A Giving Heart

By Paul Chappell

"And Jesus said, Let her alone; why trouble ye her? she hath wrought a good work on me. For ye have the poor with you always, and whensoever ye will ye may do them good: but me ye have not always. She hath done what she could: she is come aforehand to anoint my body to the burying."

Mark 14:6-8

Giving is largely a matter of the heart, not the checkbook or bank balance. When people have a heart to give, they cannot be stopped. The woman who came and anointed Jesus’ feet with very precious oil just before His crucifixion was not giving out of great wealth but out of great love. This truth is borne out by some statistics on giving that I recently encountered. Mississippi is the 49th state in per capita income, yet the people there averaged $4,070 in charitable giving, which was 2nd highest in the nation. Conversely Massachusetts had the 4th highest average income, yet people there averaged only $2,645 in charitable giving, which was 49th in the nation.

The Lord’s plan is for His work to be financed by His people. Because everything belongs to Him, He could easily have chosen another way. Yet in His wisdom He knows that it is important for us to give. It reminds us of His ownership of everything when we give part of what He has given us back to Him.

Having a giving heart does not mean that we are giving great amounts. Instead it means that we are giving what we are able to give. The great English statesman Edmund Burke said, “No one ever made a greater mistake that he who, because he could only do a little, did nothing.” The Scripture is clear that God blesses the gift given from a heart willing to give.

Today's Rooted Principle:

When God’s children give what they have to Him, He multiplies those gifts to meet the needs of His work.