Generosity is one of the most powerful spiritual disciplines that can transform our relationship with God and reshape our hearts in profound ways. When we understand giving as a pathway to experiencing God’s love rather than earning it, everything changes.
What Does Jesus Say About Giving?
In Matthew 6:2-4, Jesus makes a striking assumption. He doesn’t say “if you give” but “when you give.” This isn’t a suggestion—it’s an expectation for those following Christ. Jesus instructs us not to announce our giving with fanfare like the hypocrites, but to give quietly, trusting that our Father who sees in secret will reward us.
This passage reveals something beautiful: generosity is meant to be a natural overflow of a heart that has encountered God’s incredible generosity toward us. We’re created in God’s image, and there’s no one more generous than our Heavenly Father.
Why Is Giving So Difficult?
Money represents more than paper in our lives. It symbolizes security, control, status, and safety. When God asks us to give, He’s confronting these deep-seated attachments that can become idols in our hearts.
Unlike other spiritual disciplines like prayer or Bible study, giving confronts us in a uniquely tangible way. We can read Scripture and feel surrendered to God, we can pray and sense His presence, but when it comes to opening our wallets, something different happens. That resistance reveals how tightly we can grip what we think provides our security.
How Does Generosity Develop Surrender?
Generosity is a spiritual discipline that accelerates spiritual maturity unlike any other. When we give, we’re surrendering a piece of our control to God. We’re declaring that He is our provider, not our paycheck. He is our source, not our savings account.
Proverbs 3:9-10 teaches about first fruits: “Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops. Then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.” God doesn’t ask for our first fruits because He needs them—He asks because we need the reminder that He is first in our lives.
There’s an old story about a farmer who had a beautiful apple orchard. One year, the harvest was especially good. The apples were huge and perfect — the kind of fruit that could bring in the best prices at the market.
When he gathered the first basket of apples, he looked at them and thought, “I’ll set one aside for God — my first and best apple.”
But as he picked, he noticed some bruised apples, some smaller ones, and he thought, “Maybe I’ll give one of these instead. God won’t mind.”
Later that evening, he sat at his table, looked at the basket of apples, and realized what had happened. He had started with the desire to give God his first and best, but along the way, his heart started to protect what he thought was his own.
So, he quietly took the biggest, reddest apple, polished it on his sleeve, and placed it in a basket by the door marked ‘For the Lord.’
He didn’t know how much that one apple mattered — but something changed in his heart.
Every year after that, his first act of harvest was to give.
And over time, that one small discipline taught him to surrender not just his apples, but his whole life to God. It guarded his heart from being consumed with his wealth.
How Does Giving Build Trust in God?
Generosity expands our level of trust in our Heavenly Father. When we give, we’re not just trusting God in our minds—we’re trusting Him with our hearts and our hands. We’re saying, “God, I trust You to provide for me.”
George Mueller’s story illustrates this beautifully. In the 1800s, he ran orphanages in England completely by faith, never asking for money but trusting God to provide. One morning, he woke to find the orphanage completely empty—no food, no milk, nothing for the children’s breakfast. Instead of panicking, he gathered all the children in the dining room with empty plates and cups and thanked God for the food He was going to provide.
Moments after the prayer, the local baker knocked at the door, saying he couldn’t sleep and felt God telling him they needed bread. Minutes later, the milkman’s cart broke down outside, and he offered his milk that would spoil if not used that morning. Every child ate a full breakfast that morning. What an incredible unexpected blessing from God revealing His faithfulness and provision.
What Peace Does Generosity Bring?
The world tells us that peace comes from having more—more money, more comfort, more security. But Jesus teaches that the kingdom comes through giving our lives away, through seeing that life is spent on eternal treasure, not ourselves.
When we live generously, when we surrender and trust God with our resources, anxiety loses its grip on our lives. We discover that we’re stewards, not owners, of everything we have. This realization brings a supernatural peace that transcends understanding.
Philippians 4:6-7 promises: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Can Everyone Participate in Giving?
Absolutely. Jesus highlighted this truth when He drew attention to a widow who gave her last two pennies in the synagogue. While others gave large amounts with fanfare, she gave out of surrender, offering everything she had. Jesus used her as an example because generosity isn’t about the amount—it’s about the heart behind the hand.
Everyone can participate because generosity isn’t about what’s in your hand; it’s about what’s in your heart. Whether it’s your tithe (10% of your income), a love offering, or a sacrificial gift, every act of generosity is a doorway to encounter God more deeply.
Life Application
This week, challenge yourself to practice first fruits giving or budget towards honoring the Lord with your finances.
Ask yourself these questions: What am I holding onto that represents security, control, or status in my life? How can I practice surrender by giving generously this week? Where do I need to trust God more deeply as my provider? What would change in my heart if I truly believed I’m a steward, not an owner, of everything I have?
Remember, we don’t give to earn God’s love—we give because we are already completely loved. We don’t give to get from God—we give to know God and encounter His life more deeply. When we give, we step into the beautiful rhythm of surrender, trust, and peace that marks a life yielded to our generous Heavenly Father.
Paul Deary 