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The Unexpected Adventure
What is “the blessed life?” What does a life filled with blessing look like? Being “blessed” means having supernatural power working for you. By contrast, being “cursed” means having supernatural power working against you.
A blessed man may or may not be wealthy by the world’s standards, but he enjoys a quality of life that most billionaires would envy. At four separate points in the book of Deuteronomy, God tells those who will obey Him that He will bless everything to which they put their hands (see 14:29; 15:10; 23:20; 28:8, 12). That’s what the blessed life is like. Everything you touch does well. Blessing permeates every aspect of a person’s life—health, relationships, work, family, emotions, and thoughts.
God Must Be First
There are more than 500 verses in the Bible concerning prayer and nearly 500 verses concerning faith, but there are more than 2,000 verses on the subject of money and possessions. Jesus talked about money in 16 of His 38 parables. Clearly, from the Bible’s standpoint, we need to understand money and how to handle it.
How you handle money reveals volumes about your priorities, loyalties, and affections.
The very first principle you must grasp, if you are to understand giving, is the principle of firstfruits. It can also be called the principle of the firstborn or the tithe.
God gave His tithe (Jesus) in faith before we ever believed. Notice that God gave Him to us before we believed.
The tithe, the firstborn, and the firstfruits all belong to the Lord. This isn’t a law! It’s an unchanging principle established by an unchanging God. As Exodus 23:19 says, “The first of the firstfruits of your land you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.”
We have to give our firstfruits offering—our tithes—in much the same way. Before we see the blessing of God, we give it in faith. The first portion is the redemptive portion. In other words, when the first portion is given to God, the rest is redeemed. In the same way, coming to church at the first of the week is a way of giving the Lord the first of your time.
Without exception, tithers say, “I’m blessed” or “God has blessed me.” They all give the testimony that God is blessing them. In contrast, every nontither seems to say, “I can’t afford to tithe.”
God is looking at our hearts when we give. And when we give of the first of our firstfruits or our tithe, God receives and respects that offering. The tithe is your firstfruit. The tithe must be first! The Bible is clear on this matter in Leviticus 27:30, “And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s. It is holy to the Lord.”
There are so many blessings that go along with tithing, but it is the principle of putting God first and the principle of faith that initiate the blessings. They are the trigger.
Would you rather try to make it through life with 100 percent of your income—but all of it cursed? Or would you rather try to make it through life with 90 percent of your income and all of it blessed, redeemed, and protected by God?
If God is first in your life, everything will come into order. If God is not first, nothing will come into order: your marriage, your health, your finances, your family, your job, your career, your ministry—nothing!
Life, Not Law
The word translated “tithe” in the Bible literally means “tenth”1 or “a tenth part.” And do you know what the number 10 represents all through the Bible? It represents testing.
How many times did God test Pharaoh’s heart? The answer is 10. The pattern continues in the New Testament. In Matthew 25, 10 virgins had their preparedness tested. Ten days of testing are mentioned in Revelation 2:10.
The number 10 is associated with testing throughout the Bible. And the tithe represents the ultimate “heart test” for the believer.
The righteousness of grace always exceeds the righteousness of the law. Notice that each time Jesus points to an Old Covenant law, He then sets a higher standard under New Covenant grace. For example, the law said not to commit murder (see Exodus 20:13; Deuteronomy 5:17), but Jesus said not even to be angry with your brother (see Matthew 5:22). A higher standard! The law said not to commit adultery (see Exodus 20:14; Deuteronomy 5:18), but Jesus said not even to look at a woman lustfully (see Matthew 5:28). Once again, a higher standard.
In 2 Chronicles 31:4-10, King Hezekiah makes a decree, and the gist of this passage is this: When God’s people began to tithe, God began to bless them even more. The more they were blessed, the larger their tithes grew. This upward cycle of blessing and abundance resulted in heaps of goods and food in God’s house.
Remember what God said in Malachi 3:10, “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house.” King Hezekiah commanded the people to bring in the tithe so that the priests might devote themselves to studying the Word of God.
Matthew 25:29 says, “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away.” The rewards of good stewardship are great.
The Principle of Multiplication
There are two keys to multiplication in the kingdom of God:
- Something must be blessed before it can multiply. What many Christians fail to understand is that before your money can multiply, it has to be blessed. In other words, it has to be given to the Lord first.
- Only what is given away can multiply. There is a difference between tithing and giving. Tithing is simply returning to God that which He has said is His. Giving our firstfruits, our first 10 percent to the Lord via a local church, is what causes that which is ours to be blessed.
Tithing isn’t really giving—it’s returning. It is bringing back to the Lord what is already His. Thus, the second principle of multiplication is that finances over and above the tithe must be shared if they are to multiply.
Tithing is where we remove the curse. Tithing is what brings the blessing on the balance of our finances. Tithing is what causes God to rebuke the devourer and open the windows of heaven. It is the foundation on which our giving is built.
Breaking the Spirit of Mammon
Jesus clearly suggests that it is possible to serve mammon (Aramaic word for “riches”) instead of serving God, but He goes even further: Jesus states it is impossible to serve both at the same time. He says that you will love the one and hate the other. You will be loyal to one and despise the other. According to Jesus, there is no middle ground—no half-and-half. Mammon, apparently, is a jealous god.
Jimmy Evans, senior pastor of Trinity Fellowship Church in Amarillo, Texas, said, “Mammon promises us those things that only God can give— security, significance, identity, independence, power, and freedom. Mammon tells us that it can insulate us from life’s problems and that money is the answer to every situation.”
Mammon says to buy and sell; God says to sow and reap. Mammon says to cheat and steal; God says to give and receive. But more than anything, mammon wants to rule.
Money is not inherently evil. One of the most frequently misquoted verses in all of the Bible is 1 Timothy 6:10, which says, “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” Notice, the Bible doesn’t say that money is the root of all kinds of evil. It says that the love of [or the worship of] money is a root of all kinds of evil. It is the idolatrous love of the spirit of mammon that is evil.
Mammon says to take; God says to give. Mammon is selfish; God is generous.
Mammon says, “If you have the right credit cards, the right clothes and the right car, and you live in the right neighborhood and know the right people, you’ll be happy and fulfilled.”
If we love God, we will hate mammon—the greedy, selfish, lying, deceiving, Antichrist-like spirit that operates through money worship.
God is looking for people He can entrust with much. He also knows that a person who is unjust with a little will be unjust with more as well. Christians who will cheat with a little won’t suddenly become faithful if they are given a lot.
God speaks to us about our money, and so does the spirit of mammon. Who is your master? To whom are you listening?
The enemy will try to either attack through the spirit of poverty, which will cause you to be ashamed of the blessings of God. If that doesn’t work, the enemy will try the opposite approach—a spirit of pride. Pride says, “You’ve earned this stuff. Your hard work, ingenuity, and talent have made it happen. Thus, you should be proud of the blessings you have received.” These spirits work from opposite ends of the spectrum but have a common root—they get us to focus on “stuff” rather than God.
The spirit of pride says, “Wealth comes from hard work.” The spirit of poverty says, “Wealth comes from the devil.” The spirit of pride says, “You should be proud of what you have.” The spirit of poverty says, “You should be ashamed of what you have.” They are both traps because they are things-focused rather than God-focused.
When you think about your situation in life …
Pride says, “I deserve more!”
Poverty says, “I should feel guilty.”
Gratitude says, “Thank you!” (Gratitude is an attitude of thankfulness that always acknowledges God’s provision.)
When someone says, “Wow, you have a nice house!”
Pride says, “We were going to build a bigger one.”
Poverty says, “It was a foreclosure.”
Gratitude says, “Thank you. The Lord has blessed us!”
When someone says, “That’s a nice suit!”
Pride says, “It’s tailor-made.”
Poverty says, “It was half price.”
Gratitude says, “Thank you!”
When someone says, “That’s a nice car!”
Pride says, “I’ve got three of them!”
Poverty says, “It’s a company car.”
Gratitude says, “Thank you!”
Pride wants people to think that we paid more. Poverty wants people to think we paid less. Gratitude doesn’t care what people think; it only cares what God thinks!
Pride and poverty do have this in common—they both always get us to compare ourselves with others! In sharp contrast, a person with a heart of gratitude compares himself with God and says, “Thank you!” Why? Because when I compare what I have done for God (which is nothing) with what God has done for me (which is everything), my heart naturally overflows with gratitude. Don’t fall into the comparison trap. Pride says, “I earned it.” Poverty says, “I shouldn’t have it.” Gratitude says, “I received it by grace.”
It Takes a Heart Transplant
Whatever you give, you’re going to get a lot more of the same in return. This is a universal principle with God. You always receive back more than you give.
The “give and it shall be given to you” principle is to be our reward, not our motivation.
The message of Jesus’ sermon in Luke 6:38 is “Give!” Give to those who ask of you. Give to those who can’t pay you back. Give love to those who don’t deserve it. Give mercy to those who wrong you. Give the kind of treatment you would hope to receive from others. Give, give, give! Oh, and by the way, when you do, your heavenly Father will make sure you get much more in return.
Selfishness is your enemy. Selfishness tries to manipulate and make deals with God. We were born selfish. Selfishness is deeply rooted in all of our hearts, and this doesn’t change just because our bodies grow up.
After addressing the fact that we have a selfish heart, the second thing we have to deal with when it comes to giving is a grieving heart. As Deuteronomy 15:10 puts it, “You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.”
Selfishness can attack us before we give, but grief can attack us after we give. People who sell big-ticket items for a living know about something called buyer’s remorse.
God did not create giving for His sake. He created it for our sakes! It’s a blessing to us to give. Giving, more than any other activity a believer does, works selfishness and greed out of our lives.
The Gift of Giving
We tend to hear and read a lot about various spiritual gifts. But for some reason, we hear very little about the gift of giving. But the fact is, it is mentioned prominently in Romans 12:13, “Distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.” The people who function in the gift of giving truly love to distribute to the needs of the saints. They are also very hospitable, always opening up their homes to others.
The unfortunate truth is that if you operate in the spiritual gift of giving, you are almost certainly going to encounter the ungrateful, the insensitive, or the manipulative. It comes with the territory.
By and large, people of wealth have been badly treated by the Church. They have sat in services as jokes were made about “the rich.” They’ve heard sermon illustrations from the pulpit that have portrayed success as if it were a sin or something about which to be ashamed. Then some pastors wonder why people of influence and money don’t come to their churches. In having this attitude, many pastors and Christians have been infected by the world’s way of thinking. Resentment of success and excellence is a hallmark of the world’s system today.
Watch enough Hollywood entertainment, and you will soon find yourself thinking that everyone who does well in life must have lied, cheated, and backstabbed to achieve it. This lie resonates with people because it appeals to envy and jealousy in the fallen human nature. In reality, people who do well over the long haul tend to be people who do things God’s way (whether they know it or not!).
Many of the men in the Bible whom we revere and respect as men of faith were blessed financially by God. They were blessed because they were good stewards, and God knew that He could trust them with wealth. He knew they would use their resources to bless others and carry out God’s purposes.
People who have the gift of giving respond to strong vision with clear objectives. They are literally investors in the kingdom. And as good investors, they want to put their money in good ministries that are being effective with the funds entrusted to them.
People who have the gift of giving have discernment that allows them to determine genuine needs. Remember, we’re talking about a spiritual gift that comes from God. They are able to look at ministries and missionaries and determine where bona fide needs are and how money should be used.
People who have the gift of giving want to invest in a stable ship, not a sinking ship. They want their money to be handled in a prudent manner, and they appreciate excellence and quality.
People who have the gift of giving want to give more than money—they want to give their time, their talent, and their wisdom. As a result, people who have the gift of giving are often gifted leaders.
God Rewards Good Stewardship
God loves to reward us when we diligently seek His presence, His will, and His ways. He rewards good work, and He rewards good stewardship.
In Bruce Wilkinson’s wonderful book A Life God Rewards, he cites example after example of how God is going to reward us in heaven for all the good works that we have done on earth. As he is careful to point out, we’re not saved by good works, but we are saved for good works—and those good works result in rewards.
As Bruce points out in his book, we must distinguish between belief and behavior. Our belief determines where we will spend eternity, and our behavior determines how we will spend eternity.
Sometimes when we give money away, and someone says to us, “Thank you so much.” We actually say, “You’re welcome.” But what we should be saying is, “No, no, no. This isn’t from me.” Because it’s really not; it’s from our heavenly Father.
Jesus tells of 10 people who received one mina each from a master or lord who wanted to test their stewardship, faithfulness, and ability. As Jesus tells it, when the master returned for an accounting, he instantly rewarded the steward who had done well: And he said to him, “Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have authority over ten cities” (Luke 19:17).
God expects us to be good stewards of His people whom He puts in our path, and He is a rewarder of good stewards.
Researchers say that the number one reason for divorce is communication, with money following as a close second. When they begin to dig a little deeper, they discover that the number one thing couples don’t communicate about is finances. Money is the main source of conflict in marriage. If we would practice the simple principles of good stewardship, we wouldn’t have a lot of the ulcers, headaches, and other health problems associated with financial stress.
When we allow God to do a work in our hearts, our primary motivation becomes giving for the sheer joy of giving, helping for the pure satisfaction of helping, and blessing because in doing so we imitate the heavenly Father we love and honor.
Need, Greed, or Seed
2 Corinthians 9 is one of the greatest passages in all of Scripture about the power and blessing that come through a lifestyle of Spirit-led giving. Each person is to give “as he purposes in his heart” (2 Corinthians 9:7). You are the only person on earth who can decide what the right level of giving is for you. It’s between you and the Spirit of God.
God is not looking for tithes, offerings, and gifts that are given “reluctantly or under compulsion.” The blessed life is an outgrowth of “cheerful” giving.
Of course, the natural state of the human heart is to be a grudging giver. But when we become grateful, unselfish, and generous, only then can we be cheerful givers.
Whenever we are about to give a significant offering, it is not unusual to be attacked by fears of insufficiency: Will I have enough? What if I lose my job? What if my car breaks down? Whenever those thoughts come, the first thing to remember is that money is not our sufficiency in the first place—God is our sufficiency. When we begin to put our trust in anything other than God, it is idolatry. It is an idol.
Where using money is concerned, there is a higher level beyond need and greed. The highest use of money is seed. The language Paul used in 2 Corinthians 9:6—”He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully”—is the language of seed.
Without question, God is committed to meeting our needs; but are we committed to using our money as seed?
God is always mindful of our material needs (so we don’t have to be). He wants us to take some of the seed He’s given us and eat it, but the rest He wants us to sow.
There are three fundamental principles relating to seed that you need to know:
- You reap what you sow. Let me emphasize once again, this is not a holy get-rich-quick scheme. We don’t sow for the purpose of getting more money; however, financial growth is a by-product of bountiful sowing. It is a principle: Whatever you sow, you’ll reap.
- You reap after you sow. “Someday, when I have more money, I’m going be a giver.” It will never happen. You can’t reap before you sow. Once again, this a principle God has woven into the natural order of things.
- You reap more than you sow. The essence of the message is in the following passage: Those who sow in tears shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, bearing seed for sowing, shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, bringing his sheaves with him (Psalm 126:5–6).
God is looking for people He can trust with wealth. We must pass the test of need—trusting God to take care of us. We must pass the test of greed—using abundance wisely and in obedience to God’s promptings. Moreover, we must pass the test of seed—sowing bountifully—as we observe the three principles of seedtime and harvest. God can get it to us, if He can only get it through us!
God Rewards Generosity
Wherever you find generosity, you will find selfishness battling for control.
There is a breathtaking selfishness at work in Judas’s heart, and it is manifested in his comments about Mary’s offering. Look again at the Word of God’s commentary on Judas: This he said, not that he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and had the money box; and he used to take what was put in it (John 12:6).
Selfishness, by its very nature, cares about nothing and no one but self. A selfish person will sell out his or her friends if it will help the person get what he or she wants. And a selfish person will always, always find good reasons not to be generous.
Money is a bigger test than you think. In fact, you are being tested by money right now. It is vital that you understand this truth: The extent of the responsibility you will have in the kingdom is directly proportional to how you handle money. If you doubt the truth of this statement, take a fresh look at Jesus’ words in Luke 16:11-12, “Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?”
What do your offerings say about your heart levels of gratitude and love for God? What does your spending say about what’s truly important to you on this earth? Judas wanted to keep everything he could in order to build his own kingdom. Mary was willing to give everything she had in order to bless the King.
There is a battle going on inside each of us. It is a battle between selfishness and generosity, and it is a battle generosity must win.
Do you remember how Solomon received wisdom from God? (See 1 Kings 3.) Solomon had just been set in as king. According to tradition, he was supposed to go offer an offering to the Lord. He was to sacrifice a bull. On the appointed day, do you know what Solomon did? He sacrificed 1,000 bulls. Can’t you hear his advisors? “Uh … listen … we know you’re new and everything, but … uh … didn’t you know that you are only supposed to offer one offering? But, hey, we know you’re excited, so if you want to get extravagant, why not sacrifice 10 … or even 100? But 1,000? Think about it, Solomon … we’ll be here all night!” Solomon personally gave 1,000 bulls that day. And that night, God came to him and said, “Ask anything, and I’ll give it to you.” Do you know why God said “Ask anything of Me”? It is because Solomon had demonstrated that his heart was generous, not selfish. Solomon was a giver.
Generosity doesn’t give to receive, but generosity is always rewarded by God. If you give, God is going to bless you.
Giving extravagantly—beyond the tithe and offering—comes with six distinct steps. The first step in giving an extravagant gift to the Lord is hearing. You don’t give extravagant gifts out of your own thinking or planning. You need to hear God.
The second phase is excitement. Once you hear from God about a significant gift, it’s natural to get extremely excited.
It almost always gives way to phase three: fear. You are most likely going to have thoughts that shout: This is crazy! This is absolutely crazy! The fact is that almost everything in the Christian life seems crazy to the natural mind.
After fear, comes phase four of giving an extravagant gift: logic. In the logic phase, you’ll start thinking of lots of reasons you shouldn’t do what you’ve heard God say. You will think of lots of alternative plans and programs.
Invariably, after logic comes doubt. Did I really hear God correctly? Maybe that was just my overactive imagination. What if it was the devil?!
That’s when you move into the final phase leading up to an extravagant gift: faith. Once you get back to faith, the excitement returns, and that’s when you can follow through and obey. Ask yourself this question: Am I generous, or is selfishness still the dominant force in my heart? How much of you does God have? Does He have all of you? Does He have your dreams? Your desires? Your possessions? God wants to do a work in our hearts. He wants to make us generous.
Guaranteed Financial Results
God is faithful. His past performance is an indicator of future results. As we’ve seen repeatedly, whenever God’s people are obedient and faithful, God blesses.
Giving is important because it does a supernatural work in our hearts, and that’s what God is after—our hearts. God is not after our money. He doesn’t need it. But our treasure is tied to our hearts. Thus, God goes through our treasure to get to our hearts.
We find another great conditional promise in 2 Chronicles 16:9, “The eyes of the Lord search the whole earth in order to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.” In other words, God is searching and searching for generous hearts—hearts He knows He can trust with wealth and resources.
When we give out of transformed hearts, God is going to bless us so that we can give even more. Good stewards are entrusted with more. Faithful servants receive true riches.
Giving when the Lord leads, helping people know the love and goodness of God, keeping the focus on God rather than on things, being generous, and allowing God to do a work in our hearts are the keys to making our journey on earth an adventure of joy and purpose. These are the keys to the blessed life.