Written by Larry M. Jaynes:
Giving is a partnership between the giver and his or her heavenly Father. The Christian believer is not instructed in the Scriptures to give until it hurts. Giving is not a form of penance, nor can the act of giving relieve a person from sin and condemnation because God does that freely (Romans 8:1, I John 1:9). Giving according to the Scriptures is always meant to be a profitable blessing and adventure to the giver first. Giving with the correct heart of understanding the Scriptures will indeed invoke God’s true spiritual blessings and power upon our lives.
Philippians 4:17:
Not because I {the Apostle Paul} desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.
The subject here in Philippians 4:13-20 is about giving and receiving, and Paul is expressing the true spiritual perspective in the absolute will of God for godly giving, and that is that fruit may abound back into your accounts. The first biblical truth about giving is that fruit may return and abound in your life. This verse does not emphasize the fact that Paul could also receive because he (and God) wanted the believers to understand thoroughly that the blessing for giving always returns to the giver. The word fruit represents the result, the product of their labor of love.
Matthew 7:11:
If ye then, being evil {having the potential to be evil; this verse does not mean that people are 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?
Although people have the potential of being evil, we normally give good gifts to our children; however, God is never evil (Jeremiah 29:11; James 1:13), and He will only give good things to us. Giving comes and is offered in many forms, from sharing our long suits with others, our resources, our time, and from our finances. We are never instructed or commanded in the Church Epistles simply to give mindlessly despite our own feelings and apprehensions about giving. Giving needs to be freely offered from the heart and in the love of God in order to receive the full spiritual benefit. When we share without restraints, demands, or coercion, then the spiritual blessings will return many-fold. Paul said, “Not because I desire a gift” because he taught the Scriptures and gave the healing Word of God to people freely. However, he did his best to show people how to have fruit abounding back into their accounts.
I Corinthians 9:18:
What is my reward then {for preaching the Gospel}? Verily that, when I preach the gospel, I may make the gospel of Christ without charge, that I abuse not my power in the gospel.
An abuse of Paul’s power in the gospel would be prevalent if he was to mandate tithing or giving as a requirement to receiving the liberating Word of God, and Paul would have none of it, which he calls being greedy of “filthy lucre” (I Timothy 3:3, 8, Titus 1:7, and 11). “And his {Samuel’s} sons walked not in his ways, but turned aside after lucre” (I Samuel 8:3, and see Deuteronomy 16:16). The love of money can take one down the wrong road, “For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (I Timothy 6:10). There is nothing wrong with money in and of itself, as it is the medium of exchange, but craving it to the point of living for it could cause one to “turn aside after lucre” and subsequently “error from the faith,” which has been the cause of so “many sorrows.”
You see, Paul knew that his reward came from God Himself because he gave the Gospel; that was his ministry, and he made the Word of God available to people freely. (Compare how Paul gave the “Gospel of Christ without charge,” to others who gave the Gospel for the sole purpose of getting money, and see the result in Micah 3:11-12.)
Peter taught that ministers are to, “Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre {c.i.f., i.e., cash in fist), but of a ready mind {to give of oneself}” (I Peter 5:2). You see, being a minister is not a lucrative profession for the sake of money but a calling to serve for the love of God, and the Apostles knew this in their hearts. And yes, they did receive gifts and support from time to time and they used them to further the ministry as God showed them how and where to Feed the flock of God, and that is perfectly acceptable, just as it is perfectly acceptable for you and I to give as we are inspired. No nonprofit origination could run for too long without financial support from those who receive, serve, and give of their time and resources, and there are needs that need to be fulfilled.
Most ministers in the various churches and fellowship groups are not after your money, rather because they have answered the call to serve they explain the heart of giving and receiving, and make it available to you to give. I do believe they desire and pray that the blessings for giving will return back to your account. So please do not think I am condemning anyone for passing the hat; giving in any form for the Christian believer should be done out of one’s personal love for God ― period!
As we look to God for His blessings and support, He can provide; in fact, He promises to do so, “my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19). However, if a minister is living in a camper behind a church, or in a parishioner’s garage or damp basement, and he is reduced to collecting food-stamps to make ends meet, then something is wrong either with his teachings or his congregation, and the heart of giving and receiving is missing, and the unfortunate result is that the more abundant life cannot be enjoyed. Did you know that Jesus came for this very reason? “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10b).
People themselves are solely responsible for deciding whether they want to give, not only in monetary ways but also in whatever capacity they feel comfortable, they just need the truth taught to inspire them to godly endeavors. All Christian giving is between the giver and his or her heavenly Father and no one else. Paul’s responsibility was simply to give the Gospel freely to others and God would continue to care for him, and the same is true with anyone who believes God’s Word. The more understanding we receive from the Scriptures, the greater our receiving from God becomes. When our lives are right with God, all else fits into place and a godly order to life emerges without compulsion because Giving is a Partnership with God that produces a true spiritual balance to life.