The Case for Not Giving
The Case
Inflation has made the cost of living jump significantly, people are borrowing more, debt payments are becoming more difficult as interest rates rise, the future is uncertain, and the list goes on and on. There are endless reasons why giving does not make sense when we consider the current and potential needs in our own lives.
It is not a surprise that statistics show that the number of households giving to charitable organizations dropped from 23% in 2010 to 18% in 2022. The charitable donation platform “CanadaHelps” reports that 32% of charities raised less funds in 2022 than the year before, and overall giving in Canada is expected to decline in 2023.
The Ironic Defence
Given the challenging times we live in keeping all the money we can for ourselves makes sense right? Well hold on, we need to be reminded of what God tells us in Isaiah 55:8-9:
“My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways”.
His formula for progress is often contrary to the world’s wisdom. God tells us in Proverbs that giving to help the needy is important to Him, and that when we are generous we benefit from His blessing in our Finances. Take a look at these amazing verses:
Proverbs 22:9 (TPT) - When you are generous to the poor, you are enriched with blessings in return
Proverbs 21:26 - …. extravagant giving never leads to poverty.
Proverbs 21:13 - If you close your heart to the cries of the poor, then I will close My ears when you cry out to Me
The Why
God loves when we give for many reasons, but there are two that are key here. First He loves the poor and needy, and wants to use us as His hands and feet to help them. Second, giving shows Him that we understand that He owns all we have, and we are simply His managers.
If we want to be faithful stewards and invite God’s blessing on our finances, we need to start by making giving a priority. We can be confident that our finances will be stronger when we give due to God’s blessing. He can provide financial gains for us in ways that we could never comprehend.
God tells us in Malachi 3:10:
“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”
In our years of teaching biblical finance, I can tell countless stories of how God has done financial miracles in peoples lives after they take the step of faith to give consistently. Let’s make it a priority and watch God do what only He can do!
Todd Payne
Path Forward Financial Inc.