God's Financial Playbook PT.4 - Giving Part 2

"EACH ONE MUST GIVE AS HE HAS DECIDED IN HIS HEART, NOT RELUCTANTLY OR UNDER COMPULSION, FOR GOD LOVES A CHEERFUL GIVER." - 2 CORINTHIANS 9:7

We are free to "give what's purposed in our heart." The tithe (10%) is a great amount to start your giving with because it's mathematically simple to derive from a budgeting perspective. If you can't start with the tithe, start with what you have. Whether it's $20 a month or 5% of your income, just get started. But wherever you start, don't remain where you are. If you're already giving the tithe, what would it take for you to give a little more? Whether you're currently giving a small amount or giving a significant amount, continue to increase your faith. When God gifted us with his son Jesus, He gave out of love (John 3:16). Let love motivate us along a path of continuous generosity.

Another heated debate amongst Christians is whether to give the tithe and offerings off of gross income or net income. I'm going to preface my answer based on my personal testimony, church statistics, and scripture. Let me first tell you my giving origin story. There was a time in my early twenties where I wasn't giving the tithe or offerings at all for about six months. Things were very stressful at work. The stress was heavily weighing on my performance. I truly believed I was going to get fired.

One night while crying out to God during prayer, I broke down, crying in desperation. I said something to the tune of "Lord, I need you to help me! I know that you're Jehovah Jireh, my provider!" Not even a few seconds later, the Holy Spirit spoke to me. He said, "Jason, you call me Jehovah Jireh, but you don't believe me." Ouch. I wept for what felt like an hour. But the Holy Spirit also told me, "But Jason, I'm going to show you that I'm your provider." This was the catalyst for me to start giving again. I started tithing the very next paycheck. I gave off my net pay.

Within five months, I got a new job with more pay, two raises, and money from a small fender bender. The Lord was showing me how faithful He was as my provider. The next big test for me came when I got an unexpected bonus. I was pretty excited about what God was doing, so in the spirit of thanksgiving, I decided to give $500 out of the bonus. This amount was over ten percent. Just when I started to feel pretty good about myself, the Holy Spirit interrupted my train of thought. "No, Jason. I don't want you to give $500. I want you to give $1000." My jaw about hit the floor, and my heart felt like it got stuck in my throat. I had never given any kind of gift that large before!

At church, we had a Valentine's event coming up and help was needed paying for catered food for the event. I responded to the Holy Spirit's challenge and gave the $1000. Later on, I found out that exact amount was needed to help contribute to a nice meal for all the couples at the event. That experience melted my heart, and for the first time in my life, I understood what Jesus meant when he said, "it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35)."

This has been an excerpt from my book, "Fortify: Being Rooted in God's Plan For Work And Business." Find the book HERE and the companion workbook/journal HERE.

For more about integrating faith and business, listen to The Fortified Life Podcast HERE. Live Wednesday nights @ 8:30pm ET and On Demand (Apple, Spotify, iHeart Radio, Amazon Music, Audible, Spreaker).

Join us Tuesday nights @8for Vitamin F (Fortify) Discipleship @ 8:30pm ET on Zoom as we engage with our online discipleship tool Operation Timothy and share with you golden nuggets of what it takes to obey the Great Commission. Click HERE to join.