Hello beloved child of God, I hope you’re fine by God’s grace. As for me, I’m pretty fine thanks to Him. Today (as every other day) is a wonderful day to talk about generosity.
I know that it’s easy to feel like every single person is asking for your money. There are many people who choose not to be generous because they have the impression that everybody is asking for their money at church, in school, at their job, in their local associations, online etc.
However, it is very important to know that when we’re being generous, we’re not doing it for people, but we’re doing it for God. Anyhow, today’s post is about Barriers to Generosity. By barriers to generosity, we’re talking about things which stop us from being generous.
1. Bad Experiences
At times we really want to be generous, we really want to help out, we really want to contribute in our local church, or to make a donation to our favorite organization. Why do we want to give but we still feel reluctant?
Very often it’s because we had a bad experience in the past:
- You gave money to your local church regularly but you later on heard that one of the staff members used to steal 50 percent of the money to make trips abroad.
- You gave money to a charity, and you later on found out that they gave only 10 percent of the money received to people in need.
- Someone opened up about their issues to you, and you took your money and helped this person out just to find out some time afterwards that they lied about everything and they used your money for a totally different purpose, or that they used your money for occultic practice.
No matter how you look at it, I think at least one of us or one of our friends or relatives has experienced a similar situation.
It’s good to show wisdom and to be more careful when you plan to give money to an organization or to a friend in need but it is important that you don’t let bad experiences stop you from fulfilling God’s purpose for your life. He has prepared you for good works and He wants you to accomplish them.
Ephesians 2:10 NIV
For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.
2. Fear
In the aspect of generosity, fear can be twofold: Fear that the money you’re giving won’t reach its destination, and fear that the people who will receive the money aren’t that much in need.
2.1 Fear That The Money You’re Giving Won’t Reach Its Destination
This comes back to the idea of bad experiences. When you’ve heard about people disappearing with other people’s money, it’s easy to feel so uncomfortable with giving your own money because you’re worried about if the money will really be given to the people in need, whether the money will really serve its purpose.
2.2 Fear That The People Who Will Receive The Money Aren’t That Much In Need
In my school, we like to plan yearly visits to orphanages. During these visits we come with gifts for the children (food, clothes etc.). One day I was with a few people from school and as we were heading to the orphanage I heard someone say “I hope that this time around it will be an orphanage which really needs our help, not an orphanage in which they already have everything. Can you imagine that where we went to last time, there was a TV, and everything was clean and modern, even their beds?” (Okay I don’t remember the exact words but it sounded just like this), and other people agreed with that.
People want to give and to be sure that their generosity made a difference. Actually I first gave “Your Generosity Makes A Difference” as title to this blogpost.
People want to be sure that what they’re giving out serves a purpose and helps people who are really in need. As soon as they start doubting the fact that the people they’re helping out will really receive it as a blessing, they become even more reluctant to give.
1 John 4:18-19 NIV
There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us.
Demonstrating generosity should come from the fact that you love. Loving deeply and trusting God to guide you on where, when and what to give should help you give joyfully without fear because you have faith that God sees the state of your heart and He will lead you to be generous where He wants you to be.
3. The Feeling Of Never Having Enough
Have you ever had a really difficult week in which you felt like the money you had wasn’t even going to be enough to take you to the end of the week? I have. Have you ever had the impression that you never have enough money? In such moments, when people come to you with your problems you just feel like:
- “Do these people think that I am a bank?”
- “You want me to help you but who is helping me?”
- “Why do people demand from me what I don’t even have?”
- “How can I take care of others and forget myself?”
- “How can I meet other people’s needs if I can’t even meet mine?”
- “How can I meet my goals if I use this money to help them?”
- “How can I go through the week if I give to you, or if I give to God through my local church?”
I can only imagine what you feel. Infact I know this feeling perfectly well. It sucks, but with time and with the intervention of The Holy Spirit speaking to me through several people, I realized two very important things.
First Thing: You Need To Prioritize Because Giving Is Sacrificing
In general we don’t give out the excess, we give from what we consider as necessary. Right now, I am working on a project with my friends to send kids from the Foundation Fact Orphanage in Yaounde Cameroon to school for the school year 2018-2019 through a sponsorship program. I’ve seen wonderful people who opened their hearts and gave joyfully. To be honest, these people are University students, most of them don’t have a job, as such they don’t have a regular source of income apart from what their parents give them for pocket allowance, yet they made such a generous move and sacrificed a lot in order to each sponsor a child and send him to school. I love their sacrificial hearts and their generosity. They gave up on many things in order to help these kids, they prioritized and they sacrificed. I am grateful to God for such amazing people and I know that God is going to bless them more than a hundredfold.
It’s not because you’re a millionaire that you’re going to help people or that you’re going to start tithing. In fact if you’ve not learned it while you still had little, you’ll have difficulties in learning to do it when you’ll have a lot, because you never developed the mindset of prioritising God’s purpose over your life.
Luke 16:10-11, 13 NIV
“Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
Second Thing: Budgeting Is Very Important
I know we can’t plan everything ahead, but if you’ve already decided before God that you want to tithe over every income and that you want to be generous every month, then you need to have the budget in mind. You have to know that the first thing when you receive your money is that the first 10 percent you give them back to God. You don’t use your money and then you give the rest to God, no, you give the first 10 percent to Him.
Malachi 3:8, 10-12 NIV
“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the Lord Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty.
In the same way if God has touched your heart and made you know that He wants you to be generous with for example 7 percent of your monthly income, then you know that when someone comes with a problem, when someone needs your help, when an organization asks for donations, you have these 7 percent that you chose before God to give out as an act of generosity, so you don’t withhold them, you release them, you give. Honestly speaking, at times The Holy Spirit may lead you to give more than the initial budget, but it is always good to start by having a Budget.
2 Corinthians 9:6-12 NIV
Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.
Conclusion
When you give, it’s not for people it’s for God. It shouldn’t be for people to admire you, but in order to honour God. You may feel like you don’t have enough, but God will provide so that you’ll be able to provide for others, and when you will sacrifice to meet their needs, He will meet your needs. As such, don’t let people’s bad experiences, or your own fears due to your bad experiences stop you from tithing and from being generous, ask for God’s guidance and wisdom as you do this.
Philippians 4:17-20 NIV
Not that I desire your gifts; what I desire is that more be credited to your account. I have received full payment and have more than enough. I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God. And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. To our God and Father be glory for ever and ever. Amen.
NB: The Sponsorship Program for the Foundation Fact Orphanage is going on pretty well by God’s grace. We’ve already collected more than 480 USD Praise God and you can still take part in this project in case you are interested. Most of the primary (elementary) school kids already have funds to go to school this year but the middle school and high school kids don’t have a sponsor yet, same for the kids who are just from entering University. You can leave a comment below if you’re interested or DM me on any of my Instagram accounts @missionfrJesus or @victoriaeyog
Alternatively, even if you’re not very open to help organizations which you don’t know, you can still look for people in your neighborhood who are in need and find a way to help and provide for their needs. The essence here is that you follow God’s guidance as He leads you into generosity.
It’s Now Your Turn
What is the greatest barrier to your own generosity? Please let us know in the comments section.
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Invitation
Are you fighting a battle in your mind against your past failures, anxiety, depression, comparison and jealousy, you need to learn how to tap from God’s Word to receive the necessary resources to win this battle. I recommend that you check out this new series by Pastor Steven Furtick, lead Pastor of Elevation Church. This series started on 11-12/08/2018, it is a 7 week series and we are already at week 4. You’re going to learn how to take back your mind in the age of anxiety.
All you need to do is tune in on the Youtube channel of Elevation Church every Sunday at any of the following times.
- 14:30 (GMT+1) a.k.a 9:30 am EST
- 16:30 (GMT+1) a.k.a 11:30 am EST
- 22:00 (GMT+1) a.k.a 17:00 EST
If you feel concerned about your internet connection, watching the whole worship experience with video quality 240 MP should cost you 250 MegaBites. Alternatively, you can download the sermon replay on YouTube on Monday evening at 17:00 GMT+1 (12 Noon EST)
God loves you so much
God bless you
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