Meat and Bones – Giving

Greetings Dear Reader,

First I would be clear that giving time, talent, effort, and funds to the Gospel is a good thing.  These things are opportunities to share the generosity that is part of the Gospel.  It is truly better to give than to receive.

That said, there are aspects of giving that have nothing to do with following Christ.  Instead these aspects are contrary to what Christ calls us to be as his followers.  The bones of giving do much more damage than good.

The first of these is coerced giving.  Whenever we give out of guilt or manipulation we are not doing so out of the fullness of our hearts.  The organizations that use these methods to promote giving are not representing an honest view of following Christ.

We must also not push people to give to merit God’s favor.  We already covered that.  We cannot earn God’s favor in any way.  We cannot give all we have and earn a moment of favor.  Giving does not buy us anything from God.

Giving must be done out of love.  We must give because we want to show love to others.  We must give because we do not wish other to go without.  We give out of gratitude for the blessings provided to us by the Father.

It will be said that all the church cares about is money.  At times that allegation is true.  When you look deeper you will find Christ followers who give from the heart.  That is what I must be.  I must give our of love for others.

Wishing you joy in the journey,

Aramis Thorn

Mat 13:52 So Jesus said to them, "That is why every writer who has become a disciple of Christ’s rule of the universe is like a home owner. He liberally hands out new and old things from his great treasure store.”

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