Generous Giving!

I have always considered myself a generous giver.  I believe in tithing.  I believe it is the place all believer should start their giving.  A tithe is a tenth of my income.  And not to be trite, but I believe it's on all my income, not just what gets deposited into my checking account.  I believe in giving God the first fruits, so my tithe check to my local church is the first check I make out after I write my deposit in Quicken©.  On top of that, there is missions through my church, missions that I support personally, and special opportunity giving.  I don't say that to brag, just that you know I understand biblical giving.

But recently, my world was rocked by a simple little book called The Treasure Principle by Randy Alcorn.  I enjoy most of the books from this author, and I find them spiritually encouraging.  Our church had recently studied all about Heaven, using this authors book on heaven as a study help.  So when Christmas came around I jumped at the opportunity to give our church more resources from this man of God.  I hadn't read the book myself, but I was confident in the author ability to reveal scripture clearly.

I have been taking some days off to prepare for the upcoming year at our church.  I picked up the little book and started reading.  I must confess, I was amazed at how much the book affected me.  The author uses scripture after scripture after scripture to drive home the point that we should be laying up treasure in heaven, not here on earth.  That's not a new concept for any believer.  Yet, most believer's I know get swallowed up into obtaining too many earthly treasures.   All the while claiming to be storing up treasure only in heaven.  The author was not content to let me stay in my lie any longer.  this is where he hit me.  He said, we buy a new TV, only to figure out we "need" a new DVD player, then our stand is too small, then we need a surround sound system, then high definition reception, etc, etc, etc.

Nothing is innately wrong with having these things, but his words hit home with me.  Why?  Just the other day, I was looking at a Bose surround system for my TV.  Do I need a Bose surround sound system.  No, I can hear my TV just fine.  But there is a part of me that says, "Mike, you deserve that surround sound system."  I guess you know where that little voice came form don't you.  Yea, it was my flesh.  I don't deserve a surround sound system.  Let me tell you what I deserve...

Maybe at some other time.  The author sets forth 6 Treasure Principles that should guide every believer's mind about money and possession.  These principles are the foundation for a biblical worldview concerning money.  They are all biblically grounded although the dot and line principle is a picture of biblical truth.  I loved his antidote for materialism (principle #5).

The best part of the book was the "giving covenant".  The book calls its reader not only to contemplate the truths found in scripture but to take action upon what the Bible says to be the way of financial life for every believer.

I encourage this book for all believers, young and old.  It will not take a great amount of time to read the entire work, and it is easy reading.   I recommend reading it slowly while looking up each passage of scripture.  Maybe even take it chapter at a time so one can fully digest these treasured principles.  But take warning, It may challenge your ideas about giving...It may even revolutionize your financial outlook!