The Christian way of managing wealth and money is the way of giving; we should not be foolish to only receive and not give but rather, we should give ourselves to the Lord and then give our money again and again, for it is then that God has the opportunity to give to us.
In Acts 20:35 Paul said that, according to the Lord’s words, it is more blessed to give than to receive.
Though we may not have a record of the Lord speaking such a thing in the gospels, it might have been something that was transmitted or passed down orally; according to Christ, it’s more blessed to give than to receive.
This was the principle in which the Lord lived His life; He gave and gave and gave, for He came not to be served and to receive but to give what He is and what He has to those around Him.
God is the most generous and non-stingy person in this whole universe; He causes the sun to rise on the good and the bad, and He gives rain to the just and the unjust.
To Him, there’s no discrimination but rather, when there’s a need, He’s there to supply. And when the Lord gives, there is always something over.
We human beings are quite stuck in the system of value of Satan, for we think in terms of money and earnings and wealth.
However, there is something much more than this: the Christian way of managing what we have, earn, and own is the way of giving.
If we are not faithful in the matter of giving, if we only receive but do not give, we will find ourselves in need. If we find ourselves in need, we need to look to the Lord and be one with Him to give.
If we care merely for ourselves, we are destined to be in poverty, but if we care for others and give what we have to others in oneness with the Lord, we will enjoy the Lord’s bountiful supply.
On one hand, we need to learn to enjoy Christ and prepare a certain portion to share with our fellow believers to nourish them.
On the other hand, the Christian life is not only something related to the spiritual realm; our experience and enjoyment of Christ affect our daily living, and especially the way we handle our money.
If we enjoy the Lord and minister Him to others, we will also learn to give to others from what we have materially and from our money.
But if we gather and accumulate things and do not want to give, at one point we will experience lack and we will be in need, not to mention that the love of money is a root of all evil.
May the Lord save us not only in our spirit but also in our soul; may He save us from the love of money so that we may serve Him with all we have and live a life for His glory.
The Christian Way of Financial Management is the Way of Giving: We Give and God Richly Supplies!
In Phil. 4:17-19, Paul appreciates that the Philippian believers sent a monetary gift to help him, and he said that it had a sweet-smelling savour, being an acceptable sacrifice that is well-pleasing to God.
Therefore, his God will fill their every need according to His riches, in glory, in Christ Jesus.
This is quite wonderful yet so mysterious.
The Corinthian believers were not eager to give but were parsimonious in giving, but the Philippians were very generous, for Paul received from them time and again.
Hence, Paul said, My God will fill your every need.
The Philippian believers didn’t just give to Paul; they gave to God, and the God who receives the money and gifts will supply the needs of the givers.
When we give and give again, God will richly supply us.
The Christian way of financial management, the Christian way of managing our money, is the way of giving; we first give, and then God richly supplies.
Yes, God does supply those who ask, but He richly supplies, in glory, in Christ Jesus, those who give.
We may ask the Lord to supply our needs, but did we give from what He has given to us? We shouldn’t be so foolish as to only receive and not give.
According to Matt. 6, when we give, we make a deposit in our spiritual bank account; we need to make deposits in our account in the heavens.
There seems to be a heavenly banking system, which is not seen; we make deposits in the heavenly bank whenever we give to the Lord to the poor, to the saints in need, and to the Lord’s servants.
Our giving, however, shouldn’t be simply because there’s a need; we shouldn’t give just because we see someone in need – our very way of living and managing money should be the way of giving.
We believers in Christ are a different kind of people; our way of living, our way of behaving, our way of speaking, and our way of managing the things we have and the money we earn should NOT be according to the way in the world today.
Our way is the way of God, for we are God-men, men of God, men filled with God, men who have God living in them.
We receive our income and supply, not from our boss or manager who pays us according to what we worked; it is God who supplies for all our needs.
And when we receive our income, we need to set aside a certain amount, at least ten per cent, to give to the Lord.
The Christian way of handling money and financial management is the way of giving; we know that it is God who provides, it is He who richly supplies, so we are one with Him to give even as He wants us to give.
The way of giving is an experience of Christ in a very practical way.
In ourselves we don’t want to give; rather, we want to receive, gather, and accumulate, for we want to store things for ourselves, take care of ourselves and our family, and have more and more things.
But when we exercise our spirit to contact the Lord, when we love Him with the first love and enjoy Him, we realize that the Lord’s way is not the way of merely receiving but the way of giving; He gives Himself to us and He wants us to give what we have and are to others.
We all can testify that it is indeed more blessed to give than to receive, for when we’re one with the Lord in giving, the Lord becomes our rich reward, and we gain more of Him simply by letting go of our money and our things.
Lord Jesus, thank You for coming into us to regenerate us and make us God-men, believers in Christ who learn to live Christ and express Christ in their daily life. Amen, Lord, we give ourselves to You to enjoy You, experience You, and express You. You are the treasure of our heart. We want to be one with You in our way of managing our money and our wealth. May we learn from You, Lord, to take the way of giving rather than receiving. Thank You for Your rich supply, dear Lord. Grant us to be one with You in giving to others so that You may be our great reward. Amen, Lord, we don’t want to hold on to things or accumulate things: we want to give in oneness with You so that You may supply the needs of others and the needs in the church!
Tithing is our Duty: we Give ourselves to God and then Give our Money Again and Again
![And she said, As Jehovah your God lives, I have nothing baked, but [only] a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a jar; and I am now gathering a few sticks that I may go and prepare it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die. And Elijah said to her, Do not fear. Go, do as you have said. But make me a little cake out of it first, and bring [it] out to me; then make [something] for yourself and for your son afterward....The barrel of meal did not give out, nor did the jar of oil fail, according to the word of Jehovah, which He had spoken through Elijah. 1 Kings 17:12-13, 16](https://i0.wp.com/agodman.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/And-she-said-As-Jehovah-your-God-lives-I-have-nothing-baked-but-only-a-handful-of-meal-in-a-barrel.jpg?resize=450%2C675&ssl=1 "And she said, As Jehovah your God lives, I have nothing baked, but [only] a handful of meal in a barrel and a little oil in a jar; and I am now gathering a few sticks that I may go and prepare it for me and my son, that we may eat it and die. And Elijah said to her, Do not fear. Go, do as you have said. But make me a little cake out of it first, and bring [it] out to me; then make [something] for yourself and for your son afterward....The barrel of meal did not give out, nor did the jar of oil fail, according to the word of Jehovah, which He had spoken through Elijah. 1 Kings 17:12-13, 16")
In 1 Kings 17:8-16, we see the story of Elijah the prophet who asked a widow to give him some food; she only had some flour and a little oil, but she did prepare food for him first.
What happened is that for three and a half years, the flour and the oil never finished.
When she first gave, the Lord richly supplied; when she first made food and offered it to the Lord’s servant, she had plenty left for herself and her son.
Who has ever heard of a bottle of oil and some flour feeding three persons for three and a half years?
With man this is impossible, but if a man practices the way of giving, God will richly bless and supply.
We may not have enough to feed ourselves but the Lord may ask us to feed others first; if we do this, if we take the way of giving, the Lord will take care of our needs.
The Christian way is not the way of poverty nor is it the way of accumulating riches; God doesn’t want us to be poor, neither does He want us to seek to be rich.
The Christian way is the way of giving, and tithing is our duty; as soon as we believe into the Lord, we need to learn to give.
The more importance we attach to money, the more we hold on to money, the more miserable we are, and the more depleted we become.
If we let our money go and allow it to circulate around the earth, they will work and become part of God’s miracles and answers to prayers.
May we enter into this fellowship by taking the way of giving, in a personal and private way, and may we practice to give first, even give out of lack, knowing that God is the One who provides.
The Lord is faithful to provide: He gives us even more than we need, but He wants us to give. First, we need to love the Lord and give ourselves to Him, and then we need to give our money again and again.
We shouldn’t try to save up money or hide it away; rather, we must be righteous in the matter of dealing with mammon and take the way of giving, the way of God’s blessing.
May we cast ourselves upon the word of God, believing God and taking Him at His word.
When we take in God’s word by means of prayer and by mixing it with our faith, He will have a way to carry out His word in us.
We should first give ourselves to God, and then we should give our money again and again.
Everything is in God’s hands; He owns everything, and we should not think that it is of our strength, intelligence, and labor that we have earned something.
Rather, it is He who provides, and He richly supplies.
We should not be so foolish as to always receive; we should learn the way of giving by first giving ourselves to the Lord and then give our money again and again.
God’s word is true. His words stand the test of time and space. He can carry out His word in us if we open to Him and cast ourselves upon His word.
If we give ourselves to the Lord today, He will also give what we have and are to Him and for His need.
Once He has us, the person, in oneness with Him and fully focused on Him, He can have a way to do what He wants to do.
God will not coerce us into giving; we need to voluntarily take the way of giving, and He will take care of our needs.
If we give what we have, we will find money becoming something living in the church, for the Lord has a way to do what He wants to do.
May we bring this in prayer to Him, being honest with Him regarding what we earn and have, and just telling Him,
Lord Jesus, we cast ourselves upon the Word of God: we believe You, we believe Your word, and we take You at Your word. Amen, Lord, carry out Your word in us. We want to take the way of giving rather than only receiving. We give ourselves to You, Lord, and we give what we have to You and to those in need. We want to be one with You in giving others not only the Word of God, care, and love, but also our money, according to the need, and according to Your leading. Amen, Lord, make us one with You in our giving so that You may have the opportunity to give to us. Our trust is in You and our heart is for You!
References and Hymns on this Topic
- Sources of inspiration: the Word of God, my enjoyment in the ministry, and portions from, The Collected Works of Watchman Nee, vol. 49, ch. 28, as quoted in the Holy Word for Morning Revival on, Material offerings and the Lord’s Move Today, week 2, entitled, Principles of Material Offerings (2).
- Hymns on this topic:
– Tell me not of earthly pleasures, / Tempt me not with sordid gain; / Mock me not with earth’s illusions, / Vex me not with honors vain. / I am weaned from sinful idols; / I am henceforth not my own; / I have giv’n my heart to Jesus, / I belong to Him alone. (Hymns #452)
– Arise! the holy bargain strike— / The fragment for the whole— / All men and all events alike / Must serve the ransomed soul. / All things are yours when you are His, / And He and you are one; / A boundless life in Him there is, / And kingdom yet to come. (Hymns #473)
– I clasp the hand of Love divine, / I claim the gracious promise mine, / And add to His my countersign, / “I take”—“He undertakes.” / I take Thee, blessed Lord, / I give myself to Thee, / And Thou, according to Thy word, / Dost undertake for me. (Hymns #576)
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