Saturday, July 3, 2010

Giving is a Ministry (Proverbs 19:17)

To give unto others in need is not necessarily giving u what we have. The Lord will always repay.

"He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and that which he has given He will repay to him." Proverbs 19:17, Amplified

The idea of giving with the intent of receiving back is not what the Bible is trying to portray here. The heart of the giver should never be in the state of wanting back. Paul wrote of giving many different times in his epistles, but in one instance he uses some unusual vernacular. "So let each one give has he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or out of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." (Second Corinthians 9:7, NKJV) First focusing on the giving: we have to purpose within ourselves what we give. There is no prescription on what to give, the only stipulation is that when we do give that it not be grudgingly or out of necessity. Our giving should be out of want and desire. Notice too, that there is no mention of money in this verse. There are many different ways that we can give. Now concerning the interesting vernacular. God loves a cheerful giver. The word for cheerful in the Greek is actually "hilarious". God loves an hilarious giver: one who gives extremely generously.
There is another interesting verse in the Bible I want to examine as well. "Cast your bread on the waters, for you will find it after many days." (Ecclesiastes 11:1, NKJV) This verse also speaks of giving, but notice the language. If one was to cast bread upon the water, he would have to do so with the expectation of completely loosing the bread. As bread gets soggy, it is destroyed. But the Bible tells us that if we give without the expectation of receiving back, we will find it after many days. The only way that this could happen is if the Lord was and is involved.
Even Jesus spoke of giving to His disciples. "Then the King will say to those on His right hand, 'Come, you blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world: for I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in; I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison an you came to Me.' then the righteous will answer Him, saying, 'Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You, or thirsty and give You drink? When did we see You a stranger and take You in, or naked and clothe You? Or when did we see You sick, or in prison and come to You?' And the King will answer and say to them, 'Assuredly, I say to you, inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me.'" (Matthew 25:34-40, NKJV) You see, even Jesus noted different ways in which we could give of ourselves which does not involve money.
Realize, as well, that giving is also a ministry. "For God is not unjust to forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, n that you ministered to the saints, and do minister." (Hebrews 6:10, NKJV)

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