A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed. Proverbs 11:25 NIV
The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that waters shall be watered also himself. Proverbs 11:25 KJV
Giving is "Good" Business
As I was sitting in church last Wednesday, I was urged to give a special offering for the purpose of a Christmas giving. I totally support what our church does, buying gifts for children that have none, and I think that it is a good thing to do with time and resources. Ordinarily, I am quick to give, with a joyful heart. So I was greatly surprised when I felt inspired by the Lord to give - and my INSTANT response was - Nah-DON'T do it, it ISN'T "good" business. I hastened, and THREW the money in the basket! I was not about to let the enemy rob me from my opportunity to give, when the Lord had ASKED me to do it! This response of "giving isn't GOOD business"- left me to wonder - when on earth did I become "SO IMPORTANT" to myself, that gift-giving became about dollars and cents and NOT about the blessing, and the heart?
"It is BECAUSE I give I KNOW that I have MORE than enough for ME."
Gift Giving Returns to YOU
"And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or fields for my sake will receive a hundred times as much and will inherit eternal life." Matthew 19:29
When we give gifts - do they BOOMERANG back to us? Do we get "STUFF" in return? No, of course not. Does God see what we do? ABSOLUTELY!
Giving gifts, opens our hearts toward giving, and in return, we begin to think toward abundance. This is the GREATEST benefit of giving - our ability to receive an abundant - type thought mentality. It is BECAUSE I give that I KNOW that I have MORE than enough. I believe that when the resistance to giving came to me, I had trained my mind to think in terms of return on my investment or ROI. The enemy was attempting to convince me that if I "gave away" "my" money, I wouldn't be making a sound investment, like I do with my time or investments. After all, it is easy to give-when we KNOW we will get a return + some, but this doesn't require faith!
Thankfully, I knew enough of the Word to know two things...
#1 YOU CAN NOT "GIVE AWAY" WHAT FIRST DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU and #2 IT'S NOT "MY" MONEY! (Could it be these are the SAME thing?!)
#1 YOU CAN NOT "GIVE AWAY" WHAT FIRST DOES NOT BELONG TO YOU
Scripture says, The silver [is] mine, and the gold [is] mine, saith the LORD of hosts.” Hag. 2:8
#2 IT'S NOT "MY" MONEY!
As soon as we get to thinking the money we earn is "ours", we put ourselves into a position of stinginess. MINE MINE MINE, should be the worst four-letter-word in the dictionary! This season, I would URGE you to give to others. I would URGE you to comfort the lost, the broken-hearted, and empty. Give-not just to get-but to create a habit of thinking abundantly all the time, about ALL things!
God Bless you friends as you give abundantly this holiday season
Jessica Heilman is the Founder of Wholehearted Ministries and is also mom to The Cookie Boys. Jessica has been a student of Psychology, Philosophy and Theology for nearly 25 years. Jessica founded WHM in 2008 while in Bible College. Jessica and her husband Jeff have been married 21 years. Jeff and Jessica live in the Silicon Valley with their seven children and their dog Kennedy.