gods favour overflowed in the hearts of the believers in Macedonia to where their hearts were so thankful that they showed the favour of God in their lives to others in the form of giving. Giving originates with  grace, it is the nature of God and which was also evident in the life of our Lord Jesus Christ. The true motivation in our giving should always come from grace of God in our lives motivated by love.

So the first thing we should check with ourselves is what is the heart behind my giving? do I feel pressured to give? some may think to themselves if I don’t give I might not be liked by the leaders or taken seriously, or they may think well my best friend who is a believer, gives so I think I should at least give something because they might talk about me? or, I should contribute something to help with the cost of the coffee and tea and cake?. and there are many other things I could mention for examples, in the heart behind how some may give and the heart behind it.

One of the biggest deception is many  believers give in  order to receive more, by taking  the scriptures out of context, the more I give the more I will receive, is not the right heart in true giving. Our hearts should be the more I receive the  more I will give more to support the gospel of Christ.

It is true that God wants to bless us with abundance in every area, of our lives, but not to consume it all upon ourselves, God blesses us so we can be a blessing so we can help those in need and also support and those who live from the gospel those that minster. Giving to the outreach of the word of God, is also helping to spread the good news. Today we see so many mega churches which is great if they are teaching the true gospel of Jesus Christ. and it’s not just the top men and women getting rich while those doing the giving are just getting by, Gods heart communicated  through the Apostle Paul was for there to be equality in the body of Christ.

2 Corinthians 8:14 – 15  But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality:

¹⁵ As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack.

Paul also encourages those who have put on the new man, the mind of Christ that they should

steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the  thing which is good, that he may

have to give to him that needeth.

 

Ephesians 4:28  Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the

thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.

Other motives of heart is that some people give  in order to get favour with the church they go too, or to get favour from the minister or even so that get promoted in the church as they are “faithful” givers. Read the record of Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 5. there are many more wrong motives people  give.

What about the tithe? Nowhere in any of the Church Epistle does Paul refer to the tithe.

How God intents for us to give today is with a willing heart moved by the Grace of God and this was the heart of the believers from Macedonia. It was also the heart God was looking for when he wanted His people to give for the building of the tabernacle

 Exodus 35:4-22King James Version (KJV)

⁴ And Moses spake unto all the congregation of the children of Israel, saying, This is the thing which the Lord commanded, saying,

⁵ Take ye from among you an offering unto the Lord: whosoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it, an offering of the Lord; gold, and silver, and brass,

⁶ And blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats’ hair,

⁷ And rams’ skins dyed red, and badgers’ skins, and shittim wood,

⁸ And oil for the light, and spices for anointing oil, and for the sweet incense,

⁹ And onyx stones, and stones to be set for the ephod, and for the breastplate.

¹⁰ And every wise hearted among you shall come, and make all that the Lordhath commanded;

¹¹ The tabernacle, his tent, and his covering, his taches, and his boards, his bars, his pillars, and his sockets,

¹² The ark, and the staves thereof, with the mercy seat, and the vail of the covering,

¹³ The table, and his staves, and all his vessels, and the shewbread,

¹⁴ The candlestick also for the light, and his furniture, and his lamps, with the oil for the light,

¹⁵ And the incense altar, and his staves, and the anointing oil, and the sweet incense, and the hanging for the door at the entering in of the tabernacle,

¹⁶ The altar of burnt offering, with his brasen grate, his staves, and all his vessels, the laver and his foot,

¹⁷ The hangings of the court, his pillars, and their sockets, and the hanging for the door of the court,

¹⁸ The pins of the tabernacle, and the pins of the court, and their cords,

¹⁹ The cloths of service, to do service in the holy place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, to minister in the priest’s office.

²⁰ And all the congregation of the children of Israel departed from the presence of Moses.

²¹ And they came, every one whose heart stirred him up, and every one whom his spirit made willing, and they brought the Lord’s offering to the work of the tabernacle of the congregation, and for all his service, and for the holy garments.

²² And they came, both men and women, as many as were willing hearted, and brought bracelets, and earrings, and rings, and tablets, all jewels of gold: and every man that offered offered an offering of gold unto the Lord.

 

What is the first thing we Give? 2 Corinthians 8:5 tells us they Gave their own selves to the Lord and then unto the Apostles. Their hearts and lives and response to God was to give their lives to God and then those feeding them

A willing heart is what God is blessed with read  2 Corinthians 8:3 For to their power, I bear record, yea,  and beyond their power they were willing of themselves,

Look at verse 4 this is such great heart

Verse 4 Praying us with much intreaty =( exhortation) that we would receive the gift, and

take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.

 

Paul did not beg or ask these believers to give, he did not have to make a special appeal to the Macedonians believers but these Macedonian believers begged Paul to take their gifts for the full sharing of the saints, this money was not going to Paul either it was going to Jerusalem where there was great need. The Macedonian believers understood that everything they had belonged to God. They first gave themselves and when we give ourselves we give everything we have as well.

Now Paul is communicating all these things to encourage the Corinth believer to give and give with the right heart. He did not put any pressure on them but was wise he did not lay any guilt trip on them, but use the Macedonians as an example of how they should gave and the heart they are to give it with. The Macedonians gave because their love was genuine they were move by the grace of  God, when we give on this basis we too can demonstrate that our love is genuine, without pressure Paul encourages them to consider what giving is and so should we.

we give because we have been touch by the grace and love of God in our lives.

and the greatest example of this is in Verse 8

2 Corinthians 8:9 For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.

 

Jesus Christ gave His life so we could have eternal life and life  more than abundantly.  and to enjoy fellowship with God and the Lord Jesus Christ and one another through mutual love and like-mindedness, with believing.

Paul continues to encourage the believers at Corinth without putting pressure on them to give.

2 Corinthians 8: 10- 13

¹⁰ And herein I give my advice: for this is expedient for you, who have begun before, not only to do, but also to be forward a year ago.

¹¹ Now therefore perform the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to will, so there may be a performance also out of that which ye have.

¹² For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.

¹³ For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:

When the Corinth believers found out there was need, many promised they would give to the need, they was going to get up a collection but it never actually happened so a year later Paul is reminding them of this that what they purposed in there a heart a year ago they should now give their gift. If there  was a ready heart to give,  it is acceptable, according to what a man has not according to what has not.

The point is when the need is there give what you can if it is not as much as you would like to give or promised to give that is ok with God. because He know the heart your giving with and what you have to give, God does not want you to give out of need end of story, but if there is first willing mind that is the key in our giving a willing mind a willing heart No if, or buts or doubts about it.  God does not want you burdened  and someone else eased  if it is going to put a burden on you, through  you giving more than you got.

God wants every ones need met,

2Corinthians  8:15  As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had

gathered little had no lack.

 

Paul uses this Example when talking about Equality from – Exodus 16:16-19

Concerning the gathering the Manna God sent to the children of Israel to eat.

 

Exodus 16:16  This is the thing which the LORD hath commanded, Gather of it every man according

to his eating, an omer for every man, according to the number of your persons; take ye every man for

them which are in his tents.

 

Exodus 16:17  And the children of Israel did so, and gathered, some more, some less.

 

Exodus 16:18  And when they did mete it with an omer, he that gathered much had nothing over, and

he that gathered little had no lack; they gathered every man according to his eating.

Exodus 16:19  And Moses said, Let no man leave of it till the morning.

Ask yourself this question do you see equality in the body of believers your moving with? do you see

some prospering and others lacking and the men and women at the top getting richer? do those that

have a heart and following the teacher and teaching still not better off than they were before? if so

something is not right and the only way you know is by coming to scriptures yourselves see what God

says about these things, there should be no class distinction within the body of Christ.

 

Christ is the head of the church, Ministers are those at the bottom because they serve the body of

believers they should in no way be getting mega rich for themselves yes they can prosper and be

blessed but so will those who from the heart following them also prosper if they are not something is

wrong.

 

If every believer walks according to the calling and function within the body of Christ no one gets

left out because we will not be thinking how much we want or how much we don’t have but we will

be walking in the grace of God energized by the love of God, willing to serve willing to give, so that

every need is met with in that body of believes.

 

There are so many other records I could go to. Maybe I will continue with another article. But in the

mean time I encourage you to search the Scriptures yourself, ask God to open the scriptures up to you,

if you seek you will find, if you hunger and thirst after righteousness Jesus said you shall be filled.

 

Let’s not be ignorant concerning this important area of giving and receiving, Know what God is

saying  to you, watch out for those wolves in sheep clothing, let’s be diligent, God wants us to give

but with a willing heart and with understanding then you can truly cheerfully give like Paul mentions

 

2Corinthians 9:7  Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly,

or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.

 

So let meditate on the Scriptures, let take the wonderful example of the Macedonian believers they

first gave themselves to the Lord and then the apostles, and they implored Paul to give their gifts Paul

did not have to implore them, He did not have to mention giving ever other sermon. But used this

example of the Macedonians to encourage the Corinth Church, and God had it recorded for us so we

see the written example of what the first century church lived and done

 

much love

 

Laurence xxx