As stated previously…the core of God’s economy is giving.  Give at every opportunity you get. Give! Give! Give to everything you can. I encourage people to go through their possessions on a regular basis and give things away that they are not using. Never let an offering go by that you don’t put something in: if you don’t have cash or your checkbook put your pen or pencil in the offering or tear a button off your shirt and put it in. Abraham was blessed to be a blessing and you are too. Be generous with your family, bless your kids, bless your waitress and bless your enemies. You will see the following scripture working for you.

One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed (Proverbs 11: 24-25).

Give your best

I glanced into the freezer in the garage as we were loading the car with our family to go to our small group meeting. My wife had just suggested that we take some ice cream along for after the meeting. There before me were two boxes of ice cream; one generic brand and one that was more expensive and richer tasting. In a split second I needed to decide which one to take. I realized that to give our best we should take the more expensive ice cream. It was less than a dollar difference, but it is a principle we want to live by. I grabbed the more expensive box.

Why should we give our best? God gave His best when he gave his Son. If you think about it, when he was deciding how to save the world and he could have sent an angel instead of his son. It meant more to us because he gave his best…we should do likewise when we give. Remember the terminology of John 3:16, “For God so love the world that he gave…” When we give our best, we are acting like him. This is how someone made in his image and filled with his Spirit should live. This is the very nature of God, and it will make us more prosperous when we give our best.