by Noreen Tjindra

When Christians are so filled with the Spirit of God in them, they would have a strong desire to give unto God. It is an anticipated response to the love of God in our hearts. There is no exact amount of how much we have to give back to Him but we are told that our giving should be done because out of cheerfulness, we are willing, secretly, generously, unselfishly and unconditionally give to Him.

Willingly & Cheerfully - Giving to the Lord or the formal term, tithing, means is to give one-tenth of your income to God. Many churches emphasize about tithing to their congregation. However, to tithe is to give unto the Lord out of willingness and with a cheerful heart. The Bible says, “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2 Cor 9:7) If you are to tithe, make sure you do so because you want to do the Will of God and to be obedient to hear His instructions. Never ever allow any man to persuade you into giving out of your desire. If it is so, then it is better for you not to give at all.

Secretly - “Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. Thus, when you give to the needy, sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” (Mat 6:1-4) When you give, make sure it is not to be seen by men. Give secretly or as low key as possible because God sees our heart and rewards us. Never be concerned about pleasing men or impressing them because this is all between just you and Daddy God. From this verse too, we understand that prayer, fasting and giving are all governed under the similar principles; no sounding of your trumpet, it should come from your heart and unto Him alone. His approval alone is what we should seek for.

Generously & Unselfishly - “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” (2 Cor 9:6) Ok, this is the trickiest part! You should read this verse very carefully and pray that you are lead by the Holy Spirit. The teaching of ‘law of reaction’ has blinded many Christians that they think that every good thing only comes when they tithe. So, they rush to be the first one to give a load of money to the church. This is so wrong. When we tithe, we should be careful whether our desire to give results from walking after the Spirit or after the flesh.

Unconditionally - “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.’ (Luke 17:10) Do you know that we are bought at a price? Everything that we are and we have, are blessings that come from Daddy God. He has richly blessed us with the riches of the Heaven. And, we have a relationship of being more than just the “unworthy servants” towards Him but as quoted from the Bible,” Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not high-minded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the Living God, Who giveth us richly all things to enjoy.” (1 Tim 6:17) So, be wise with the belongings that He has trusted us with. “As every man hath received the gift, even so minister the same one to another, as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.” (1 Peter 4:10). So as we receive much, also give much. Be conscious that we are also the stewards of it. Therefore when we give, it must always be without any expectation to receive again.