When we talk about giving in the church today, there are many misconceptions. Sometimes people can take the Word and beat people with it on the subject of giving, making it a purely legalistic endeavor. The sermon on the Mount talks about all the ways we are blessed by flipping the idea of blessings on their head. All the ways the world considers someone not blessed, Jesus says we are. The poor in spirit have the kingdom of Heaven. Those who mourn will be comforted. The merciful will be shown mercy. The pure in heart will see God. All of these things show the people had a heart issue - and so do we. Our giving is tied directly to the state of our hearts. Matthew 6:1-4 tells us not to give in order to be seen or to be recognized. It is easy to develop a sort of spiritual pride about how we give of our finances, our time, and how we use our talents for the church when we keep track of our giving in these areas and compare to others. If we are giving to fulfill a need in our hearts for recognition from others or from pride, we need to reevaluate our motivation and take it to God. Our choices are earthy rewards or heavenly rewards, so we should ask ourselves - which one do we want? We can't have both - it's a choice to be recognized on earth or in Heaven. We need to develop a passion for giving and not for the recognition that it brings. The flip side of this is that we are also called to show our works so others can see them and glorify God - as in Matthew 5:15-16. If we keep quiet, how can we give an account? It doesn't have to be this way - we don't have to keep our giving a secret but also shouldn't brag. A good way to think about it is if someone were to take a peek into your life, they will see how you give. It's not seeking praise for ourselves, but being faithful. Hebrews 10:19-20; 23-24 reminds us we have confidence because of the blood of Jesus and we should spur one another toward love and good deeds. We can only do this by giving an account of what He has done in our lives and sharing how He has changed us. In Luke 17, we see the story of the ten lepers who are healed, but only one returns to thank and praise Jesus. It is important when we receive that we be open and tell others how God has worked in our lives so that we give Him the praise He deserves. James 2:14-26 talks about the perceived battle between faith and works. The church culture today is so caught up in works that we can forget the faith in Jesus that should drive those works or it's so caught up in grace that we don't think we have to do anything. Jesus's heart was for us to testify about our faith and how others' works have impacted us. Abraham gave us one of the first examples of faith and works. He walked in faith for years after God promised him offspring, but then was willing to give up his precious son when God asked - walking out his faith. Let's not get caught up in legalism! Revelation 3 is the letter to the church at Philadelphia. Although John tells them he has found little wrong with what they are doing, he still exhorts them that there is work to be done. We can't rest on our faith and not work out our salvation. How we give is a picture of that process. The world doesn't want us to give joyfully when we are facing tribulations. They want us to be quiet and not share our testimony. We don't have the time to waffle over this and allow Satan to use our giving and church culture as a self-rebuke. Our giving should be an overpouring of what God has given us - whether it is finances or time - not in a prideful way, but in obedience and gratitude.

Amen!