The issue of money and the work
of God is often a controversial topic, especially in our generation where
everyone wants prosperity and wealth from God, and many would be willing to do
whatever it takes to get it… Hence, the word ‘seed’ in Christianity is often
thought of as a material or monetary sacrificial offering given to God in
expectation of a reward from Him… But then, having left the old ways of offering
animal sacrifices to God majorly because of the new covenant and the finished
work of Christ Jesus on the cross, and being now in the dispensation of the
Church of Christ and the outpouring the Holy Spirit; what is a true offering to
God either in the form of money or material? What are the criteria for their
acceptability and merit of a reward before God? And what is God’s command
concerning offerings to Him (tithes and every other kinds of offerings
inclusive)?...
The Word says: “God is Love”, and
love is often expressed in giving, and just as God gives to all His children
because of who His is and His nature, He also expects every true child of His
to express the same kind of love by being a giver; as the Word also says “God
loves a cheerful giver”… But then we also know that God is a Spirit, and in the
realm of the spirit, our currency is not recognized, neither is our money acknowledged
as a means of exchange… It therefore follows that only a spiritual
offering/seed can be recognized in the realm of the spirit and consequently by
God…
The Word never tells us that God
invented the use of money for any purpose; money was definitely an invention of
man as a legal tender and as a means of purchasing… We’d also notice that in
the days of old/the Law; money, food crops, silver/gold or other material
things were not acceptable as burnt offerings to God except for the building/upkeep
of the temple/tabernacle; but rather, only animals were used as burnt
offerings, because God’s point of concern was the blood of the animal which was
significant…
However, in our present day,
money is the most common form of offering given to God, and God of course does
not spend the money like humans do; rather it is often used by humans for God’s
work… Bearing in mind that the money offered is being given physically to a
human, while the reward is expected to come from God; the need of giving an
acceptable offering to God becomes of utmost importance, so as not to keep
sowing seeds in the wrong way or in the wrong place… God’s Word remains the
most perfect guide in all matters of Christianity including the giving of
offerings…
By God’s Word, we understand that
giving to God in any form does not end at giving to a Church work and God’s Ministers
alone, but also includes giving to the poor/needy, parents, charity/causes, and
so on… The truth remains that whatever is given and in whatever measure, money
or material, has different representations looking at it spiritually and
physically… Just as with that widow who gave only 2 mites though it was her
all, and Jesus said she gave the most and gave the best…
The truth again is, before God,
offerings/seeds are rewarded not just by their physical worth/size but mainly
by their spiritual value; and therefore only the right spiritual seeds sown can
attract a reward from God even though physically the seed may be money or
material… The only determinant of the spiritual value of any physical seed sown
is the state of the heart of the one sowing the seed; so, money may be given as
a seed, but to God, the money is not the seed…
The Word says: “[Remember] this:
he who sows sparingly and grudgingly will also reap sparingly and grudgingly,
and he who sows generously [that blessings may come to someone] will also reap
generously and with blessings. Let each one [give] as he has made up his own
mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under
compulsion, for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and
is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, ``prompt to do
it") giver [whose heart is in his giving].” 2Cor. 9:6-7 (AMP)… We discover
that the heart of the giver matters more to God than the size of the gift; yet
many give and never receive any rewards because they give wrongly…
What then are these spiritual
seeds? The answer to this is not far from the fruits of the Spirit as we find
in God’s Word; “…But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,
kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control…” Gal. 5:22-23
(NIV)… If the above are the products of the fruit of the Holy Spirit who lives
inside every true believer, then we can deduce that since a fruit bears inside itself
a seed that produces the same kind of fruit; the above listed are also the
recognized spiritual seeds by God, so they are not just the fruit of the Spirit
but also the seeds of the Spirit which are acceptable by God and can bring a
harvest of rewards from Him…
Therefore, any offering of
money/material that does not have one of the above as its underlying motivation,
might as well be counted as a physical seed without a spiritual value and so no
reward is expected from God… Also, seeds sown out of the opposites of the above
(selfishness, envy, covetousness, strife and so on) do not equally have
spiritual value… It is also important to understand the truth that God cannot
be bribed and God does not primarily bless or reward anyone because of whatever
one gave, but basically because of the price Jesus paid on the cross for all
who believe to become partakers of His inheritance; therefore, no amount of
offering money/material can be used as some means of bargain with God, not even
in praying/asking a thing from Him; because our justification is only by our
faith in Christ Jesus, not by any good works…
As the Word says, “Love is the
greatest”; the love of God and love for God should be the main motivation for
any offering… So, giving to God or human just for the sake of the future gain
alone, is simply sowing an unhealthy seed spiritually because the motivation is
not love, but selfishness; and might as well be called an investment… Also,
other spiritual seeds sown in the life of others which may not be made of
physical material also attract God’s rewards; examples: showing kindness or
mercy to others, being a source of joy or peace to others, acting with
goodness, gentleness and self-control when dealing with others, faithfulness in
whatever work/business one finds doing, and so on… Though any of those can
involve the giving of money/material, but the real seeds before God are not
physical, but spiritual…
Christ said: “Blessed are the merciful:
for they shall obtain mercy.” Matt. 5:7; and Eccl. 11:6 says “Sow your seed in
the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know
which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.”…
Therefore, spiritual seeds sown in time past grows and then returns as reward
to the sower in the same spiritual form, but may be of a different physical
form; so a physical seed of money given to the poor, is spiritually a seed of
love, mercy or kindness before God’s eyes and He may not in turn reward the
giver with money but with something else of his desire though with the same
spiritual form and value as what he had given… Same way bad spiritual seeds of
hatred, covetousness, jealousy, unfaithfulness, and the likes, also return bad
spiritual and physical rewards…
The reason for God’s reward of
wisdom and wealth to King Solomon was not just his thousand burnt offerings but
because his motivation for his offering was his love for God, not because he
knew God would visit him after such a huge costly sacrificial offering… Same
too, that widow of Zarephath did not receive her reward simply because she gave
the Prophet Elijah her last meal, but because she believed the word of God
through the Prophet and she had always been a generous giver… Also, the early
Apostles and Disciples did not sell all their possessions and shared with their
fellow brethren because they were expecting an automatic reward but because the
love of the Holy Spirit they received had filled their hearts…
From all the above, we can infer
that the acceptability of any offering/seed in any form it is given
(money/material) has a spiritual value before God often determined by one’s
state/motive of the heart, and seeds sown will return as greater reward to the
sower in same spiritual form but may have a different physical form; therefore
one cannot dictate to any seed sown the kind of physical reward to return,
neither can one pay God with any amount of money offering to change His mind or
to force out of Him an answer to a prayer… The currency in the spirit realm is
not money, but blood; and Jesus has paid by His blood for whatever requests we
are asking from God our Father…
In prayer, we ask God for our
needs through Jesus Christ who is our righteousness, and not to declare to Him
what we have given or the ‘seeds’ we have sown, to qualify for the granting of
our hearts’ desires… Therefore, when we give/sow, we do out of love for God,
His work, and obedience to His Word; not out of compulsion or out of fear of
poverty or fear of the devourer/enemy… The Holy Spirit in the true believer bears
His fruit in and through his life and so he can sow the right spiritual seeds
and not only to give when needed but also to live giving as a way of life… 1Sam.
15:22 says: “…Obedience is far better than sacrifice. Listening to him is much
better than offering the fat of rams…” God is far more interested in your
loyalty and obedience to Him than in your offerings to Him…
It is actually better not to sow
at all than to sow a bad seed, because one may sow in vain and keep expecting a
reward that may never come…
Don’t just sow seeds; sow the right seeds, and you
will reap the right fruits!
Nice Day Friends!
#GodIsStillInCharge
http://www.sycaminternational.org
http://www.sycaminternational.org
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