Reasons Why it is More Blessed to Give than to Receive
The Gospel of Jesus Christ is a global enterprise. It involves giving value to reap value. We give the Word of reconciliation, the Gospel of Christ, for the souls of men. We sow the seed of the Word of God to reap the souls of men. In between sowing the seed of the Gospel and reaping the souls of men there is a broad process in the value chain. Laborers are required to sow the seed, media materials are needed, transportation from one place to another, welfare of the laborers, purchase of media air time, logistics cost, etc. In the ministry of the Word of God, money is needed. Therefore God requires the generous giving of His children to the preaching of the Gospel. Obviously, this is God’s passion in the earth today; and when we give to God’s passion, He blesses us passionately. It is God’s will that all men be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth.
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The most unbelieved beatitude in the Bible is: “It is more blessed to give than receive” (Acts 20:35). The giver happier than the getter? Surely some mistake? That goes against all our intuitions and instincts. So let me help you to believe it and act upon it by giving you ten reasons why it is more blessed to give than to receive.
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1 Giving obeys God’s command
The Old Testament has way more commands about financial giving – who, when, and how much – than the New Testament. Maybe the New Testament writers just assumed that as God had given far more to us in the New Testament – giving Himself to death – that our giving should follow fairly logically and easily. But, just in case we might miss the link, there are clear New Testament commands also (e.g. 1 Corinthians 1:2). As all of God’s commands are given to enhance our lives, obeying this command will increase our happiness.
Rewards For Obeying God
(Deuteronomy 4:39-40 NIV) Acknowledge and take to heart this day that the LORD is God in heaven above and on the earth below. There is no other. {40} Keep his decrees and commands, which I am giving you today, so that it may go well with you and your children after you and that you may live long in the land the LORD your God gives you for all time.
(Deuteronomy 5:29 NIV) Oh, that their hearts would be inclined to fear me and keep all my commands always, so that it might go well with them and their children forever!
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2 Giving submits to God’s Lordship
What does the Lordship of Christ really mean? Before I answer that question, may I point out that scores of people today consider themselves to be Christians who have never made a commitment to Christ as Lord. It is one thing to know Christ as Savior; another thing to know Him as Sovereign. Lest I lost you with words, let me point out briefly what it means to know Christ as Lord as well as Savior.
First‑‑to acknowledge the Lordship of Christ means to acknowledge His position as the Son of God. After the resurrection, the disciples were met by Jesus who had triumphed over death. "My Lord and my God!" exclaimed Thomas (John 20:28, NIV). It was the resurrection of Christ that proved Jesus was Lord; He was master over death and the grave. It gave Him claim to a position never held by another. Peter tried to explain, saying that "God has made this Jesus... both Lord and Messiah" (Acts 2:36, NIV). I do not believe that a person can impartially examine the credentials of Christ without coming to the same conclusion of the Centurion who cried, "Surely this was a righteous man" (Luke 23:47).
If Jesus was merely mortal man, He was not Lord over all, but if He did rise from the grave, which the Bible and all of history confirms, He is Lord and someday all men will acknowledge that claim. The second thing it means to acknowledge the Lordship of Christ, is that a person, recognizing who He is, voluntarily submits to His authority and discipline. It is an interesting fact and true‑‑all of the disciples called Jesus, "Lord," except Judas, who betrayed Him. At the Last Supper Jesus said, "One of you shall betray me." "Lord, is it I?" asked each one, but Judas asked, "Master, is it I?" (Matthew 26:21‑25, KJV).
Judas refused to submit to Christ's authority or discipline. That word, "submit", bothers a lot of folks today as though it implies forcing yourself to do the bidding of someone who delights in your misery and unhappiness. Do you think for a moment that a father who loves his children would say, "I want my children to prove their obedience by doing everything I can think of to make them miserable." Nonsense. To recognize the Lordship of Christ means that you make Him your Lord and volunteer to be His follower. Have no fear that He will ask you to carry around a dead fish in your pocket to prove your devotion; as Diogenes, the Greek philosopher, once did to one of his disciples.
Do not think for a moment that to acknowledge His Lordship will result in hardship or loss; it simply means that you recognize your position in relationship to His. You fear Christ because you do not know Him. To know Him is to love Him, and to love Him is to obey Him. Many are like Philip who walked with Jesus for three years, yet in the week before His passion, Jesus turned to him and said, "Don't you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time?" (John 14:9, NIV). Submission leads to obedience and obedience is not difficult when we love Him. By right of redemption I belong to Jesus Christ, but if He would be my Lord, I must let Him take first place in my life.
Every act of obedience recognizes that there is a higher authority in our lives, that there is a Lord over us who is entitled to honor and respect. Due to our temperament, personality, or circumstances, we may find some commands relatively easy to obey. Our submission is really tested in the areas where our own nature and situation make obedience more difficult. For most of us, money is one of those areas. Our wallet is often the last citadel to fall to God’s rule, and even when it does fall, it gets rebuilt and re-secured again all too quickly. If only we could remember that Divine Lordship is not a threat; rather it’s the place of greatest safety.
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3 Giving exhibits God’s heart
God is THE giver of every good and perfect gift (James 1:17). As His image-bearers we are called to copy His giving, to be mini-pictures of His infinitely large heart. The larger our hearts (and the wider our hands), the larger the picture we paint of God’s character. What do people think of God when they think of the way you use your money?
Each of us has received grace-gifts from God. And “as each has received a gift,” we are to “use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace” (1 Peter 4:10). We are given these gifts for the “progress and joy” of one another’s faith (Philippians 1:25).
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4 Giving illustrates God’s salvation
Salvation is a rescue operation. To understand salvation, we need to know what the problem was, what God did about it, and how we respond to it.
At the heart of the Gospel is sacrificial self-giving (John 3:16). That’s why when the Apostle Paul wanted to encourage the Corinthians to give more, he pointed them to the person and work of Christ. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 2:9). Yes, you abound in faith, love, etc., but “see that you abound in this grace also.” When we give sacrificially, painfully, for the benefit of others, we are faintly and on a small-scale preaching the Gospel message.
In practical terms, God's salvation is what we need to get to heaven or attain eternal ... and the Bible does not give any "magic formula" that will guarantee salvation. ..... the Tax Collector (Luke 18:9-14) also shows the evil of self-righteousness.
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5 Giving trusts God’s provision
The biggest deterrent to giving is fear, the fear that if I give away too much I won’t have enough for this or that. When we give sacrificially, above and beyond what is comfortable and easy, we are expressing our faith and trust in God to provide for us and our family. This is not an argument for folly, but for faith. Many Christians have discovered the joy of casting their crumbs of bread upon the waters and multiple loaves returning after many days (Ecclesiastes 11:1). It’s such a joy to see God fulfill His promise of provision when we obey Him.
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6 Giving widens God’s smile
Since pleasing God is the first purpose of your life, your most important task is to discover how to do that. The Bible says, "Figure out what will please Christ, and then do it" (Ephesians 5:10 MSG)
The Lord loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 2:7). It delights Him to see His people gladly opening their hearts and hands to provide for the needs of His Church and indeed of all His creatures. Through Paul, God repeatedly commends and praises those who gave of their funds and of themselves to Gospel work (2 Corinthians 8:1). There’s nothing that makes a Christian happier than knowing that she’s made God happy, and happy giving means a happy God.
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7 Giving advances God’s kingdom
Many of us have contributed to Apple in one way or another. We have helped to grow the company from a garage operation to the worldwide empire it is today. And I’m happy about that, as it’s a company that has brought many blessings to the world. But think of what blessing results when we fund the mission of Christ’s church. We are paying salaries of ministers and missionaries. We are funding resources for outreach, evangelism, and discipleship. But above all we are investing in the spiritual and eternal welfare of people from every nation, tribe, kindred and tongue. Our dollars are changing homes, relationships, countries, and even the eternal destiny of many souls.
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8 Giving promotes God’s sanctification
Giving not only promotes God’s work through us, but also God’s work in us, our sanctification. Giving money, especially when it pains us, requires much self-denial and self-crucifixion. However, as every act of giving weakens and even breaks our sinful and selfish nature, the more God’s grace spreads in our hearts. Yes, money leaves our pockets, but sin also leaves our heart. And that’s a great deal. Priceless actually.
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9 Giving testifies to God’s power
Although we are not to let our left hand know what our right hand does, it’s pretty obvious that Christians give a lot to their churches and Christian charities. Even secular observers have noticed with amazement how generous Christians often are with their money. They may not say it but they surely must think it: “This must be the real deal for people to give away so much of their own money. They must really believe this stuff. The God they worship and serve must be incredibly powerful to make people so generous.”
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10 Giving praises God’s character
Giving in a right spirit is an act of worship. It is rendering Him a tribute of praise. It is saying. “You gave me everything and here is a small expression of my gratitude and praise for all your good gifts. It’s only a token, a sample of what I really feel, but you know the heart that lies behind it. As David sang: “What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits towards me?” (Psalms 116:12).
Giving better that getting?
Do you now see how giving makes us more blessed than getting? We can get so much happiness when we see how God is glorified in our giving and when we see Him bless others through our giving.
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