You have been taught that the doorway to financial prosperity is giving.
A lot of teaching out there links financial prosperity to tithes, offerings, and other forms of sacrificial giving. Some even link your financial breakthrough to who you give to and where you give.
And the worst part has to do with some questionable acts of extortion during altar calls that promise you a financial breakthrough if you give a certain amount.
But in all of these, my question is, why are people not getting richer?
Why do you need to give and give and continue giving to access financial prosperity?
If financial prosperity comes from giving, I believe, we should be having many super-rich Christians, not just those barely getting along.
Before you tell me about some person’s experience, I like you to ponder on all your giving and sincerely judge whether they met your expectations always. I don’t want you to answer this question with a religious mind but with sincerity.
You might think or make yourself believe that when you give, God can decide to pay you another way either by protecting you from evil. But that in itself is an insult to God. God will never need any form of atonement outside the blood of Jesus to do good to those that believe.
To set the record straight, I believe in giving because Jesus taught us so. Presently, I give more than 10% of my income and also give all kinds of offerings but with a different understanding of it.
For the body of Christ to enjoy the wealth that Jesus paid for, our orientation about God must change.
I like you to understand that God is a loving Father who wants the best for His children. Jesus said, if ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your Father which is in heaven give good things to them that ask him? (Mat 7:11 KJV).
He also said,… If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? (Luke 12:28 KJV).
God will never put any burden on you as a condition for receiving what has already been paid for. You can’t pay for an item twice, that will be a fraud. Jesus said, “my burden is light and my yoke is easy”. (Matt 11:30).
Giving is not expected to be burdensome, but a pleasurable experience. Giving can only be pleasurable if you have abundance. For a believer, the truth is that you have abundance in Christ Jesus, which must be accessed before you can give it.
So, why are your tithes and offerings not making you richer?
It’s because God did not institute giving as the way of prosperity. There is no place in the Bible where prosperity was the purpose for which God asked us to give.
For instance, Malachi 3 says to bring all tithes into the storehouse. Why? that there may be food in my house. That is the purpose!
God cares for everyone and that is why He wants those who have to share with others who don’t have.
But God wouldn’t want them to do it in vain, that is why He attached a blessing to it. But the blessing wasn’t the main purpose of it.
God will never ask us to pay another price for His riches. Just like a loving Father will provide for the needs of his household without asking them for a favor as a condition for accessing it.
God is a just and caring Father who will never fail at providing for us His children. He is Father to all His creation.
The Bible says that the eyes of all wait upon Him that He might give them their meat in due season. (psalms 145:15).
God is responsible enough to take care of all His creatures. He takes care of the birds of the air, how much more you. You have more value than animals or plants.
Giving for the purpose of receiving is not just out of order, but an insult to God and that is why many Christians are poor despite their giving.
Paul speaking in 2 Cor 9:7-8 said…
Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind {and} purposed in his heart, not reluctantly {or} sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, “prompt to do it”) giver [whose heart is in his giving].
And God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come to you in abundance, so that you may always {and} under all circumstances {and} whatever the need be self-sufficient [possessing enough to require no aid or support and furnished in abundance for every good work and charitable donation]. (2 Cor 9:7-8)
If you cannot receive God’s grace for abundance, you cannot receive His grace for giving. In God’s plan, you are supposed to have enough to meet your needs and more than enough to support others.
So, how can Christians become financially prosperous? And how can they give acceptably?
The answer is by understanding God’s way of prosperity.
God has a way through which He blesses His children. It will work for everyone all the time if the condition is met.These ways are here listed;
- Understanding that prosperity is a gift from God. It is not to be paid for by offering or tithe but to be received by grace through faith.
You must understand that every increase is from the Lord. Paul said,… I have planted, Apollos watered; but God gave the increase. (1Co 3:6 KJV).
Jesus paid in full for your riches and all you need is to trust Him. You begin to receive by asking for it.
2. Sowing quality seeds.
God’s plan is not for you to get something for nothing, though the price has been paid, and though God does move in the supernatural to provide our needs. Your lasting wealth is attached to the value you add to life.
(There are many lazy Christians out there who are doing nothing but expecting a breakthrough because they gave. Some even borrow to give).
Remember the widow that came to Elisha in 2 Kings 4:1-7, she did not borrow vessels to give but to invest and she got her miracle.
While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest, and cold and heat, and summer and winter, and day and night shall not cease. (Gen 8:22 KJV)
Every one of us has a seed that will generate wealth. But we must sow it in a quality way to reap a quality harvest.
By seed I mean, the product or service, or idea you are exchanging for money. A farmer cultivates his crops and exchanges them for money, while a mechanic cultivates skills and exchanges his service for money.
Whatever you sow is what you reap. The Bible says,… Then Isaac sowed in that land, and received in the same year an hundredfold: and the LORD blessed him. (Gen 26:12 KJV).
Isaac did not give, he sowed and received the blessing of the Lord. God wants us as believers to be seed sowers because by that we will meet the needs of others and also complement them.
Here are steps to seed sowing
- Use the right technique – learn the best way to deliver
- Plant viable seeds – your best should be offered
- Water your seed – inject fresh ideas as you grow your seed
- Weeding the seed – remove those things that can choke your planting. Do away with what is not working
- Expect your harvest. It will come gradually. Be patient to reap. The problem with most Christians is that they want to reap at once. They are not patient enough to reap their harvest in stages.
3. Give as you are blessed. It’s fulfilling to be a giver. There is a feeling that comes with being someone who helps others out of need. It attracts the favor of God to you.
Giving is God’s way of helping those who can’t help themselves. That is why Jesus’ ministry was characterized by giving majorly to the poor. Giving is also a way through which God answers the prayers of others.
God’s blessing is for distribution. He gives you so that you can touch others. God needs people who can access His riches by faith and in turn, touch lives with them.
Eph 4:28 KJV Let him that stole steal no more: but rather let him labour, working with his hands the thing which is good, that he may have to give to him that needeth.
Observe that, Paul did not say that those who steal should give to get blessed. He rather said they should labour, working with their hands what is good. And by doing that, they will be empowered to give.
So where are prosperity preachers getting their teachings on giving to receive from?
Giving does not come before receiving, receiving comes before giving. That is God’s order.
Stop thinking that you can bribe God with money.
In 2Co 8:12-15 Paul said…
For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.
For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened:
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:
As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack. (2Co 8:12-15 KJV).
Take note that Paul talked about how much you gather, which is a function of faith. God wants equality among believers. So if you have the grace to gather much, it is your responsibility to support others who might be gathering little due to one reason or another.
In summary, God’s blessings are available to everyone that believes. You can not pay for it. It has been paid for. Just like every other blessing, prosperity is also part of the salvation package. So be humble enough to receive it.