The Open Hand

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The Open hand

August 19, 2007

Giving! It must be one of the most sensitive issues in church life. "The church is always after money," some say. Even the core members can start feeling defensive when money is the topic. But discussions about giving do not have to start arguments. They could start a revival. Christian giving is a blessing.

Giving is one of God's favourite subjects. It is also an exciting subject. There are riches in this subject that are much greater than money. Giving takes us to the heart of being a Christian. It also brings us up against a very powerful idol.

That is what makes giving such a difficult matter. It puts us in the middle of a big conflict. All over the world there is strong pressure to be rich: or at least to own many of the possessions that modern life can provide. It does not matter whether we are rich or poor. Both rich and poor can set their hopes on getting more money or more possessions.

We can desire wealth and possessions because we think they will give us a more satisfying life - or perhaps because we think they will make our life more secure. But Christians already know that their life comes from God and doesn’t consist in their possessions. And we know we can trust God to meet all our needs.

Trusting God like this will not stop us from working hard. It does not stop us from helping the poor improve their living conditions. But it does clarify who our God is. Trusting God for our material needs allows us to give generously. It frees us from having to keep all our money and possessions for ourselves. It helps both poor and rich share what they have.

Take the people of the Old Testament for example. I think they have had a bad press. Their reputation as givers seems to be based on their tithing, and on all the rules they had to follow about sacrifices and offerings. But they did more than obey rules. The people of Israel were liberal and generous givers. They were urged to give to the poor and needy. They had been refugees in a foreign land and were told to care for the strangers and foreigners in their land. The people of Israel had open hands and open hearts. Their motivation came from something deeper than mere rules.

There were great acts of generosity such as when the Tent of Meeting was first made, and when the Temple was built. There were acts of kindness to foreigners and heartfelt thankfulness expressed to God who had blessed them. Because God himself was open handed.

Dale

Comments

Jesus said that it is more blessed to give than to receive. I am not a good giver yet, but I have been learning from my parents about giving. They teach me with their acts and show me that each time they give more to the church, and then they get more blessings from heaven above. They also told me that 'the open hand' is not just giving money to the church but also giving time, energy and work for the Lord, serve Him in all His ways. So the core of my parents' advice is “you give more, then you get more’. Just enjoy the blessings by the open hand.

Posted by Lidia on Thursday, August 23, 2007 at 09:48:17