~ The Spiritual Gift of Giving ~
Opening Comment ~ “Do
not be deceived, my beloved brethren. Every good gift and every perfect gift is
from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no
variation or shadow of turning. Of His
own will He brought us forth by the word of truth, that we might be a kind of
firstfruits of His creatures” (James 1:16-18).
Serving Gifts ~
Within the Service Sector of our society we can see a parallel of the Spiritual
Gift of Serving with non-profit organizations.
Gift of Giving ~
This is a much broader area than just financial giving. It includes the freely giving of your time,
your talent, as well as your treasure. It is “the God-given ability to give most liberally
and beyond all human expectation.” –Pastor Loren Fischer
“‘He
that giveth’ is he that shares his earthly possessions. God may have given you the gift of making
money – and that is a gift. I know
several Christian businessmen who have the Midas touch. That is their gift.” –J. Vernon McGee
Biblical
Basis ~ The person with the gift of giving has a key
understanding of the Gospel which is the critical foundation for their
gift. “You were bought with a price” (1
Corinthians 7:23). “You are not your
own; you were bought with a price” 1 Corinthians 6:19b-20). “We love Him because He first loved us” (1
John 4:19). Love is measured by its
gift.
Scripture ~ “Having then gifts differing
according to the grace that is given to us, let us use them: if prophecy,
let us prophesy in proportion to our faith; or ministry, let us use it in our
ministering; he who teaches, in teaching; he who exhorts, in exhortation; he
who gives, with liberality” (Romans 12:6-8a).
That
last verse has also been translated as “He that giveth, let him do it with
simplicity” (Romans 12:8). Giving must
be done with singleness of heart and not from mixed or doubtful motives, as was
the case with Ananias and Sapphira (see Acts 5).
“And
though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all
knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but
have not love, I am nothing” (1 Corinthians 13:2). “And now abide faith, hope, love, these
three; but the greatest of these is love” (1 Corinthians 13:13).
Biblical
Examples ~ “For God so loved the world that He gave”
(John 3:16). “Christ also loved the
church and gave” (Ephesians 5:25). “He loved me and gave” (Galatians 2:20).
“And Jonathan loved him as his own
soul... and gave” (1 Samuel 18:1,4).
Traits ~ An
individual with the gift of giving; 1) works hard to aid needy people who are
worthy of assistance, 2) backs up concerns with personal investment, encourages
others to give to worthy causes, 3) plans for the best use of available
resources, feel secure in the ability to invest wisely, 4) possess a desire to
share personal resources with others and to assist them in worthy endeavors,
and 5) welcomes the opportunity to give (but wants assurance that others will
put the contributions to good use).
Closing Comments ~ “Let
no one despise your youth, but be an example to the believers in word, in
conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity. Till I come, give attention to reading, to
exhortation, to doctrine. Do not neglect the gift that is in you,
which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the
eldership. Meditate on these things;
give yourself entirely to them, that your progress may be evident to all. Take heed to yourself and to the
doctrine. Continue in them, for in doing
this you will save both yourself and those who hear you” (1 Timothy 4:12-16).
The
true Christian attitude toward material goods is not “How much of God's money
shall I give to God?” but rather, “How much of God's money shall I keep for
myself?”
“As each one has received a
gift, minister it to one another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of
God” (1 Peter 4:10).
“Therefore I remind you to stir
up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but
of power and of love and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:6-7).
~ Robert Lloyd Russell, ABUNDANT LIFE NOW blog.
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