Sacrificial giving is a lost concept among many people who live in western culture. Sacrificial giving is foreign because it goes beyond what one would consider acceptable parameters because it costs ME something. When steps are taken to sacrifice one’s convenience for another’s need, we still barely glimpse the depth of The Father’s heart which caused Him to send Jesus. Consider the following concepts regarding this level of giving:
1. This kind of giving cuts deeply, but produces high degrees of joy.
2 Cor. 8:2, 5, 9, 14, 16, 24
“...in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.”
2. It will only happen after you first give yourself to the Lord.
“And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.”
3. It follows Jesus’ example.
“For ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that, though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his poverty might be rich.”
4. God will, in turn, send others to minister to you during your time of need.
“But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality”
5. The burden to give at this level did not come from within, it came from God.
“But thanks be to God, which put the same earnest care into the heart of Titus for you.”
6. It empowers your church to be generous through the collective sacrificial giving of others.
“Wherefore shew ye to them, and before the churches, the proof of your love, and of our boasting on your behalf.”
LESSON - When you practice sacrificial giving, make sure that it is done through the church, out of the sight of others, and in accordance with God’s word. God would not have us give to causes that violate the scripture. He would want our giving to be done in conjunction with others to create a greater impact. Pride should never be a motivating factor and the Lord would never lead you to forgo paying bills to accomplish it. Take all of these things in the consideration the next time you see a need, then give hilariously.🤣
~Mike
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