Give To Get

LUKE 6:38 NKJ
38 "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed
down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your
bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be
measured back to you."

Some try to make us think it is wrong to give to God expecting
anything in return.

If your ONLY motive for ever giving was just to get, then it is
wrong in the sense that it is incomplete. You should also give
because you love God and desire to worship Him.

But that need not be your only motive in giving to God, for
giving is like planting a seed. The New Testament calls our
giving a seed (2 Corinthians 9:6, Galatians 6:7).

When we hear "give to get" it can sound a little greedy, or
somehow unspiritual. But it is really no different than saying
"planting seed expecting a harvest."

No farmer plants seeds for any other reason than to harvest a
crop. A farmer does not plant seed because he is spiritual, or
because he loves the ground. He plants for one reason only --
to produce a larger harvest.

Giving with the motive of getting something back in return may
not be the highest and purest expression of giving love. But it
is not wrong or bad. God's Word encourages it!

No doubt God set up His system of sowing and reaping (planting
and harvesting) to encourage people to be givers.

There is nothing greedy or materialistic about a farmer
planting seed to grow a crop and reap a bigger harvest. It is
simply using the system God set up for us. For us to not
responsibly use God's system is wrong.

Planting seed without gathering the resulting harvest would be
irresponsible. The Bible teaches that we gather in the harvest
of God's blessing by our faith, which is revealed by what we
expect.

So it is wrong to give and NOT expect to get. That is the same
as planting seed and not harvesting the crop.

When we refuse to believe the Bible and don't expect a harvest
from the seed we plant, we fail to harvest what God provides
for us. It would be crazy for a farmer to plant a crop and then
fail to harvest it. As believers, we should not be guilty of
doing that.

Don't allow anyone to make you feel guilty for believing and
acting on God's Word. Not only are we supposed to cooperate
with God by believing for His abundant provision, but our faith
is the key to reaping the harvest God sends our way.

The idea that we should not expect anything in return for our
giving is part of the devil's attempt to rob us and keep us in
poverty, so we will not be able to influence or help anyone.

It is only by God's revelation that we are instructed to expect
something in return for our giving. It was not our idea, but
God's idea.

Actually, no human has ever given for any other reason except
to get something in return. It may have been to get a good
feeling, a good conscience, or a good name. It may have been to
get God's approval or reward in Heaven, but it was always
giving to get. You may say you just gave out of love. Well,
first, you are not the prime mover in the universe: God first
loved you. Your giving can only be a response to His love, and
probably be for the purpose of receiving more of His approval
and blessing.

What makes it seem wrong to "give to get" is that giving is the
expression of love and love is the opposite of selfishness. But
we do not have to reap a harvest out of selfishness. We can
reap with others in mind so we can have more to share.

Selfishness that thinks only of self with no concern for others
is wrong. But it is not wrong to give with the motive of
receiving something in return.

Those who teach it is wrong to expect any blessing for giving
to God here in this life don't seem to have a problem with
expecting rewards in Heaven. Even if the return on giving is
not received until we are in Heaven, it is still giving to get.
(But it puts off receiving until we are in Heaven where
resources to share with others in need will be unnecessary.)

By God's grace and help, we should be all we can be and have
all God has provided for us here and now -- so we can help
others as much as possible.

Jesus taught we can expect blessings both now, and in the age
to come!

LUKE 18:29-30 NKJ
29 So He said to them, "Assuredly, I say to you, there is no
one who has left house or parents or brothers or wife or
children, for the sake of the kingdom of God,
30 "who shall not receive many times more in this present
time, and in the age to come everlasting life."

In Matthew 6:1 Jesus teaches that our motive in giving should
not be to impress others. If you are not giving with a harvest
in mind, you must be giving to impress someone -- yourself,
God, or others. This is doing the opposite of what Jesus
taught. Jesus indicated it is all right to expect a reward from
our Heavenly Father.

Many Scriptures promise a blessing or reward for giving. Here
are only a few:

PROVERBS 3:9-10 NKJ
9 Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the
firstfruits of all your increase;
10 so your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats
will overflow with new wine.

MARK 9:41 NKJ
41 "For whoever gives you a cup of water to drink in My
name, because you belong to Christ, assuredly, I say to you,
he will by no means lose his reward.

2 CORINTHIANS 9:6 NKJ
6 But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap
sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap
bountifully.

EPHESIANS 6:8 NKJ
8 knowing that whatever good anyone does, he will receive
the same from the Lord, whether he is a slave or free.

Giving with a motive of love is wonderful. So I write this
not to encourage selfish giving. But to give a more complete
picture and to counter those who claim it is wrong to expect
anything when we give.

Yes, we give because we love God. But we are also instructed to
give as a farmer plants seed -- expecting a harvest.

God's Word is the standard of what is right and wrong. Because
God's Word tells us to give expecting something in return, it
cannot be wrong to do so.

SAY THIS: I will give as a seed I sow to get a larger harvest
for the glory of God.