Giving is a blessing!

I've tried explaining my concept of giving to God to people several times. It just never seems to come out right. Then last night I read something in a book I'm reviewing. He seemed to say the very words I was thinking. The book is not about charitable giving. But he had a few sentences that resonated with that I've been trying to say.

My thoughts on tithing and giving to God are pretty simple. I was raised to give 10% of everything I earned to God. What I gave after that was an offering of my own choosing. But my parents typically gave 5-10% more than their tithe.

I married a man who was raised the same so we've continued to tithe. But we also enjoy giving more as God leads us. Often times we'd hear of a need and Jon would get a raise, I would get a bonus or we would get a surprise windfall. We have been so blessed by our giving that it often doesn't feel as if we've sacrificed to give more than we were originally planning. But when I mentioned this to someone they made the comment that maybe I wasn't giving enough if it didn't feel like a sacrifice. Oh, I know that I'll probably never have some of the "things" that my friends and peers have because I've chosen to give a bit more of my money. But God has blessed us in so many ways that I can't complain and it ceases to feel sacrificial when He always out-gives me. How can it feel like I'm "suffering" when by my gift I've let God use me to help someone else. I think so often people think that sacrificing means we must suffer and play the martyr. But I can't be sad and down when my blessings can be passed on to someone else, thereby blessing us all.

Here is the quote from the book I'm reviewing -

"When it comes to giving, or tithing, you cannot out-give the Lord. He will bless you so much that it becomes almost selfish to give!"

R. T. Kendall

Well said, Mr. Kendall, well said.