Cultivating Generosity
Simplify
Many people do not practice radical generosity because most of their resources already have claims upon them. We cannot support God's church, bless the poor, and give to change the world unless we spend less and create margin in our lives in the area of finances. If we are going to be generous toward God and others, we must forsake any excessive generosity we have shown to ourselves. At Apostles we speak of living simply so that others can simply live.
Begin Giving
The only way to become generous is to begin giving. The Scriptures give us some key principles about our giving. First, God does not want our leftovers. He instructs us to give to him our "firstfruits." That means the first thing we do with our income each pay period is to surrender it to God and that includes giving a portion of it to his work in the world. Secondly, your local church should be the first place you give. Only through the committed generosity of the people can the church carry out its mission in the world. We should also give generously to the poor and consider other organizations to which we can contribute . Thirdly, Scripture would seem to indicate that a good beginning place for giving is 10% of your income. In the Hebrew Scriptures, this was called a tithe, or a tenth, and it was commanded by God of all his people. In the New Testament a tithe is not commanded because the inward experience of the grace of God in Christ replaces any outward motivations for our lives. If the people of God who were under law could give 10%, certainly those of us who are under grace can give at least 10%. Lastly, we should anticipate God's joy and blessing in response to our generosity. God loves cheerful givers and promises to bless them now and in the future. It is wiser to live on 90% of your income with God's blessing than to live on 100% of your income without his blessing. To learn more about how to systematize your giving, visit our giving resources page and explore several giving options.
Grow in Giving
Giving is something we should grow in, just like every other area of our spiritual formation. God increases our resources not to increase our standard of living, but to increase our standard of giving.
PLEASE NOTE: Apostles Church is a tax-exempt organizations and all contributions made to Apostles Church are tax deductible.