Of Give-And-Take

"But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this?  For everything comes from You, and we have given You only what comes from Your own hand" (2 Chron. 29:14, HCSB).  
"... Freely you have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8, NKJV).
"...' I am the LORD your God, who teaches you to profit, Who leads you by the way you should go'" (Isaiah 48:17, NKJV).
"And you shall remember the LORD your God, for it is He who gives you power to get wealth..." (Deut. 8:18, NKJV).  
"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matt. 6:21, NIV).

We are all recipients of a multitude of blessings, even unawares, and owe it all to our Lord, who has freely given us all things to be used for His glory and are really just loaned to us--we must be good stewards of them.  "THE earth is the LORD'S and the fullness thereof;.." says Psalm 24:1, KJV.  Yes, God owns the cattle on a thousand hills says Psalm 50:10.  We are not to become materialists thinking that our life consists in the abundance of our possessions.  Actually, the less we own the more we realize what God has blessed us with.  A. W. (Aiden Wilson) Tozer wrote a germane book on the subject called The Pursuit of God, and one chapter is called "The  Blessedness of Possessing Nothing." Abraham had to come to the point of giving up Isaac before he could possess him.  Christians likewise have nothing, yet possess all, as Paul says.   Some people have to be stripped of their paraphernalia and personal belongings before they realize it all belongs to God, and we must be thankful--even for small things.

Concerning the things of the world, and we ought not to love the things of the world, we should echo Paul, who said that none of these things move him (cf. Acts 20:24).  We are all rich!  Real riches consist in the abundance of our blessings of all manner, not just our material possessions; actually, riches are better measured by the fewness of our wants, not the abundance of our material goods--the man who dies with the most toys doesn't win, but he missed the boat!  The idea is to get focused and to realize what God wants to bless you with and go for it from there.  The person who covets everything cannot find happiness in belongings, and we ought to be possessors of our possessions, and not let them control us as slaves.  Money is a cruel taskmaster, for people who have a lot of it still want more, and you cannot serve God and mammon, according to our Lord.  Just ask a millionaire how much money would make him happy and content; he'll tell you that it's just a little more!  Paul urges us to be content with what we have and learn to be thankful in all circumstances. 

God does promise to take care of our physical needs but not necessarily our felt needs or wants; however, some people are twice blessed because God blesses all in some ways and is good to all according to Psalm 145:9.  Jesus did indeed say that it's more blessed to give than to receive (cf. Acts 20:35), and people who realize this are fulfilled givers, and grace-giving is done sacrificially and with purpose and faithfulness.  Paul added that God loves a cheerful giver in 2 Cor. 9:7.  If we give out of the wrong spirit, it cannot be blessed, knowing even that it's not the amount per se, but the motive and faith, knowing that God multiplies the gift exponentially and uses it for His work.  It is indeed a privilege and pleasure to know that we can contribute to God's work in the kingdom.  In God's economy, it is in giving that we receive!

God blesses us in like manner as we bless others, so be sure not to cheat God!   God gives freely to us and we are to freely give in return, and this is the grace of giving and taking--sometimes it can be humbling to receive as well, but it's always an honor to be the giver, for God is the Giver of all blessings (cf. James 1:17), for God "gives generously to all without finding fault" (cf. James 1:5, NIV), and He has no hands to give other than ours.

We are never to look down on the less fortunate or those "down on their luck" as they say; for God is the maker of the poor as well as the rich, and to despise the poor is to insult God.  The wisest people are those who have experienced hardship and have roots not too be envied, and come from humble backgrounds.  These people hopefully will never forget that God is the one who makes one rich (cf. Deut. 8:18).  God teaches us to profit and shows us the way, when we are blessed (cf. Isaiah 48:17, NKJV).  Always aware that prosperity isn't a sure sign of God's favor.  When one is rich it doesn't mean he can waste money or show no respect for it, but must always remember the value of a dollar.

I do not believe in prosperity theology, or that we must cash in our spiritual lottery ticket after salvation, and God will always prosper His children in a material way.  But whatever task we are called to do, He will bless and make sure we have the means to do it and we will be successful in that venture in His name.   Money is only one measure of prosperity or success, and shouldn't be the litmus test of a person's faith or walk with God. If you love money, you'll never have enough.   Because he who is faithful in little, will be faithful in much, and to whom much is given, much is expected, as Jesus said.  In God's economy, it is the poor who are rich in faith (cf. James 2:5), because wealth can be anesthetizing and bring on more angst about financial woes, exigencies, or expectancies--since wealth makes one tend to feel independent of God and even oblivious.  Wealth per se doesn't bring happiness, for you can have everything to live on, and nothing to live for!  We must not strive to become rich, but let God bless us in our service to Him--do that in life that you feel you can best serve God faithfully, not that which brings in the most income. 

Paul did learn the lesson of being content both in need and in plenty!  God wants to bless us but sometimes our hands are already full of the world's goods, and we have no place for His provision and abundance.  God is good to all in some ways, and to some in all ways, but no one can say God is not good or that they haven't been blessed.  Give what you are blessed with, for instance, some people have time to spare and can volunteer or donate time as a commodity or venture for God's work.  We are never happier than when we are doing God's work with a smile. 

One of God's attributes is His generosity, and we are to mimic that and become channels or conduits of His blessings and provision.  We are to render to God that which is God's, according to Jesus, and this doesn't mean that only spiritual things belong to Him, but everything is His and we have it on loan as stewards who will be evaluated for our faithfulness when we are called to account and evaluated.  The greatest gifts are God's Son, His Word in the form of the Scriptures, the Comforter, and of course, eternal life:  we are to appropriate these as blessings and pass them on. 

God gives us more insights when we pass on those given to us because this is good stewardship of the mysteries of God.  Remember the principle:  Give and it shall be given to you!  This is the key to opening up the doors of heaven's bounty. It's best to be focused on the spiritual (cf. Col. 3:1) because we ought not to lay up treasures on earth, for where our treasure is, our heart will be also (cf. Matt. 6:19-20).  We don't want to become slaves to materialism and equate happiness with it, for our joy should be in the Lord and doing His will--as it is written:  "Rejoice in the Lord."  

The chief virtue of receiving God's bounty is to give thanks! It's a reward in itself, bearing the gift of God.   It is important to know that the Lord doesn't give like the world gives (cf. John 14:27), for "the gifts [referring to spiritual gifts] and callings of God are without repentance," according to Rom. 11:29.  Job noted that the Lord gives and takes away (cf. Job 1:21), "...[S]hall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?" (Job 2:10, ESV), but God is no man's debtor and His tests and pruning are for our good.  Paul noted in 1 Tim. 6:17, NKJV, that "[God] gives us richly all things to enjoy," including "our daily bread." 

Paul exhorts us who give in Rom. 12:8, NKJV, to give "with liberality."  I would be remiss not to mention the main thing:  To give of ourselves to the Lord; for we are God's and His desire is for us.  There is a direct correlation between the two:  receiving with thanksgiving puts us in the spirit to give as unto the Lord and to give gracefully because we know what Thanksgiving is from experience and want to pass it on--grateful people are those inspired to become givers and a blessing to others.  If you are not thankful, try the grace of giving and receiving thanks, till you feel compelled to give and become grace-oriented, and if you are thankful, express it in giving too--you'll find a grateful heart and the gift of giving as the result.  And in conclusion focus on this:  Ask and it shall be given unto thee," so also on the flip side "give to him that asks" in return.  (Cf. Matt. 5:42).  

Only Christianity shows us how much God loves and it's sacrificial, costing Him His Son; we too can show our love sacrificially, for we can give without love, but not love without giving, says Rick Warren.  Fellowship is mutuality, which is defined as the art of give-and-take!  Soli Deo Gloria!