Gifts and Talents

        God talks about giving a lot. Most of the time it is not about money. Many preachers talk about giving to get. Many people miss the quote in Luke 6:38 “Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you….” That verse is not about money. The previous verse says, “Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.” The verse talks about Judging, Condemning, and forgiving. Money is not listed. God talks about the heart. We do not give to get back to us. We get to give. The heart is what matters to God. God does not bless giving; He blesses the right heart of giving.

      A selfish heart: Deuteronomy 15:9 "Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart… There was a time that every seven years there was a release of debts. Men got the idea that at six and one half years, they would not give anyone credit, because the end of the seventh year was near. God calls such thinking a selfish heart, and it is a sin.

      A grieving heart: Deuteronomy 15:10 "You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him… many times when we give, something else will always break down and our heart is sorry for giving, and our heart is grieved because we gave. But the lord goes on and says “because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.”

      A generous heart: Deuteronomy 15:14 "you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress…. We are a generous people because of what our God has done for us. God goes on and says, “From what the LORD has blessed you with, you shall give to him.

      A grateful heart: Deuteronomy 15:15 "You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today…. We all were slaves to sin and our God redeemed us from our sins. Therefore we have a grateful heart, for what he has done for us.

      It is all about the heart. There have been some people that have had a heart transplant. Some of them have said that they have done and said some strange things since then. It was like the former owner of the heart was still alive in them. God talks a lot about our heart. He wants us to have generous heart, just like Him. We do not give to get back. We give with a generous heart, because of what God has done for us. God is a generous God and we get to give. We give to Him, what He has already given to us. We are giving Him something that He already owns. Our God owns everything on this earth. He allows us to be caretakers of the things of the Lord. So we also give Him our hearts, as well as His money, we give back to Him.

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      New King James Version
Matthew 7:1 ¶ "Judge not, that you be not judged.
2 "For with what judgment you judge, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you.

      New King James Version
Matthew 6:21 "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also

      New King James Version
Luke 6:37 ¶ "Judge not, and you shall not be judged. Condemn not, and you shall not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven.
38 "Give, and it will be given to you: good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over will be put into your bosom. For with the same measure that you use, it will be measured back to you."

      New King James Version
Deuteronomy 15:1 ¶ "At the end of every seven years you shall grant a release of debts.
2 "And this is the form of the release: Every creditor who has lent anything to his neighbor shall release it; he shall not require it of his neighbor or his brother, because it is called the LORD'S release.
3 "Of a foreigner you may require it; but you shall give up your claim to what is owed by your brother,
4 "except when there may be no poor among you; for the LORD will greatly bless you in the land which the LORD your God is giving you to possess as an inheritance--
5 "only if you carefully obey the voice of the LORD your God, to observe with care all these commandments which I command you today.
6 "For the LORD your God will bless you just as He promised you; you shall lend to many nations, but you shall not borrow; you shall reign over many nations, but they shall not reign over you.
7 "If there is among you a poor man of your brethren, within any of the gates in your land which the LORD your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart nor shut your hand from your poor brother,
8 "but you shall open your hand wide to him and willingly lend him sufficient for his need, whatever he needs.
9 "Beware lest there be a wicked thought in your heart, saying, `The seventh year, the year of release, is at hand,' and your eye be evil against your poor brother and you give him nothing, and he cry out to the LORD against you, and it become sin among you.
10 "You shall surely give to him, and your heart should not be grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the LORD your God will bless you in all your works and in all to which you put your hand.
11 "For the poor will never cease from the land; therefore I command you, saying, `You shall open your hand wide to your brother, to your poor and your needy, in your land.'
12 ¶ "If your brother, a Hebrew man, or a Hebrew woman, is sold to you and serves you six years, then in the seventh year you shall let him go free from you.
13 "And when you send him away free from you, you shall not let him go away empty-handed;
14 "you shall supply him liberally from your flock, from your threshing floor, and from your winepress. From what the LORD has blessed you with, you shall give to him.
15 "You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God redeemed you; therefore I command you this thing today.