What is the gift of giving?

The New Testament teaches that believers should give out of thankfulness and gratitude to God – not obligation – for all of the blessings he has bestowed upon us.  Saint John explains how God gave the gift of everlasting life for all who believe in him with the words, “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” (John 3:16 NIV)  Scripture teaches believers are entrusted to be good stewards of their time, resources, talents and gifts, as an expression of their love toward God.  As for the giving of our monetary resources, the Apostle Paul teaches believers should collectively give back a portion of their money to the work of the Lord.  “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (II Corinthians 9:7 NIV)

 

As for the spiritual gift of giving, the Apostle Paul includes this gift in his letter to the Romans.

“Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many from one body, and each member belongs to the others.  We have different gifts, according to the grace given us.  If a man’s gift is…contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously….” (Romans 12:4-6, 8 NIV)

The spiritual gift of giving, or imparting, is when the Holy Spirit guides a believer to generously contribute to the needs of others from the abundance of his or her resources.  An individual entrusted with the spiritual gift of giving feels led by the Holy Spirit to generously give of his or her resources, in a sincere manner, to the needs of others for the ultimate purpose of glorifying God.  Believers who have the gift of giving often remain discreet in their actions, to avoid bringing attention to themselves…so God gets the glory.  Saint Matthew records how Jesus Christ himself warned people against the hypocrisy of drawing attention to themselves while giving to the needy.

“Be careful not to do your ‘acts of righteousness’ before men, to be seen by them.  If you do, you have no reward from your Father in heaven.  So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men.  I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.  But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret.  Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” (Matthew 6:1-4 NIV)

In other words, the Holy Spirit has entrusted many believers with the spiritual gift of giving, which is often alive and well in many churches.  Although, many people often do not even realize that the gift of giving is present within their churches, since believers who are entrusted with this gift often prefer to keep their anonymity.  Nevertheless, God can accomplish many wonderful things through believers, entrusted with the gift of giving, who understand the significant monetary contributions they can make to the work of the Lord…be it helping start new churches, financially blessing struggling churches, giving land for a church building, purchasing building materials for a new church building, or whatever cause the Lord may lay on their hearts.