Giving is Worship

 

In a dream, I saw a friend who told me that giving is a way of serving God. She even went further to say that all she has ever achieved and her testimonies came from serving God through her finance. I didn’t fully understand until a month after, we spoke and I shared the dream with her. She was shocked! In her words, “The Holy Spirit is always accurate and perfect” (indeed He is the revealer of secret things).

This was an eye-opener and a game changer for me in my Faith journey and I thought to share same with you. I know you may be wondering how? No need to think it too far, the truth is we can do so much more for God apart from our tithes and offerings on Sunday or midweek services.

There are so many blessings attached to giving. It is also important to note that God is not a user of men but a blesser of men. Also, no one lacks what he gives. No one serves Jesus in truth and deed and ends up in shame or broke. He is too faithful to fail.

Here are various ways we can explore giving as an act of service to God.

➡️ First on the list is Tithing. The Bible says we should honour the Lord with our wealth, with the first fruits of all our crops (Proverbs 3:9, Leviticus 27:30). That is, 10% of our income/yields whether as a salary earner or business owner. It is a divine instruction.

➡️ Kingdom Offering. There are other means to give to the advancement of God’s kingdom apart from service offerings. These are offerings like financing church projects/construction, beautifying the church, transport offering for others to come to church, financing seminars, programs activities for the edification of the saints, and many more. Literally, giving to ensure the salvation of souls and worshipping God while on earth.

➡️ Giving to others. It is easy to do all of the above and neglect this part. The Bible says, in as much as ‘we give and show acts of kindness to our fellow human beings, we’ve done same to Him’ (Matthew 25:35-40, Isaiah 58:7). We need to deliberately live our lives to serve others; giving our money, time, resources, love and attention.

One deliberate tip I use now is that I set a daily alarm to remind me that I need to help and give to others. Proverbs 19:17 says whoever is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward them for what they have done. In addition, God has commanded us to bear one another’s burden (Galatians 6:9-10).

How to give acceptably

Now that we’ve acknowledged that giving is an act of service unto God, how do we give in a way that is pleasing to Him? The bible clearly states that ‘therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom which cannot be shaken, let us have grace, by which we may serve God acceptably with reverence and godly fear’ (Hebrews 12:28-28).

·   Giving bountifully: ‘He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully’ (2 Corinthians 9:6). As God blesses you and upgrades your level, upgrade your giving too! One can’t be at the giving rate of level 2 when one has blessed/elevated you up to level 6 financially.

·    Giving cheerfully not reluctantly/under compulsion: One of the greatest lessons I have learnt is not to allow people force me to serve God. It is more blessed to give! There are numerous souls out there ready and willing to serve God with everything they have. So why give being reluctant? 2 Corinthians 9:7 says everyone should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

·   Giving with humility of heart: God resists the proud but gives grace to the humble. Some give out of pride or just so people respect them or they are being seen. This shouldn’t be so! It’s not by our power that we can give; not even our hard work or intelligence brought us wealth and riches; it is the blessing of the Lord that makes rich and adds no sorrow to it.

·  Giving quietly: I was cautioned by the Holy Spirit about this. When we give, (most especially to those in need), we need not announce to the whole world that we gave out some food items to Sharon or Jide or did this/that. There is this portion of Matthew 6 God showed me that ‘your left hand must not know what your right hand gave out so you can receive your reward’ (verses 3-4).

The revelation is, you know how both hands work together (carrying and lifting items, personal safety or playing games), it shows the closeness both hands have with each other. The same goes with giving, the left hand represents your closest friend/relationship while the right hand represents you. No matter the closeness between you and your friend, he/she needn’t know that you are giving out or gave out something (Don’t show off!).

Let’s remember that, it’s more blessed to give than to receive. I pray for the grace to continually give to others in Jesus name, Amen.

If you are a first-time reader, you are welcome and thank you for reading and engaging. If you’d like to give your life or rededicate your life to Jesus, kindly take the prayer below. The Lord be with you and uphold you in your Christian journey, Amen. 

Lord Jesus, forgive me my sins today. I repent of them and I connect with you for my salvation. Jesus, save my soul. I believe you died for me. On the third day you rose again that I may be justified. Right now, I believe my sins are now forgiven. I am justified by your blood. I am saved, I am restored back to the faith and I am now a child of God. Thank you, Jesus, for saving my soul. By your help I will serve you all the days of my life. Amen.

MEDITATE: 2 Corinthians 5:17, 1 John 1:9, Romans 10:9, Colossians 1:13-14, Romans 5:1, 9