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The Measure

by Jerry Ousley  
4/13/2012 / Christian Living

Giving - a subject we all know is a noble yet dreaded act. We get defensive when we begin to talk about giving. That's because it requires something of us. I have a difficulty with giving sometimes. I remember once that Deb and I had attended a special service of a prominent Bible teacher. They were taking up an offering for a very worthy cause and as they began passing the plate I pulled out five dollars. Even though I have a hard time with giving I can't let an offering plate pass by without putting something in. The five dollars was really nothing more than a conscience easer.

I also had a one hundred dollar bill in my wallet. Now folks, we have never had much money, at least not by the world's standards. I rarely carry hundred dollar bills in my wallet. At the time it was normal for me to have only fifteen or twenty bucks in my wallet and that made me feel like I was on top of the world because money was a scarcity to us then. I only had that large bill because of something we had sold at the time and the plan was to get back home after the service and deposit it into the bank.

So there I was with my five dollars in hand and a hundred dollars in my wallet. Then something began tugging at my heart. It was a fierce battle let me tell you because it was none other than the Holy Spirit urging me to put the five back and give the hundred. How could He even ask me to do such a thing? He of all others knew our financial situation. He knew that we desperately needed to keep that hundred dollars! So the struggle kept on until the plate was coming down our aisle. "Okay, okay," I silently responded to the Lord, "I'll do it." I put my five back in my wallet where it was now lonely because when I took the hundred out the five was all that was left. I was obedient to the Lord and folks later down the road He blessed us for it.

I know that I gave reluctantly but I also gave in obedience. I'm not bragging, not by a long-shot because I really didn't want to do it. It was a sacrifice but in this case it was also from obedience and we all know that the Bible tells us that obedience is better than sacrifice. Okay, enough defense on my part.

Jesus told us in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you." Jesus was confirming that when we are obedient to God in our giving then He will give back to us. But we've got to be real careful when it comes to this subject. That's because we need to give willingly and not with the attitude that if we give then the Lord will give it back with interest. That's a loan not a gift. The Lord isn't asking for a loan because frankly, He doesn't need it. If we aren't obedient then He has other avenues to accomplish His purpose. We are to give without expecting back. We're to let whatever our gift is, whether money, resources or time, depart from us without assurance that it's going to be returned.

There's a lot of bad teaching floating around about this subject. Some of it has caused people to actually go broke! However, when we give, first as we are told in the Bible, then from doing what God has placed in our hearts, as a consequence He will abundantly bless us for it.

Our Lord also wants us to give our very best. In the Old Testament when the people brought a sacrifice to the temple it was to be one free of blemishes, wounds, or defects. Later the people began doing just that. Malachi 1:12-13 indicates that there came a time when the people continued bringing offerings to the temple but they began keeping the best for themselves and offering what they didn't want anyway. That was a big "no-no!" As Christians under grace we are free from that law today. However, we should be willing to give our best regardless what that is. Remember the story Jesus told of the poor widow? She stood in line with all the others who were better off than she was. They put in large gifts. When it came her turn she dropped in what was equal to two pennies. But Jesus complemented her on that because all the others had given from their abundance while she gave all she had her very best!

Whatever we give, whether money, time, talent or other resources, we must remember that even though we may be giving to other people, in essence we are giving to God. He's always given us his very best. Our measure should be no less. The measure we give will be used when God gives back.

Jerry D. Ousley is the author of ?Soul Challenge?, ?Soul Journey?, ?Ordeal?, ?The Spirit Bread Daily Devotional and his first novel ?The Shoe Tree.? Visit our website at spiritbread.com to download these and more completely free of charge.

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