by Peter Williamson

If I give more, will I receive more? It may scandalize you, but the answer of Scripture is a clear “Yes!”

Most of us have had some exposure to the “Prosperity Gospel” through TV evangelists who ask for donations with promises seem too materialistic or that even appeal to selfishness.  But these evangelists are not all wrong.  Listen to Jesus’ words from Luke 6:38: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

Jesus was not the first to express this teaching. Many centuries earlier Proverbs taught that a generous person will be enriched, while greed and stinginess have negative consequences (Prov 11:24-25; 28:27). According to Gary Anderson, an Old Testament scholar, for ancient Israel this was not merely a matter of morals but of metaphysics, it was how the world works.  Other Old Testament texts teach that the Lord directly rewards generosity: “He who is kind to the poor lends to the LORD, and he will repay him for his deed” (Prov 19:17).

The apostle Paul emphasizes that there is a direct relationship between what we give and what we will receive from God: “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Cor 9:6).  A few verses later he emphasizes God’s ability and desire to reward generosity and assures his readers of ample provision.

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work….  Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.  You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion…. (2 Cor 9:8-11)

Of course, some qualifications are necessary. No one can bribe God by giving generously while disobeying his commandments and expect his blessing. Some in ancient Israel tried this and the results weren’t pretty (see Isa 1:11-17). Also, while there are rewards in this life, they don’t eliminate suffering.  Jesus promises to those who renounce everything to follow him “a hundredfold now in this time, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and in the age to come eternal life” (Mark 10:30).  Rich blessings plus persecutions!

That verse reminds us that the true reward for generosity is not wealth in this life, but rather eternal life. A few verses earlier Jesus invited a rich young man to radical generosity with just such a promise: Mark 10:21  “You lack one thing: go, sell all that you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.”

I would like to conclude with a word of testimony.  I come from a family of three generations of missionaries and ministers.  All tithed their incomes; all trusted in God for their provision; all gave generously; and all never lacked what they needed.  Along with many friends, I also have sought to do the same: to tithe, to give alms as generously as possible; we also have seen God’s consistent blessing.  Generous giving may not be a path to getting rich in this world, but it is a path to rich living, to experiencing God’s blessing and provision, both here and now, and, I firmly believe, in the life to come.