God is an extravagant giver!

As Christians, we should realize the nature of God. One of the attributes of God is generosity. Being generous means the quality of being kind, and not being selfish. It is the willingness to help give money or other things of value. God is also gracious; He loves to shower us with blessings even if we do not deserve them. And being God’s children, first and foremost, we should reflect the same nature of God towards our neighbors whether they are Christians or not, or whether they go to the same church that we go to or not.

We are a body.

In giving we stay connected; we grow, we learn together. The reach becomes wider, and the opportunity to give and to receive a supply becomes fuller when we stay united with the Body. 1 Corinthians 1:10 (NIV) says, “I appeal to you, brothers and sisters, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another in what you say and that there be no divisions among you, but that you be perfectly united in mind and thought.”

As leaders of a church, we must understand that we are a Body. And so when we give to other local churches, the Body of Christ is edified because it is God’s church. After all, we display the same nature of God, and He does encourage giving. In Luke 6:38 (ESV) says: “… give, and it will be given to you. Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

When we encourage our church members to also give to other churches, individuals, or other causes, we are teaching them generosity and graciousness.

We are also causing them to be conduits of God’s blessings. We are doing a disservice to God if we demand from our church members to contain and limit their giving only to the church that they belong to. This will limit their opportunity to be an instrument of blessing to others.

Lead by example.

As leaders, we too must practice giving to other causes. We must lead by example and do this simply because we have the same nature of God. We are fueled to do this and to teach this because of love! Jesus is the Head and the Builder of the Church, and just like what He showed us in 1 John 3:16-18 (NLT), “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”

Our generosity should be fashioned on how the Lord Jesus gave Himself for us. He gave His life for us. Now, as His followers who love and adore Him, we are expected to do the same; out of a willing heart.

As good leaders, we should encourage our congregation to give externally. Our security is in Jesus.

Therefore, we should not be threatened to teach this. Our giving is fuelled by love. It is not enough to just plainly talk about our love towards our neighbors; this must be expressed and demonstrated. As leaders, we should be the one to support this in ways that will inspire the members of our church, so that they too will impact their surrounding community.

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