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Articles -
Prosperity
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Written by Mike Mings
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I've heard many people say that they give to get. Now the Word of God is clear that if we are givers we will receive. However God is concerned with the attitude of our hearts.
Why am I giving? Am I giving out of greed because I have been told that if I give ten thousand dollars I will get one million dollars by the hundred-fold return?
I know a person that gave for a long time with the only motivation of getting personally rich. They couldn't understand why they weren't millionaires.
You see, they would have been if they had received 100 times what they had given. They had heard that the return was based on the offering so they just skipped tithing into their local church. After all, why waste money if the return was based on the offering sowed?
Needless to say, their offerings didn't produce the crop they desired and they pretty much backed off on most of their giving.
So why is our heart attitude so important in giving? Notice that God tells us in the book of James that we receive not because we ask not, and then we ask and receive not because we asked amiss, that we might consume it upon our own lusts.
God tells us that what we purpose in our heart is a very important factor as to whether we receive or we don't receive.
Misplaced Humility
Many years ago I had the attitude that I just needed enough to get by. I stood on the promise that God would supply all my need according to His riches in glory. Guess what?
That's exactly what I received. I always had just enough to get by. My wife would occasionally say, "Everybody must be rich, look at those nice cars they drive and nice houses they live in." I just said that all our needs were supplied and that was good enough.
One day I found out that a good friend of ours was hurting financially. We really cared about these people and I felt, in my heart, that I should help them financially. The only problem was, I didn't have any extra money. I just had enough for my own family to get by.
As I began to pray and weep before the Lord, I came to the realization that instead of being humble by this "just get by" attitude, I was actually being selfish. I was only thinking of myself instead of realizing that I needed abundance so I could be a blessing to those that were in need.
I cried out to the Lord in repentance and told Him that I never again wanted to be without extra so I could be a blessing to others.
I went from the attitude of getting just enough to get by, to having my focus on being a blessing to others. I realized that we don't give just to live, but we should live to give.
Let me say that again, "I don't give just to live, but I live to give." Since my heart has changed from "giving to live" to "living to give" the blessings of God has been flowing into our lives.
Now even though we don't really make much more money than we were before, abundance has come our way. No longer does my wife have to yearn for a nice house or car because we have them. Now there are those who look at us and say, "They must be rich."
Well, we don't have a million dollars in the bank but we are blessed to be a blessing. And you will be too if you will focus your heart on walking in love and living to give.
Copyright © Faith Says Ministries
All rights reserved. Used by permission.
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