Giving: Are You The Eye Dropper Or The Jug?

Recently, a good friend of mine was teaching on the topic of giving and he asked an interesting question. He told us to imagine we were desperately thirsty and someone offered us water to drink. His question was this, “Would you prefer they give you drink out of an eye dropper or a gallon jug?”

giving

Give Me The Jug!

I am pretty sure your answer to that question is the same as mine – I want the gallon jug! I am not sure anyone would prefer quenching their thirst out of an eye dropper over a gallon jug. No real brain teaser there.

It was his follow up question that got my attention.

When giving, are you more like the eye dropper or the jug?

Great Giving Analogy

Since I am one that likes analogies, this was perfect for me. I instantly understood the question and began thinking of the appropriate parallels. While virtually analogy has its limitations, I think there are several lessons we can get from this picture.

First, think about how much and how often you give. I am not really talking about your tithe at this point, but all that you give over and above the tithe. [This post is not about whether the tithe is a New or Old Testament requirement or expectation. Set this issue to the side for now.]

Questions To Ponder

How often do you find yourself giving to those around you? How much do you give?

Does your giving hurt? Is your giving sacrificial or out of abundance?

When you think about this, are you separating your business and personal lives?

Do you hesitate or are you quick to give?

Do you think your giving represents the eye dropper or the jug?

Another Giving Perspective

Let’s think about another perspective for a moment. Let’s say you are the holder of the water and you want to give it to someone to quench their thirst. If you want to make sure their thirst is fully quenched, which would you prefer to use – the eye dropper or the jug? Why?

Certainly, you can give more and give it faster if you use the jug, right?

So how do you think God looks at us when He wants to give? Does HE see you as the eye dropper or the jug? Why should that matter?

God’s Giving

Well, if He wants to give through you and you act more like the eye dropper, then He will not be able to give you as much or as quickly as He may want. If He wants to give THROUGH you to those around you, but you are slow and tight like the eye dropper, what do you think He will do?

On the other hand, what if you give like the jug? Do you think God will give you more resources to give to others because He can give more quantity and more quickly through you? Have you considered this before?

Once again, I am giving you my thoughts based on what I believe to be true. So that you can see I am not making this up, I want to check the Scripture to make sure it backs up what I am saying.

God’s Giving Purpose

Check out the following verses from Genesis. This is God speaking to Abram (later Abraham) and giving him the original covenant between them. Notice the dual ideas of being blessed and then being a blessing:

The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.

“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.

I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you.”

Genesis 12:1-3

Blessed To Be A Blessing

Can you see that God promised to bless Abram and his people (Israel), but that they also were to be a blessing to all peoples on earth? This is HUGE and so often we neglect this very idea. We want to be blessed, but we are often hesitant to bless others with this blessing we have been given.

God did not say He would bless Abram so he could kick back and enjoy it. His intention is that the blessing He gives is to be used to bless others – all over the world!

How Achieved

Now that we see the purpose we have, let’s look at HOW we achieve it:

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Luke 6:38

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
2 Corinthians 9:6-8

Be The Jug!

Hopefully, you can see that we are all to be more like the jug in our giving. As we give, we are given more. This is the principle of the sower. As we are given more, we continue to give even more. This goes on an on.

This is not a prosperity gospel. This is about God giving more through us because we have giving hearts. This is about our hearts seeing His purposes and responding with our own giving.

I pray you will take these words and ponder them. Pray that God will show you where you are today and where he wants you to be. I promise He is faithful to do it.

Because I want to give you every opportunity to take action, I am going to tell you about an opportunity for you to give right now. My friend, Pastor Rajeev, does incredible work in Northern India where the Christian population is less than 2%. He is trying right now to raise the money he needs for his annual budget.

I encourage you to stop what you are doing right now and pray what God would have you to do for Pastor Rajeev. If you want to learn more about what God is doing through Rajeev, check out the links below. At the same time, don’t let your research distract you from the immediate need! Check them out:

Partners In Action Donation Page

True Life Mission Website

Gospel For India Blog

Being Faithful For What Purpose?

I don’t often do this, but today’s post is actually a response to a comment I received from someone that regularly reads this blog. While I cannot always respond to comments by writing another post, I thought this one merited it. The reader’s comment concerns my last post and a possible misinterpretation of what I see as the purpose of being faithful in the small things.

faithful

Not Faithful Recently

In my last post, I confessed to being dissatisfied with how I have not been faithful in the small things. As a result, I described how I have that “out-of-shape” feeling we sometimes get at the end of the year – not just from eating too much, but also from straying from being faithful with the small things God has given us.

I went on to detail five ways I believe we can be more faithful in the small things as we head into a new year. For a closer look at these five ways, read that post [HERE] before continuing. This will also help you understand my attempt to clarify some of my statements in that post.

In general, I went through five areas where we can be more faithful. Some of these are areas in which we sometimes feel we have less to work with than others may have. I proposed that as we are more faithful with the small things, He will give back in increase.

Not Enough Explanation

This is where I did not spend enough time explaining exactly what I meant by increase in each area. Nor did I go into detail about what I see as the purpose for this increase. I did not completely ignore these issues (they WERE on my mind), but I did leave too much to interpretation. For this reason, I want to clarify.

So you understand the whole picture, here is the comment I received:

The practices below are absolutely right on! Did you intend for the purpose of each practice to point towards personal blessing and increase? You don’t seem to write this way usually, but the article started to read a bit like prosperity gospel and I wanted to check your thoughts on my interpretation.

Opportunity To Learn!

First of all, I am seriously thankful that the reader sent this comment to me. We have exchanged emails before and I am glad he felt comfortable enough to question the content of the post. I love to get feedback on what I publish and I took this feedback as sincere and constructive. Even if I disagreed with his position, I would consider it an opportunity to learn from someone else’s perspective!

So, now to clarify what I believe as it relates to his comments. Essentially, he asks if I believe the purpose of being faithful in the small things is to receive “personal blessing and increase.” The short answer to that question is easy for me – No.

Not A Believer Of Prosperity Gospel

I am not a promoter of the prosperity gospel that says we should do this and that spiritual activity or discipline so we are wealthier and happier here on earth. I believe that message takes us away from being a true disciple of Jesus and moves us toward putting ourselves and our own well-being on the throne.

I know there are verses in the Bible that can be used to support this message, but I do not believe they are being used in context. Nor do I believe using them this way to be consistent with the overall message of Scripture.

Faithful Out Of Love

Our purpose in being faithful in the small things God has given us should not be to gain our own wealth, wisdom, talents, etc. so that we can make our lives here more comfortable or easy. We should not be seeking to learn more about God in our spiritual disciplines so we can figure out how to get Him to give us more.

Instead, I believe we should be more faithful in these areas because we love Him and want to please Him. Our purpose should be to bring Him fame and make His name known among those around us. We should seek His renown, not our own (Psalm 115:1).

Increase Happens!

The cool thing is that when we are being more faithful with what He has given us, He often gives us more (2 Corinthians 9:6-12, Galatians 6:7, ). That “more” may be in the form of wealth or it may come in wisdom. He may even give us more peace in return for being more faithful in giving. Only He knows what form the increase may take.

The problem here is that too often we experience the increase and then fall right back into the mindset that we deserve it and should keep it! Unless we are careful, we can revert to the prosperity gospel without even realizing it.

Blessing To Others

Instead, our mindset should be to get excited about how we can turn to give and share the increase! I mentioned how God promised Abram the following:

“I will make you into a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
and you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you,
and whoever curses you I will curse;
and all peoples on earth
will be blessed through you
.”

Genesis 12:2-3

Clear Purpose

Note the bold phrases. God promised to bless Abram and his descendants SO THAT others (all peoples on earth) could be blessed THROUGH them. The purpose of the blessing God gives us – whether in the form of wealth, wisdom, talents, etc. – is so that we can bless others. It is not about us!

We are to be conduits through which God can bless all peoples on earth!

The bottom line is that our purpose for being faithful is to please God. If He sends increase as a result, we are to use that increase to bless others – being faithful with the increase. If that results in more increase, then we continue to bless others with that as well!

Rinse, lather, and repeat.

What has been your purpose for being faithful?

Where has God given you increase?

Do you agree that the increase should be shared with others?

5 Ways To Be Faithful With The Small Things

It is the beginning of another year and I am not pleased with where I am. Maybe this does not happen with you, but I have let too many little things build up around me and remain undone. Rather than being faithful in the small things, I have not been as intentional as I like to be. I have felt “out of shape” as a result. Have you felt like this before?

faithful

Faithful With Small Things

While I am not a fan of typical New Year’s resolutions, I do want to take advantage of the opportunity for a fresh start. I will be taking some time over the next weeks to make some changes. As I go, I will share some of what I find.

I am doing this because I am determined to be faithful with the small things God has given me so that one day I can hear, “Well done!” But the reward is not only in those two precious words. The reward is also now, in this life. While it may not look like you think it should, I promise you it is available!

In fact, below I have listed five different ways you can be faithful with small things so that God can give you more in each area. Take a look at this list and see if any of the items could apply to you.

1. Spiritual disciplines

I list this item first because it is hands down the most important. We are to be faithful in prioritizing the time to spend with God on a daily basis. This time should be spent in a number of ways – reading Scripture, praying, meditating, journaling, etc.. There is not a one-size-fits-all formula for doing this, but I can tell when I am not faithful here.

If you will make the time to spend time with God in these ways on a consistent basis, He is sure to give back to you. You will receive wisdom, patience, joy, compassion, and a whole host of other qualities that are too numerous to count. Your relationships, with yourself and others, will improve dramatically. Try it and see what happens!

2. Giving

For many people, this is a sticking point. Maybe they tithe, but to give beyond that seems extreme. Most look at their income vs. their bills and determine that they have little to nothing left to give. I am not judging anyone on this. Each person has to determine in their heart what they will give – in fact God doesn’t want you to give more than that (2 Corinthians 9:7)!

At the same time, I believe it is our heart that needs to change. If we will determine in our hearts to give more – even out of the small resources we have right now – I believe God will add to our resources. He promised Abram to bless Israel in order for Israel to be a blessing to all nations (Genesis 12:1-3). I think He has the same thing in mind for us.

3. Godly Treatment of Employees

When I have been to conferences and heard Christian leadersof huge businesses talk about all of the programs and benefits they provide for their employees, I get frustrated. I want to do the same for our employees. The problem is that our resources are so much smaller than those of the larger companies.

However, much like the argument for giving in #2 above, this is a poor excuse. Sure, a larger company can do more than a smaller one. The question is whether we are doing all we can for our employees with the resources we have available. If we are faithful in treating the employees we have with the resources available, then I believe God will increase both!

4. Application of Wisdom

I have met some wise people over the past 10 years or so. Some of them have so much wisdom that I feel weak in comparison. I have prayed for wisdom for many years and God has answered, but I still pale when compared to them.

At the same time, we have to ask ourselves if we have applied the wisdom God has given us already. Have we been faithful with the wisdom we have? If not, why should He give us more? If it is not being applied, then we are wasting it and do not deserve more! Instead, we are to be faithful with the small wisdom in order to receive more.

5. Use of Talents

Just like wisdom, God has given each of us a measure of unique talents and abilities. It is up to us to apply those talents and abilities in a way that advances His purposes and brings Him glory. Are we doing all we can with what we have been given or are we guilty of burying these talents? (Matthew 25:14-31)

If we are faithful with the talents He has given us, we will see that He will expand those talents. Maybe He will choose to increase the talents themselves or maybe He just will just expand their influence on those around us. It is up to God as to how He does this, but I promise He will bring increase.

Do feel you have been faithful with the small things you have been given?

Where do you need to be more faithful?

What other categories would you add to this list?