3 Principles to Remember when We Give an Offering to God

Here’s a post about how we should give an offering to God. Remember these 3 principles when presenting an offering pleasing to Him.

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Have you experienced buying and eating French fries? Do you remember how sometimes it is so irresistible to get one stick even when you are still on the counter or on your way to your table? There is something about French fries that we just want to give it a bite even just for a small one.

I have a story about French fries.

One day, a father bought her daughter French fries, but as most fathers do, he got one stick and ate it before getting to the table. The daughter saw her dad eating one, and she got so angry that she slapped daddy’s hand! Instead of being happy about having the whole pack of French fries for her, she concentrated on the one stick her father took.

From this story, I want us to draw three valuable principles that we should remember when we give an offering to God.

3 Principles to Remember when We Give an Offering to God

Principle no. 1: God owns everything

Psalms 24:1-2 “The earth is the Lord’s, and all its FULLNESS, the world and those who dwell therein. For He has founded it upon the seas, and established it upon the waters.”

God created everything, and He gives life to all. Therefore, it is only logical to see God as the owner of everything that we have including our lives.

Just like in our story, the father owns all those French fries. But the father gives everything to his daughter. The problem was when the father asked a little portion of the French fries. The daughter got so angry.

The father was fascinated by her daughter’s behavior. After all, it was his money that he used to buy the French fries. Why would his daughter be mad that he just took one stick and the rest of the French fries are hers already?

Sometimes, we are like the daughter when it comes to giving. The very idea of giving sets off an internal WAR within us. We are torn between giving and getting. After all, we have worked so hard to earn a living and why should we give back to God? Especially when we barely have enough, why should we give an offering?

One of the best ways to develop the right attitude of giving is to change our perspective and attitude towards our properties.

Whose money is it, anyway?

Who owns our properties?

Who owns our life?

Well, we know the answer to these questions. God owns everything. However, that ‘s hard to accept because we have our names printed on our properties. We have names on our bank accounts, cars, motorcycles, land title, smartphones, billings, receipts, and others. We thought that we own our possessions, but in reality, they belong to God.

We need to accept the fact that God owns everything and we are just stewards and caretakers of the things that we now have. We borrowed all our “French fries” and possessions from God. If we think about it, we really don’t have the rights over our properties because they belong to God.

If God asks us to give back a portion of His belongings, are we so quick in slapping God’s hands because we think that they are all ours? I hope not brethren. This leads us to the next principle.

Principle no. 2: Be cheerful in giving

Let’s see what the Bible say about giving back to God. Let’s open to II Corinthians 9:6-8.

Verse 6 “But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”

Here is an important principle to remember. If you sow in a small piece of land, then don’t expect to have a big harvest. You will only have a small crop. If you plant one seed of mango tree, don’t expect that ten mangoes will grow.

Worse, if you don’t sow your seed, you won’t be able to harvest anything. If you don’t want to give and just want to keep your seed for yourself, you won’t be able to reap anything.

Just like the child who does not want to share her French fries. She does not want to sow seed by giving a portion of her French fries to God and other people.

God wants us to develop a giving attitude. God can do miracles with the little that we have. It is amazing how one seed can eventually produce hundreds of seeds. That’s the kind of miracle that God can do.

Verse 7 “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.”

The main idea of this verse is that giving should be voluntary and done with a cheerful heart and preparedness. You should have already determined what type of offering or how much you will give beforehand.

We need to give not because you are pressured or forced. We need to give out of willingness and the desire to help other people with the blessings that we receive from the Eternal.

We must give with a cheerful manner. The word “cheerful” here comes from the Greek word, “hilaros” where we got the word, “hilarious.” This means that we must give with all gladness.

And if we give with a cheerful heart, what will be the result?

Verse 8 “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”

This leads us to the next principle.

Principle no. 3: We can’t outgive God

Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you.”

There is one universal principle that always stands true. We cannot outgive God. We see in the scripture a lot of promises God has made for those who have a generous heart. It is either we believe these promises or you think God is lying. There is really no alternative.

When we give, God makes sure that we have enough. He blesses us so we can also be a blessing to others. If God asks us to let go of something, it is because He wants us to receive something better. God will not withhold anything that is good for us (Psalms 84:11).

It is a universal law: it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). The way of getting will not lead to satisfaction. You will just end up empty at the end. However, when you live a life of giving, you will eventually end up blessed and happy.

That’s just how life works. If you want to be blessed, be a blessing to others. If you want to be happy, make other people happy.

Above all, giving helps us to be more like God and Christ. The more we give, the more we become like our Father in heaven. We develop the godly character God wants us to build.

As you give and give, God will just keep on blessing us. It is a joy to see that we can’t outgive God. No matter how much we give, we can be sure that God gives even more. And the blessings of God don’t just come in the form of material wealth, but also good health, healthy relationship, a sound mind, divine protection, and a lot more.

Conclusion

As we give our offering, let us remember that God owns everything and it is our Christian duty to give back to Him. And in giving, we must always be cheerful and give out of our abundance. Because at the final analysis, we can never outgive God.

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