The Harvest of Giving
2 Corinthians 9: 6-10. These verses have often been interpreted as promising that if we give to God, God will automatically give us wealth and health and many other blessings. Such teaching encourages us to give to God in order to get from God. Experience teaches us, however, that many generous people live with continual financial pressures. As they continue to give sacrificially, God provides for their daily needs, but he does not always give them abundant wealth. In addition to this, the Bible does not teach us to give in order to get.

The Bible says that we get in order to give. This perspective makes all the difference. God blesses us so we can give to others.  Instead of trying to manipulate God and nurturing selfish expectations, our giving should be a response to God's blessing upon us.

Giving As We Have Received
1 Corinthians 16:2. "Before or after taxes?" How many of us have said or heard those words in response to the exhortation to give a portion of our income back to God? Our concern with such legalities shows us our need to remind ourselves of the true purpose of giving.

The Old Testament standard for giving was the tithe, or 10 percent of any property or produce. "A tenth of the produce of the land, whether grain or fruit, belongs to the Lord and must be set apart to him as holy" (Leviticus 27:30) this gift was a response of thanksgiving and an expression of allegiance to God. Failure to observe the tithe was viewed as robbing God, for it belonged to Him: "You have cheated me of the tithes and offerings due to me. You are under a curse, for your whole nation has been cheating me" (Malachi 3: 8-9).

The New Testament continues to assume that God's people will give proportionally according to their income. Paul urged the Corinthian Christians to set aside a certain amount of money on the Lord's Day, depending on how much they had earned. This would then be given to Christians enduring hardship in Jerusalem. Paul's instructions provide us with a good model for giving today. We should give as God has blessed us, and we should set aside money regularly and purposefully. This habit of regular, proportional giving reminds us of several things:

1.    That God graciously provides for us.
2.    That we are responsible to support others
3.    That we need to use our material treasure to secure spiritual gains.

God's grace is such that when we give him what is his, he gives generously to us. "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple...if you do...I will pour out a blessing so great you won't have enough room to take it in!" (Malachi 3:10)  while this is not an automatic guarantee that we will receive material blessing every time we give to God, it does show us that God will bless us and provide for our needs.

Putting It into Practice
How has God blessed you? Think of financial resources but also of other blessings and talents. How could you "plant" these to cultivate a greater harvest for the Lord?

For more on stewardship, read 1 Timothy 6 & 2 Corinthians 8.