What does the Bible say about giving?
Are you storing up treasures in Heaven or on Earth? Many people hate this topic. “Oh no here comes another Christian talking about giving more money again.” When it’s time to give does your heart buckle up? The gospel produces the kind of heart that expresses love. The gospel will produce generosity in our lives but only when we allow it to. Is the gospel that you believe in transforming your life? Is it moving you? Examine your life now!
Are you becoming more generous with your time, finances, and talents? Are you giving cheerfully? People know when you give with love. They know when your heart is in it. It’s not about how big or how much. It’s about your heart.
The greatest things I’ve ever received in my life were priceless gifts from people who could not afford to give more. I’ve wept before because I’ve been touched by the heart of the generosity of others.
Set aside some of your income for giving. When it comes to giving to certain people like the poor many make excuses such as, “they’re just going to use it for drugs.” Sometimes that is true but that doesn’t mean we have to stereotype all homeless people.
You don’t always have to give money. Why not give them food? Why not talk with them and get to know them? We could all be doing more for the Kingdom of God in this area. Always remember this, every time that you give you give to Jesus who is in disguise (Matthew 25:34-40).
Christian quotes about giving
“A kind gesture can reach a wound that only compassion can heal.”
“You have two hands. One to help yourself, the second to help others.”
“When you learn, teach. When you get, give.”
“Only by giving are you able to receive more than you already have.”
“It’s not how much we give but how much love we put into giving.”
“Give. Even when you know you can get nothing back.”
“As base a thing as money often is, yet it can be transmuted into everlasting treasure. It can be converted into food for the hungry and clothing for the poor. It can keep a missionary actively winning lost men to the light of the gospel and thus transmute itself into heavenly values. Any temporal possession can be turned into everlasting wealth. Whatever is given to Christ is immediately touched with immortality.” — A.W. Tozer
“The more you give, the more comes back to you, because God is the greatest giver in the universe, and He won’t let you outgive Him. Go ahead and try. See what happens.” Randy Alcorn
In all of my years of service to my Lord, I have discovered a truth that has never failed and has never been compromised. That truth is that it is beyond the realm of possibilities that one has the ability to out give God. Even if I give the whole of my worth to Him, He will find a way to give back to me much more than I gave. Charles Spurgeon
“You can always give without loving, but you can never love without giving.” Amy Carmichael
“A lack of generosity refuses to acknowledge that your assets are not really yours, but God’s.” Tim Keller
“Remember this—you can’t serve God and Money, but you can serve God with money.” Selwyn Hughes
“Do you not know that God entrusted you with that money (all above what buys necessities for your families) to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to help the stranger, the widow, the fatherless; and, indeed, as far as it will go, to relieve the wants of all mankind? How can you, how dare you, defraud the Lord, by applying it to any other purpose?” John Wesley
“The world asks, ‘What does a man own?’ Christ asks, ‘How does he use it?” Andrew Murray
“The person who thinks the money he makes is meant mainly to increase his comforts on earth is a fool, Jesus says. Wise people know that all their money belongs to God and should be used to show that God, and not money, is their treasure, their comfort, their joy, and their security.
” John Piper
“He that rightly understands the reasonableness and excellency of charity will know that it can never be excusable to waste any of our money in pride and folly.” William Law
Give for the right reasons
I want to start by saying that once you put your trust in Christ you are free. You can do whatever you want with your money. However, realize this. All things come from God. Everything that you are and everything that you have belongs to God. One of the greatest things that has increased my generosity was realizing that God has provided for me not to hoard but to honor Him with my finances. He provides for me to be a blessing to others. Realizing this has allowed me to truly trust in the Lord. It’s not my money. It’s God’s money! Everything belongs to Him.
By His grace His riches are in our possession so let’s glorify Him with it. We were once a people headed to destruction. We were so far from God. By the blood of His Son He has given us the right to become His children. He has reconciled us to Himself. God has provided believers with eternal riches in Christ. The love of God is so great that it compels us to pour out love. God has given us unimaginable spiritual riches and He even gives us physical riches. Knowing this should compel us to glorify Him with what He has given us.
1. James 1:17 “Every generous act of giving and every perfect gift is from above and comes down from the Father who made the heavenly lights, in whom there is no inconsistency or shifting shadow.”
Giving inspires the world.
My motives in this section are not to glorify myself but to show how God taught me that giving motivates the world to give. I remember once I paid for someone’s gas. Did he have the money to pay for his own gas? Yes! However, he never had someone pay for his gas before and he was extremely grateful. I thought nothing of it.
As I walked out of the store I looked to my left and I noticed the same guy giving money to a homeless man. I believe he was motivated by my act of kindness. When someone helps you it makes you want to help someone else. Kindness leaves a lasting impression on others. Never doubt what God can do with your giving.
3. 2 Corinthians 8:7 “But since you excel in everything in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
4. Matthew 5:16 “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”
Bible verse about giving cheerfully
When you give do you give cheerfully? Many people give with a grudging heart. Their heart doesn’t align with their words. You might remember a time in your life when you offered someone something, but you did it to be polite. In your mind, you were hoping that they declined your offer. This can happen for something as simple as sharing food. We can be so stingy with stuff that we crave. Are you being nice or kind?
There are some people in our lives who we know are struggling, but they are too prideful to say they need something and even if we do offer they are too prideful to take it or they don’t want to seem like a burden. Sometimes we just have to freely give it to them. A kind person just gives without even having to offer. A nice person can be kind, but sometimes they are just being polite.
5. Proverbs 23:7 “for he is the kind of person who is always thinking about the cost. “Eat and drink,” he says to you, but his heart is not with you.”
6. Deuteronomy 15:10 “You shall generously give to him, and your heart shall not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in all your undertakings.”
7. 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.”
8. Proverbs 19:17 (KJV) “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.”
9. Matthew 25:40 (NLT) “And the King will say, ‘I tell you the truth, when you did it to one of the least of these my brothers and sisters, you were doing it to me!”
10. 2 Corinthians 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.”
11. Matthew 10:42 (NKJV) “And whoever gives one of these little ones only a cup of cold water in the name of a disciple, assuredly, I say to you, he shall by no means lose his reward.”
12. Deuteronomy 15:8 (NKJV) but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.
13. Psalm 37:25-26 (NIV) “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.”
14. Galatians 2:10 (NASB) “They only asked us to remember the poor—the very thing I also was eager to do.”
15. Psalm 37:21 “The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous are gracious and giving.”
Giving vs lending
I always recommend giving instead of lending. When you allow people to borrow money that can ruin your relationship with others. It is better to just give if you have it. Make sure there is never a catch behind your generosity.
You don’t need to gain anything from your giving. You’re not a bank you don’t need to charge interest. Give cheerfully and expect nothing in return. You can never pay Christ back for what He has done on the cross for you. In the same way, don’t be afraid to give to people who you know can never pay you back.
16. Luke 6:34-35 “If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High; for He Himself is kind to ungrateful and evil men.”
17. Exodus 22:25 (NASB) “If you lend money to My people, to the poor among you, you are not to act as a creditor to him; you shall not charge him interest.”
18. Deuteronomy 23:19 (NASB) “You are not to charge interest to your countrymen: interest on money, food, or anything that may be loaned on interest.”
19. Psalm 15:5 “who does not lend his money at interest or take a bribe against the innocent— the one who does these things will never be moved.”
20. Ezekiel 18:17 “He helps the poor, does not lend money at interest, and obeys all my regulations and decrees. Such a person will not die because of his father’s sins; he will surely live.”
God looks at the heart of our giving
It’s not about how much you give. God looks at the heart. You could give your last dollar and that could be more to God than someone who gave $1000 dollars. We don’t have to give more, but I believe the more you trust the Lord with your finances it will result in giving more. If there is no love, there is nothing. Your heart speaks louder than the amount that you give. Your money is a part of you so what you do with it says a lot about your heart.
21. Mark 12:42-44 “But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything–all she had to live on.”
22. Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
23. Jeremiah 17:10 “I the Lord search the heart and test the mind, to give every man according to his ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
24. Proverbs 21:2 “A person may think their own ways are right, but the Lord weighs the heart.”
Are we cursed if we don’t tithe?
Many prosperity gospel teachers use Malachi 3 to teach you are cursed if you don’t tithe which is wrong. Malachi 3 teaches us to trust God with our finances and He will provide. God needs nothing from us. He just desires our heart.
25. Malachi 3:8-10 “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me! But you say, ‘How have we robbed You?’ In tithes and offerings. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing Me, the whole nation of you! Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.”
God does bless people with more than enough.
We must never give because we think God will give us more. No! This should not be the reason behind our giving. Often giving requires us to live beneath our means. However, I noticed that God does indeed keep those with a generous heart financially secure because they are trusting Him with their finances. Also, God does bless people with the talent of giving. He gives them a desire to freely give and He blesses them with more than enough to help those in need.
The gospel leads to making sacrifices with our money.
Did you know that it pleases the Lord when we make sacrifices? As believers, we have to make sacrifices for others, but we like to live above our means. We like to give the old stuff that doesn’t cost a thing. Does your giving cost you? Why give the old stuff why not the new? Why do we always give people the stuff that we don’t want? Why not give people stuff that we do want?
When we make sacrifices that cost us we learn to be more selfless. We become better stewards with God’s resources. What sacrifice is God leading you to make? Sometimes you are going to have to sacrifice that trip that you have been dying to go on.
Sometimes you are going to have to sacrifice the newer car that you wanted. Sometimes you are going to have to sacrifice the time that you wanted for yourself to bless the lives of others. Let’s all examine our giving. Is it costing you? Sometimes God is going to ask you to dip into your savings and give more than usual.
29. 2 Samuel 24:24 “But the king replied to Araunah, “No, I insist on paying you for it. I will not sacrifice to the LORD. my God burnt offerings that cost me nothing.” So David bought the threshing floor and the oxen and paid fifty shekels of silver for them.”
30. Hebrews 13:16 “Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.”
31. Romans 12:13 “Share with the saints who are in need. Practice hospitality.”
32. 2 Corinthians 8:2-3 “During a severe testing by affliction, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed into the wealth of their generosity. I testify that, on their own, according to their ability and beyond their ability.”
33. Romans 12:1 “Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship.”
34. Ephesians 5:2 “and walk in the way of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Giving your time.
For many of us it’s so easy to give material things. It’s so easy to give money. All that you have to do is go inside your pocket and hand it to people. It’s one thing to give money, but it’s another thing to give time. I’ll be honest. I’ve struggled in this area. Time is priceless. Some people could care less about money. They just want to spend time with you.
We are always busy doing the next thing that we neglect those who God has put in our lives. We neglect the man who wants to be heard for 15 minutes. We neglect the woman who needs to hear the gospel. We are always in a rush to do things that benefit us.
Love thinks about others. We should volunteer more, listen more, witness more, help out our closest friends more, help those who can’t help themselves more, spend time with our families more, and spend time with God more. Giving time humbles us. It allows us to see the beauty of Christ and how blessed that we are. Also, giving time allows us to connect with others and spread the love of God.
35. Colossians 4:5 “Behave wisely toward outsiders, making the best use of your time.”
36. Ephesians 5:15 “Pay careful attention, then, to how you walk, not as unwise but as wise.”
37. Ephesians 5:16 “Redeeming the time, because the days are evil.”
Giving to be seen in the Bible.
Giving so others can see you is a form of boasting in yourself. We take the glory that God rightly deserves. Do you like to give anonymously? Or do you want people to know it was you that gave? Often celebrities fall into this trap. They give with the cameras on. They want everyone to know. God looks at the heart. You can hold a fundraiser but have the wrong motives in your heart.
You can tithe but have the wrong motives in your heart. You can be compelled to give because you just watched your friend give and you don’t want to seem selfish. It is so easy to give to be seen. Even if we don’t go out of our way to be seen what is your heart doing?
Would you mind if you didn’t receive credit for a donation that you gave? Examine yourself. What motivates your giving? This is something we all should pray about because this is something that is so easy to struggle with in our heart.
38. Matthew 6:1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”
39. Matthew 23:5 “All their deeds are done for men to see. They broaden their phylacteries and lengthen their tassels.”
I’ve noticed that the more you have, the stingier you can become.
As a young teen, I used to have a commission job and from that job I learned that the wealthiest people would be the stingiest and the most upscale neighborhoods would lead to less sales. The middle class and lower middle class would lead to the most sales.
It’s sad, but often the more we have the harder it can be to give. Having more money can be a trap. It can lead to hoarding. Sometimes it can be a curse brought on by God. People say, “I don’t need God I have my savings account.” When the Great Depression happened many committed suicide because they were trusting in money and not in God. When you rely fully upon the Lord you realize it is God alone who sustains you and God will get you through the hard times.
God is greater than your savings account. It is very good and wise to save, but it is never good to trust money. Trusting money leads to hardening your heart. Trust the Lord with your finances and allow Him to show you how to use your finances for His glory.
40. Luke 12:15-21 “And he said to them, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness, for one’s life does not consist in the abundance of his possessions.” And he told them a parable, saying, “The land of a rich man produced plentifully, and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 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. And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.” But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
41. Luke 6:24-25 “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your comfort. Woe to you who are well fed now, for you will go hungry. Woe to you who laugh now, for you will mourn and weep.”
42. 1 Timothy 6:9 “But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation, into a snare, into many senseless and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction.”
Don’t let your giving be motivated by the wrong reasons.
Don’t let your giving be motivated by fear. Don’t say, “God’s going to strike me down if I don’t give.” Don’t let your giving be motivated by guilt. Sometimes our heart can condemn us and Satan helps our heart to condemn us.
We shouldn’t be pressured by others to give. We should not give out of greed because we think that God is going to bless us with more. We should not give out of pride to be honored by others. We should give cheerfully for the glory of our King. God is who He says He is. I have nothing and I am nothing. It’s all about Him and it’s all for Him.
43. 2 Corinthians 9:7 “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
44. Proverbs 14:12 “There is a way that appears to be right, but in the end it leads to death.”
There are times when not to give.
Sometimes we must put our foot down and say, “No. I can’t this time.” Never give if giving means disobeying the Lord. Never give when we know the money is going to be used for something ungodly. Never give if giving will harm your family financially. It is so easy for believers to be taken advantage of. Some people have money, but would rather spend your money.
Some people are just lazy moochers. Believers should give, but we should not keep giving to someone who is making no effort to help themselves. There comes a time when we have to draw the line. It is possible that we can help people to remain content in their laziness.
Many people can benefit from hearing the word no in a respectable way of course. Instead of always giving money to someone who is constantly mooching off you, give your time and help them find a job. If they want nothing to do with you because you denied their request. Then, they were never your friend in the first place.
45. 2 Thessalonians 3:10-12 “For even when we were with you, we would give you this command: If anyone is not willing to work, let him not eat. For we hear that some among you walk in idleness, not busy at work, but busybodies. Now such persons we command and encourage in the Lord Jesus Christ to do their work quietly and to earn their own living.”
Examples of giving in the Bible
46. Acts 24:17 “After an absence of several years, I came to Jerusalem to bring my people gifts for the poor and to present offerings.”
47. Nehemiah 5:10-11 “I and my brothers and my men are also lending the people money and grain. But let us stop charging interest! Give back to them immediately their fields, vineyards, olive groves and houses, and also the interest you are charging them—one percent of the money, grain, new wine and olive oil.”
48. Exodus 36:3-4 “They received from Moses all the offerings the Israelites had brought to carry out the work of constructing the sanctuary. And the people continued to bring freewill offerings morning after morning. 4 So all the skilled workers who were doing all the work on the sanctuary left what they were doing.”
49. Luke 21:1-4 “As Jesus looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. 2 He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. 3 “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. 4 All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
50. 2 Kings 4:8-10 “One day Elisha went to Shunem. And a well-to-do woman was there, who urged him to stay for a meal. So whenever he came by, he stopped there to eat. 9 She said to her husband, “I know that this man who often comes our way is a holy man of God. 10 Let’s make a small room on the roof and put in it a bed and a table, a chair and a lamp for him. Then he can stay there whenever he comes to us.”
