What gets in the way of you being generous? Is it fear of not having enough to cover your own expenses? Is it that you don’t ever think to give? I believe that if you really understood the power of generosity,then giving would be a no-brainer, and maybe even a non-negotiable! If you’re reading this and think you’ve heard it all on the topic of generosity, I encourage you to keep reading… because there may be more to it than you think! Perhaps generosity is intricately tied to your capacity to receive from God!
GIVING KICK STARTS YOUR PROSPERITY
One of the best-kept secrets of the principles of prosperity is generosity, because your generosity determines the capacity of the distribution system that reciprocates your investment in the Kingdom. Sounds like a mouthful but let me explain it by quoting Jesus: “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return” (Luke 6:38). All prosperity begins with giving, which means that everybody in the world has the capacity for wealth
, because everyone has something to give—including you!
Think about it like this: If prosperity began with receiving instead of giving, then each of us would be powerless to produce wealth until someone decided to contribute to our welfare. In other words, it would make sense to blame your poor condition on the actions of others. But because you initiate all prosperity in your life with giving, you determine when you will activate your heavenly endowment to receive God’s divine power to produce wealth.
BUT I GREW UP POOR!
“But I grew up in a poor family,” you may complain, “and I have nothing to give!” I’m sorry, but you are wrong. Look at the verse again. It does not say, “Give money and it shall be given to you.” Jesus just said, “Give, and it will be given to you.”
Everyone has something to give . . . everyone! You can give your time, your gifts, your wisdom, your strength, your encouragement, your talents, etc. You are a treasure chest of true riches, a wealth of benefit to others. Think about what a robot would be worth if it could perform one-tenth of the tasks you are capable of. If you underestimate your ability to give, you will undermine your capacity to receive.
WHY WOULD YOU HOLD BACK?
The second part of this verse is equally profound: “For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.” Metaphorically speaking, if you give God a teaspoon of rice, He will use your teaspoon (measure) to give you back ten teaspoons of gold. If you give God a bucket of rice, He will use your bucket (measure) to give you back ten buckets of gold.
I heard a beautiful story about rice years ago that illustrates this perfectly. It goes something like this: There was once an old, barefoot peasant walking down the side of a dirt road. He was haggard, destitute, weathered and unkempt, and he was carrying a small wooden bowl of rice. Holding the bowl close to his face, he was carefully scraping each kernel of rice into his mouth with his bare hands. Suddenly, the sound of a hundred horses filled the air. The peasant glanced up from his bowl to see a thick dust cloud and a shiny gold chariot encompassed by an entourage of beautiful horses ridden by knights in glistening armor. The peasant cursed the king’s entourage under his breath, grumbling about the gall of the rich man’s inconsiderate arrogance.
Abruptly, the chariot came to a halt beside the peasant. The wealthy king, his crown gleaming with jewels, slowly opened the door of his chariot. The peasant hid his face in shame as the rich king graciously spoke. “May I have some of your rice, please?” the king asked, to the bewilderment of everyone. The peasant mumbled something under his breath and his shaky hand emerged reluctantly from beneath his shawl, carefully measuring three kernels of rice into the king’s hand. The king, filled with gratitude, kindly thanked the old peasant. Then he opened his treasure chest and slowly counted out three gold coins, placing each of them carefully in the peasant’s outstretched hand.
As the king’s entourage began moving again and made its way past the peasant, he ripped off his ragged outer garments, and tossing them to the ground, he yelled, “Oh, that I would have given him the whole bowl of rice!”
I think the moral of the story is pretty clear: Your level of generosity determines the level of God’s blessing in your life. The poorer you perceive yourself to be, the more important it is for you to give of yourself.
YOU ARE CALLED TO BE GENEROUS
The truth is that every believer is called to be generous, and when you give to God, He gives back to you thirty, sixty and a hundred times more. So if it is true that we are all called to give, and if it is also true that you cannot out-give God, then it stands to reason that all of us are called to be wealthy (not rich)
.
So I’ll ask you the question again: what gets in the way of your generosity? I pray you’ll experience freedom from that prison today, not because you want to gain some riches, but because it matters in the Kingdom.
Do you give as much of yourself as you’d like to? What’s holding you back? I’d love to hear your thoughts and stories of generosity in the comments!
