It is Better to Give than to Receive
It is better to give than to receive or money is the root of all evil. These are some every day sayings that come from the scriptures. These are only a few sayings that God speaks about money and in today’s society - money seems to make the world go around. It is called a tool, a necessity, even a god. It is no wonder that money is the reason why so many families are divided, marriages are broken, governments topple and, even more painful is that, it destroys the churches of God. Money… no doubt has its place in our lives, but when it becomes more important than the lives of people, that is when the problem comes into existence. What we do with the money we have is to either glorify God or an evil that feeds the darkness of the world. So many times we seek after money, and so often we desire to have the good things in life.
Let’s look at the facets of money. Yes, it is a necessity and we need it to pay for food, our bills and our everyday expenses. We need it to keep our cars and homes maintained. We need it to go to college or to the doctor. We need money in our lives.
Money is a tool. Let’s compare money to a shovel. It sits in our shed or in the back of a truck and is needed. Some use the shovel to dig ditches, foundations or holes to plant trees. The shovel for them is a tool that makes them a living. The same shovel can be used in the backyard in digging a garden and this time the shovel is for enjoyment. The shovel is the same tool for work or for play - for a different purpose—but, a tool none-the-less. It is the same as money. Some of us like going to the movies and, as we all know, it costs money to go to the movies. Some of us like to go and buy Blu-Ray movies and that is not free either. Whatever you like to do, whether it is fishing or hunting, gardening or working on old cars—it costs money. Whether it is the gas to drive to your fishing hole or the tools you use when you work on that old car - nothing is free.
The problem with money is that sometimes, and most often, it becomes a god or idol in our lives. Some people will work all their lives to have money and not have anything to show for it. Some people will have just enough money to pay the bills and still be happy. However, some people will do anything to have just a few dollars more. They will break into people’s cars and homes to steal. Some people will turn to sell drugs or go into prostitution just to make more money. Some people will even kill to get a few dollars more. Money becomes their god, and they will do anything to serve the self absorbed deity that requires so much and ultimately gives you nothing in return other than the desire to have more. Money is nice to have, but it also is truly the root of all evil.
Christ warns His people what the power of money will do to them. Judas, the man who betrayed the Master, had his hand in the purse of the disciples and stole from the Lord Himself. He even betrayed his friend for a mere thirty pieces of silver. And, all he received in return was a desire to commit suicide. He hung himself because of his sorrow. Money, even from the beginning, was a burden on mankind. We put so much emphasis on attaining it, we often forget that God provides.
In my life personally, I have been down to my last couple of dollars in my checking account and wondered how I was going to pay for my truck. I always have had faith in God and His provision in my life, and that same day I would get a check in the mail giving me enough to pay for my truck. God does provide—we just have to have enough faith to believe that He will keep His Word. He knows what we have need of even before we ask. He knows that we need to pay for our bills and that we need food—He always provides.
Christ tells His people numerous times what it means to give and to receive. He tells us that we should give freely as the Father in heaven gives freely and when we give to do it in secret and the Father will reward us openly. So many times, when we give, we want recognition from mankind for our good deeds when the only recognition needed is from the Lord above. It is truly a blessing to receive a gift, but even more so, and the part that most people do not take into account is it is a blessing to give a gift. I have given tithe for years because I know that God has blessed me in the past, and I trust that He will bless me today and tomorrow also. I do not give because I just want a blessing; I give because I trust that I will be given the gift of a blessing. The money I have is not mine anyway. As a matter of fact, nothing I have is mine. Not my wife, my family or my son. All of the people in my life are only on loan to me from the Almighty. All the things I have are only a blessing. It all could be taken away in a moment. But as long as I have my loved ones in my life, I will thank God for them. As long as I have the fun stuff in my life I will thank God for them.
The biggest blessing in the giving and receiving process, in my mind anyway, is the blessing that we have from God when we give—I know that it was God’s pleasure to give the gift of life to us. He gave us the gift of the Holy Spirit; He gave us the gift of love. God gives because it brings Him joy. He knows what we need and it is His pleasure to give.
I know that some may say: How about the poor and destitute? How about those who have nothing? How about those who have no family to turn to? How about those who are starving and cold? I will only tell you what Christ told His disciples in the book ofMatthew: All are our mothers and brothers. All of mankind is our responsibility. We always say we desire and strive to be as Christ. Well then, we need to do as He did. We are the light of the world. He lived and died for His message. If we desire and strive to be like Him—we need to live and die for His message. Give freely of not only our money, but our time as well. Remember that all are the children of God and God desires to give His children the best.
