We must teach that giving isn't just about someone benefiting from it in the form of blessings; we must be clear that the act of giving is an expression of love that honors the Lord in His commandments.
Yes, we must give our tithes and offerings cheerfully and willingly and not reluctantly or under compulsion. God then rewards us with blessings, and one of those is money. We give cheerfully because we love Him, and no one forces us to give. We want to give because we love Him.
The truth is, we can perform this act with different motives in our hearts, such as loving the blessings more than God, or loving money more than God. We must examine ourselves before we give: Do we really give because we love the Lord and have the same heart as the Lord toward people, especially the needy? Or do we just give because we want the blessings, especially in the form of money, more than Him?
Are we simply using Biblical principles because they benefit us in our own agenda, just to have more money, and abusing the principle to produce more of this to satisfy our greed?
We know we cannot serve two masters. We cannot serve both money and God. We cannot love them both without loving one more than the other. That means we either love God more than money, or we love money more than God.
We must examine ourselves and our hearts first before we give. Is our motive for giving to honor God and express our love for Him by following His commandments regarding giving? Or are we just using the principle of giving like a slot and vending machine, abusing it to produce money for our greed?
We must repent and change our hearts so that we love only God wholeheartedly, even in our giving. Nothing should compete with God in our hearts, not even money.
