Giving; that's about the most popular message in the church today; it's almost as if it was never in the Bible! Hey, don't misunderstand me; giving is good and scriptural, after all Jesus taught us to give. But is that all? What are the real motives of those who always preach it? And is it really the answer to all our problems? It can be very irritating to keep hearing the same thing over and over again! I beg your pardon!
Though it has its rewards, giving is not substitute for a lot of things in the kingdom of God. Giving cannot replace devotion; giving doesn't take off the responsibility of evangelism from off you; giving is not a substitute for faithfulness, church attendance and so on; and as you may know, giving without love is simply unacceptable!
We should all re-read Hosea 6:6 to remind ourselves of what God really desires from us. Here it is in different versions: "I want you to show love, not offer sacrifices. I want you to know me more than I want burnt offerings." NLT. "For it is love that I seek, and not sacrifice; knowledge of God more than burnt offerings." ISV. "I want your loyalty, not your sacrifices. I want you to know me, not to give me burnt offerings." GWT.
I mean, you can't truly impress a wealthy God with your giving; He owns it all! Don't you understand? He seeks to give to us than to receive from us! And long before you thought your giving would make you rich, He already made you rich and made you a joint heir with Christ! Ha! "He who didn't withhold even his own Son, but gave Him up for all of us, will He not also with Him FREELY give us all things?" Romans 8:32. Brothers and sisters, "To do what is right and just is more acceptable to the LORD than sacrifice." Proverbs 21:3
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