I started seeing it everywhere. Different words, but a similar melody. If you give…you get. If you give to my campaign, I will give you a hat. If you give to this school, I will put your name in the program. If you sponsor this child, we will give you a calendar. I am sad to say I have even heard, if you give to the Lord, you get more. While this sounds true if I hold my head just right, and I hang some verses on it to shine it up, it still doesn’t sound like true giving.
It sounds like negotiating, a barter system. Trade and commerce. I need this from you, so I am willing to give you this in order get what I need in return. For sure we live in an exchange system, which is a good and noble means of human interaction. However it still doesn’t sound like giving.
Compare this mentality to the bridal shower I just went to. I didn’t expect the bride-to-be to give me a gift. I bought something and I freely chose to give it to her. My gift was one way. I didn’t expect anything back unless we count the snacks I ate. Why would I give like this?
She invited me into her story. I gave my resources to bless her story. No strings attached.
Giving by its very nature is a one-way phenomena. When I see a need, or desire, or vision, I want to invest or be part of it. It’s my willing sacrifice. I don’t need to be bribed to give.
Why am I hammering this? It is a heart check in a self-serving generation.
