Giving Honourably (2)

Giving is a noble thing to do.

Helping the needy, vulnerable and downtrodden with your resources is great, but there is a caveat:

And though I bestow all my my goods to feed the poor… and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.

1 Corinthians 13:3 (KJV)

It is not enough to give liberally, sponsor the less privileged, feed thousands and engage in numerous humanitarian outreaches and projects; if you have no love — giving without love is nothing before God.

If you give to men liberally and also strip them of their esteem and dignity, reminding them at every chance you get that they owe you or are nothing without your help, you have not helped them. You have only succeeded in using your resource as a to imprison their minds and will.

But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth.

Matthew 6:3 (KJV)

When we give to others as believers, we shouldn’t strip them of their dignity or use them as tools to garner influence or men’s praises.

Give in love as God lovingly gave us His only begotten Son: Jesus.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:16 (KJV)

We should give unconditionally without unspoken conditions that keep men enslaved to us.

Every opportunity to give your resources and bless others is a privilege for you to stand in God’s stead as His vessel, bringing His will of provision to pass in the life of your beneficiaries.

Take no glory to yourself. Respect their persons and privacy as much as is possible within the borders of accountability (for example, fundraising situations).

Like with everything else you do, let your giving reveal God’s love to men. Let it fill their memories with joy, not shame or bruised egos. Let it communicate honour to them, great or little, and let it honour God.

…for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”) giver [whose heart is in his giving].

2 Corinthians 9:7b (AMPC)