Luke 6:38
‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.’
DAILY READING – 2 Corinthians 5:11-6:13; 2 Kings 18; Micah 7
Hetty Green is in the Guinness Book of World Records as “The World’s Greatest Miser”. In the early 1900’s, she was once the richest woman in the world. She had more than $95 million in the bank, yet she only owned one dress and wore it for years. She ate cold oatmeal because she didn’t want to pay for the gas to heat it. Sometimes she will just cook it over the radiator. She refused to use hot water and the water heater during winter. She ate mostly pies that cost fifteen cents. Her son suffered because of her extreme frugality. When he broke his legs, Hetty took him to a free clinic. When the doctor asked for a fee, she refused to pay and brought her son home. Eventually, his broken leg got worse, and it had to be amputated. At Hetty’s death, she amassed a great fortune that is worth $3.8 billion in today’s money. She died one of the richest women in America and possibly, the most miserable.
Now contrast her life with that of Oseola McCarty, a poor washerwoman who gave away her life savings of $150,000 to help poor students complete college education at the University of Southern Mississippi. She made her small fortune a dollar at a time, through laundry and ironing. When she was in her 80’s in anticipation of her death, she decided to give away most of her life savings to help others. After that gift her life changed dramatically. Contributions from more than 600 donors added some $330,000 to her original scholarship fund of $150,000. After hearing of Miss McCarty’s gift, Ted Turner, the multibillionaire owner of CNN contributed a billion dollars, saying, ‘If that little woman can give away everything she has, then I can give a billion dollars,’
The selflessness of her gift brought her worldwide attention. The woman whose only outing was to her church and to buy groceries would be honored by the United Nations, would shake hands with President Clinton and would receive more than 300 awards. The woman who acted in anticipation of death found a life she could have never imagined. People all over the world knew who she was and what she did. People would see her in airports and flock to her. Some people just wanted to touch her, as though she brought good fortune. She became a beloved celebrity before her death at 91 years.
Indeed it is more blessed to give than to receive. Hetty green was born into a rich family and refused to give, and at the end of her life, she became despised and disdained and was even called the ‘witch of wall street’ because of her extreme frugality. But Oseola McCarty was born poor, and gave away all she had and is celebrated all over the world for her selfless giving. What made the huge difference in the lives of these two women is their attitude towards giving.
As Christians one of our greatest tests of faithfulness will be in the area giving. Psalm 37:21 says, “The righteous is gracious and gives.” One of the characteristics of the righteous is giving.
The truth is you either chose to give freely and gain everything or be stingy and lose everything. Proverbs 11:24-25, (NLT) says ‘The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.”
All through scripture, we read that God wants to bless us. However God has a system set in place for His blessings. God’s system of blessing is set in motion when we obey His Word. When we honor His Word by giving our tithes and offerings, we are positioning ourselves for open heavens. Malachi 3:10 says ‘Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it.’ When you live a lifestyle of giving you are living a lifestyle of blessing! When you live to give, God meets your needs in abundance to His glory. In that same Malachi chapter 3, God asks us to prove Him. When you honor Him, He will honor you. And you can’t out give God. What you give comes back multiplied as blessings. Luke 6:38 says ‘Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom.’
It doesn’t matter what you may need today, God already has a plan to meet it. God wants to bless you, increase you and multiply you! God knows how to multiply your influence, your strength and your talent. He can multiply your income and resources. You don’t have to know how it will happen, just take a step of faith today. Set the blessing into motion by your giving and watch God surpass your expectations.
PRAYER: Lord, I thank You, for releasing upon me today, the giving grace. Every anti-covenant habit of stinginess is destroyed from my life. As I begin to freely give, I thank You for opening the heavens over me, in Jesus Name
quote
It is only when you can see God in the light of who He truly is that you can begin to walk in the overflow of His blessings. – WORDBITE 222. [ADAPTED FROM THE BOOK REJOICE]