3 Ways That Giving Will Increase Your Financial Peace
Would you consider yourself to be a giving person? I’m not talking about making charitable donations or giving to your church, but rather the overall picture. Many will give to things they believe in or give in their abundance. But “givers” are a different breed. They naturally give of themselves in every circumstance. Givers have no problem surrendering their time, their skills, and their resources to meet a need in someone else’s life. And while many of us have no problem giving in our abundance, givers make sacrifices. They give even when it’s hard. Some would say it’s not financially smart to sacrificially give, but what if I told you that being a giver would increase your financial peace?
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- Giving helps us to recognize what is truly important in life. Stuff isn’t important. People are. When we become givers, this truth becomes even more apparent in our lives. Our finances become less important, while the Kingdom becomes our focus.Our finances become less important, while the Kingdom becomes our focus.
- When we give, we begin to see the world the way God does. Throughout His ministry, Jesus saw needs and met them. He couldn’t help Himself. He saw people with compassion, longed to meet them where they were at, and desired to meet their needs in a supernatural way.
- Giving demonstrates the heart of God to others. Our Father is a Giver. He provides, heals, and restores… and He gave His only Son to give us the right to become His children. When we give to others, we are demonstrating what true love looks like in action.
Believers are called to give for many reasons. It helps us, helps others, produces growth, demonstrates love, meets needs, etc. In the end, however, we are called to give because God first gave for us. For God so loved the world that He gave… He didn’t reluctantly give, rather He gave with love in His heart.
So how does all of this help you increase your financial peace? It comes back to the source of your giving. Are you giving with God’s love in your heart? Do you rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to guide you in your giving? And most importantly, does giving come naturally or do you find it to be difficult?
That last question is a hard one. Most of us aren’t naturally inclined to sacrificially give of our selves… and I’m not just talking about finances. Our time and our resources are often hard to give away. It becomes even more difficult when we feel taken advantage of… no one wants to feel like people are using them.
Let me ask you a question… do you think every person who came to Jesus did so with the right motives? Do you think people ever took advantage of His heart and ability to perform miracles? The Bible tells us that Jesus even felt compassion for those who rejected Him… even those who plotted to kill Him. But for Him, giving wasn’t work; rather it naturally flowed from His heart towards the people He loved.
Are you a giver or a taker? Takers rarely experience financial peace and security… they are always trying to get ahead and hoard what they have. They feel entitled and see the world in terms of what they can get out of it. Cheerful givers, however, do experience financial peace because they realize that everything they have belongs not to them, but to God. They allow the peace of God to rule in their hearts rather than worldly possessions.
But here’s the secret to becoming a giver: Don’t try harder to give more. Instead, allow the Holy Spirit to work in your heart to transform you into a person who naturally gives.
Beyond all these things put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity. Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful. – Colossians 3:14-15
If you long to increase your financial peace, allow the Holy Spirit to transform you into a cheerful giver.
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*Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations taken from the NASB.
**Photo by Ben White at ChristianPics.co