Daily devotional, March 12, 2024 Outgive

"Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed." Proverbs 19:17

One of the happiest moments of being a mom is whenever I am opening a gift given to me by my children. This is not because I am materialistic, but because I feel the generosity, sincerity and love of such little hearts wanting to give everything they can to their mom.

There was a time I received a messy colored stone wrapped in what looks like a random scratch paper given to me by my boy. One time, my middle child gave me her most favorite hair bow. And my eldest daughter? She bought from her ang pao lots of nail polish bottles when we were at the grocery, and later she wrapped them up and gave them to me.

Do I deserve all these? It is what all they have and it was what was precious to them and they are giving it all to me. I just tear up, embrace them and look up to the heavens and thank God for the blessing of being a mom. As followers of Jesus, a kid’s pure kindness and generosity is what the Lord expects from us as we give to others and to the Church:

"Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver." 
2 Corinthians 9:7

As moms we have the crucial responsibility to teach generosity to our children. And the best way to teach them to be giving to others, is through leading by example. We can show them that we are not withholding good things not just to them, but also to others especially the needy. We can train them early to share what they have and assure them that it will make God happy.

"Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God." 
Hebrews 13:16

And indeed, our Lord will be truly joyful when He sees us giving to others generously. Throughout the Bible were written promises to those who freely give. Here are some of those passages:

"You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake."
 Deuteronomy 15:10

"The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully." 
2 Corinthians 9:6

"One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered." Proverbs 11:24-25

Giving to the church should be done with all sincerity and love too. In the Old Testament, the people of God offer the first fruits of their labor to the Lord. In our present times, we may not be required to give a set amount to the Lord, but we should make sure that the amount we decide to give can truly help in our Church’s ministry and in propagating the Gospel.

And while tithing, or giving at least 10 percent of our income to the church is controversial for some, this practice of faithful obedience comes with an inherent blessing of financial discipline for each household. Apart from that built-in blessing, comes the promise of our Sovereign God that He will be more than generous to us, and that we can never outgive His loving heart. Let us read this promise in the Book of the Prophet Malachi:

"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." Malachi 3:10

Such promise is almost similar to that which was recorded in the New Testament through the Gospel of St. Luke:

"Give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.” 
Luke 6:38

And “giving” to the church does not only mean donating money. It also means giving our time, talent and treasure. Let us start with time. Let us not just give to the Lord one hour out of the 168 hours we have in one week. Just as we are not to give loose change, let us not just give whatever hour that is left of our Sunday to worship Him. Like going to church is just an afterthought — if the weather is nice, if there is still time after watching the movies, if there are no parties or get-togethers to go to, or if there is not much work or school stuff that needs to be done etc.

We must set apart the time to go to church with our family, and set aside time to pray and study His word for the rest of the days of the whole week.We should also consider giving back the fruits of our talent to the Lord by helping out in one of the church ministries.

At the end of the day, our hearts should be at the right place. That we are not just giving to others just because we are being commanded to be generous. That we are not giving to the church just because we are obligated and we want the blessing that comes with the giving. Instead, we should give because we love God. And because we love God, we can love others, especially those that need our help. Let us always remember that we have been blessed, so we can be a blessing to others.

Thank you for reading through our devotional today. I invite you to ponder on 2 Corinthians 9:6-12 to dig deeper on today’s topic.

Reflection Question: Do you consider yourself generous? How can the knowledge of Jesus Christ’s teachings and character help you take your generosity another notch higher?

Conversation with the Lord: Heavenly Father, I truly thank you for being so generous with your presence, protection and blessing. May I be able to consistently follow your example of freely giving, not just to those who deserve it, but even to those who do not deserve my help, my time, and my love. Amen.