OCTOBER 3

PRINCIPLES OF GIVING

“Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven. Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:37-38)

Giving - and receiving again according to how we have given. This is a principle which covers a vast area, far more than just sharing our finances, but in all our giving expressions - projected attitudes towards others, words spoken to others, etc., so that we are reminded again, “blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy.”

The wise man wrote, “There is that scattereth, and yet increaseth, and there is that withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” (Prov. 11:24).

Job referred to this same principle of giving, with its inherent increase, but used a different illustration, when he said, “For He maketh small the drops of water: they pour down rain according to the vapour thereof.” (Job 36:27). If there is no vapour ascending, how then can there be a condensing of the clouds into rain? If there be no scattering of seed, how then can there be an increase of harvest? If there be no outflow of blessing from our hearts to others, how then shall we in turn inherit a blessing? Give, and it shall be given unto you. The more we “bless the Lord,” the more He gathers up those “vapours” and multiplies and increases until He pours upon us blessings of an hundredfold.

One might be ever so isolated, separated unto the Lord, drawn without the camp, so that your outward contacts are limited, but this need not be a hindrance to our giving - “Give unto the Lord, ye kindred’s of the people, give unto the Lord glory and strength. Give unto the Lord the glory due unto His name: bring an offering, and come before Him: worship the Lord in the beauty of holiness.” (1 Chron. 16:28-29). As our worship ascends, He will in turn pour out blessings to the remote corners of the earth.

Ray Prinzing