GIVE AND LIVE WITH AN ATTITUDE OF GRATITUDE

You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion… your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11

What an amazing promise! God makes you rich in every way so you can be generous on every occasion, which will result in thanksgiving to God. You give because you’re grateful, and your gift makes others grateful too. God doesn’t bless you so you can be greedy. He blesses you so you can be generous. He gives to you so that he can give through you. He wants you to experience the blessing of generosity. Jesus said, “More blessings come from giving than from receiving” (Acts 20:35 CEV). When you give, God gives back to you so that you can give more away, and he can give more back to you, and on and on and on. God doesn’t give you things so you can pile them up. He wants you to be a river, not a reservoir. When you let go of what’s in your hand, your hand is now ready to receive greater blessings from God. God gives to you based on your attitude. That’s why it’s so important to live with an attitude of gratitude. Paul taught: This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God (2 Corinthians 9:12). When you give, you are performing a service. When you give, you are God’s source of blessing to someone else. To serve and to give are the same thing. They are expressions of love to God and to people. You can serve without living, but you can’t live without serving. You can give without loving, but you can’t love without giving.