It’s better to give than receive. We’ve all heard this. Did you know it’s in the Bible?
Acts 22:35 says, It is more blessed to give than receive.
Mind Blowing, right. This seems like an old wives tale or some bit of wisdom passed down from a grandparent, but it’s actually from God.
We have four practical and easy ideas for you to consider on how you can make being generous a part of your daily life. And good news… It doesn’t always have to be about money.
Over and over again, scriptures tell us we get something from giving.
Proverbs 11:25 – A generous person will prosper. Whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
Luke 6:38 – Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.
Proverbs 22:9 – The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.
We get something from giving. It feels kind of weird to think about that, but it’s true. And bonus! When you give to others, they feel good too. It’s like a win-win. Yay, God.
It reminds me of the Friends episode, where Phoebe tries to give us selfless gift and just keeps benefiting from her giving. God actually designed it that way. Think about the last time you freely and willingly gave something: money, time or even a kind word. Did you not have an instant thought about how good that felt? How good you were? Or how happy it made someone else? If you freely giving to someone, that’s a pretty noble thing to do and it helps you become more Christ-like. God doesn’t put specific limitations on being generous and he loves us for giving.
2 Corinthians 9:7 – Each of you should give whatever you have decided in your heart to give. Not reluctantly or under compulsion for God loves a cheerful giver.
Generosity holds a special place in the hearts of Christians. It’s not merely an act of giving… It’s a way of life. It reflects the very essence of God’s character. He has given us so much, including his son, Jesus, to forgive our sins and enable us to spend eternity in heaven. Generosity was how Jesus loved others. He gave time. He healed people. He taught them and so much more. It wasn’t just about money for God and Jesus. Their currency isn’t money it’s love and giving naturally comes with loving other people. We have some creative ideas on how to be generous and ways you can make generosity the most impactful. So how can we be generous?
- TIME
This is our most limited resource so spend it wisely. Most people are aware of the traditional ways to serve in the church community or even helping specific people or groups. Please continue to volunteer. Be a greeter, be on the worship team, keep serving food at a shelter or a food pantry. We have other ideas about serving on another podcast. We have three more time related ideas that we wanted to share with you:
Childcare. Parents, Single parents, Church preschool and the nursery classes… they need help. Freeing up time for a couple to have a night out, could save a marriage. Giving a single mom a break to take a nap or go get a pedicure… Can save someone’s mental health and give you a chance to invest in spending quality time with a child. Spending an hour or two every month, or quarter, in the church preschool ministry allows a parent to attend church undistracted. It could save a soul. Plus hearing a three or four-year-old sing about Jesus will just melt your heart. You may want to consider serving at Vacation Bible School in the summer. Not every role involves direct contact with children in case that isn’t your thing but there is always a need.
Mentoring. Teens, young adults, single parents, new parents or struggling adults… they need help. If you are a successful parent or working professional, you could spend some time helping someone learn new skills or get prepared for something that could change their life in a big way. Preparing a parent, preparing a resume, prepping for a job interview, navigating LinkedIn, indeed, or other job boards are all things people might need help with. You can connect with an organization in your community offering this type of ministry or consider starting one in your church. You can help people in a way that is connected directly with your life experience.
If you love stories about mentoring, check out the Christian movie called The Forge. It is very inspiring and shows you what a difference mentoring someone can make.
TIP: Don’t forget to check with your employer to see if they have any programs where you can count your volunteer time to go towards more. One of the companies I worked for allowed us to convert our volunteer hours to dollars in the form of a corporate grant to a nonprofit of my choice. Pretty sweet deal!
Prayer. This probably seems like the standard church answer to everything, but it’s always available to do and it can help. Become a prayer warrior! Watch the movie War Room if you need some inspiration. You can pray with someone or just pray for them. Lift them up to God. Care for them. Encourage them and see how God works in you as much as He will work in the person you’re praying for.
2. THINGS
We might not have cash, but we may have stuff or we may have something that could help someone else in need.
Food & Supplies. There are food pantries that feed thousands of people each day. Consider purchasing an extra canned or boxed good the next time you go to the store. Then drop it off at a charity food pantry or fill up a box at your kid’s school, church or your grocery store when they have food campaigns.
Toward the end of the summer, there are campaigns that encourage school supply donations or toy drives. Fill up a backpack to drop off, fill up a shoe box with toys and hygiene products with Samaritan’s Purse for Operation Christmas Child or Toys for Tots. Plan it in your budget if you need to.
Donations. Consider places like the Salvation Army, Goodwill, or Habitat for Humanity. Maybe you have something that’s completely fine that you were going to throw away, put out on the curb. Maybe you get a gift or win a raffle or a giveaway that is a duplicate or you just don’t want it but it’s brand new. Maybe you just don’t need something anymore. All of these things could benefit someone else. Things like adult or baby clothes, shoes, dishes, appliances, cars, furniture and toys. Things that are usable or can be reused.
Organ donation. If you pass away, and have healthy organs, you can give them to someone who is waiting for a transplant. Medical technology makes it possible to donate so many things that can help change people’s life. Check your driver’s license to see if you are a registered donor. If you’re not, be sure to register online or make sure you seek this out when it is time to renew your license.
Maintenance and Transportation. Some churches have ministries to help the elderly. Widows with a household need help with repairing appliances, painting or lawn care. Sometimes someone who can not drive anymore or doesn’t have a car needs a ride and Uber is too much for their budget. One of my churches offered a car care ministry. A group of members would get together once a quarter to offer oil changes or simple car repairs like spark plugs, belts, wiper fluid or windshield wiper replacement. They would do it in the parking lot of the church for anyone who could not afford it. There are some really creative ideas out there.
If your church doesn’t have a ministry that fixes things and you know how to do that… Maybe you should start a new one or see if you can connect to another church in your area that does offer this kind of ministry and offer your skills to help them.
Meal Trains. These are very popular when someone is recovering from an illness or an injury, or when somebody has a new baby. This is a group of generous friends or church members to help neighbors, coworkers, family members, friends, other church members, or whoever needs help. The members of the group each sign up for a day to take a meal to someone. Depending on how many people are in the group and the needs of the person in need, meals can be delivered nightly or weekly for a period of time. What a great way to provide some nutrition to people who just don’t physically have the energy or the ability to cook a meal for a period of time.
And it doesn’t have to be limited to physical health either. My husband and I got connected to a ministry through our church called Commission 127. They support foster families. We fostered for a season and I know firsthand how hard it is. We wanted to help any parent who volunteered to be a foster parent. A group of about 10 of us from our church rotated each week to take a foster family a meal. It wasn’t necessarily because of the financial need of the family as the state usually covers a lot of extra expenses. It was just to give the family an easier night. That was one meal that the mom didn’t have to plan. A parent didn’t have to cook or clean up for a night! They could use that time just to connect with the foster kids. It was time to focus on homework or spend time together playing outside. Time to just be a family without case workers, bio-parent meetings or other required or mandatory commitments.
Communication. Sometimes giving can be as simple as expressing your appreciation or acknowledging celebrations and milestones. Giving someone a direct communication doesn’t take much time at all. And it lets people know that you’re thinking about them and that you care. You can send cards or emails, call on the phone or do DMs on social to wish someone, a happy birthday, happy anniversary or happy Thanksgiving. You can congratulate them on a new job, completing a degree, or on their adoption, or birth. Little things can mean a lot to people.
Engagement. There are Christian YouTube, audio podcast, social influencers and content creators that need your help. Anytime one of these ministries or people help you connect to your creator, help you understand the Bible more, or help you love people better, you can give back to them. Take a moment to leave a review or follow an audio podcast. Leave a thank you comment, like a post or story, watch an entire video, share it with the friends, subscribe or follow on YouTube or any of the social platforms.
Each time you engage in these ways, it helps the ministry, or the person, boosts their presence on the platform, which in turn helps them reach more people. The more engagement a post of a video gets, the more attention the platform gives it. The platforms start suggesting content and sharing it with others it thinks are like you and will want to watch or interact with the content. It creates a situation where engagement activity could help spread the message of Jesus all over the world. Imagine found a post or video you really liked and instead of you being the only person that saw it, it was suggested to a hundred more people. Just because you hit a button and liked it! What if you could give the gift of Jesus just by subscribing to a YouTube channel? I am amazed when I look at my YouTube reports. I see people watching from Africa, India, the Philippines, and more. Any online ministry is now a virtual mission field. You can help spread the good news message to others every day.
3. ATTITUDE
You can give to others by being a light, wherever God has you planted. We all go through challenging situations in our life but who could be on the other side of your generous attitude when things are tough? Your soft skills and tenderheartedness can make a real difference. Here are some things that you can start doing or keep doing:
Demeanor. Do you show others how much you trust God or seek Jesus?
Encouragement. Do you tell people how you see that they’re making a difference? Or how much you think they have the skill or knowledge and strength to do something hard.
Defending the Vulnerable. Do you stand up for children in your community? Do you stand up for people in your community that are being treated unfairly or wrong?
Recognition. Do you say good job or well done to people who provide a service to you or that you work with? Do you tell people or send notes to tell people thank you?
Influence. Do you have a position of power at work or in the community where you can influence outcomes that help people? Certainly within the constraints of the law, you could give to others by influencing things that are within your power to change. You could help others by removing barriers, removing challenges, or helping someone with struggles.
Grace and Forgiveness. We can all give more grace to people and we all need to forgive each day. Are you a grace-filled driver? Do you give grace when mistakes are made and you’re inconvenienced? Is there anyone that needs your forgiveness so that you can start to fix a relationship?
Hospitality. Do you open your home to serve others? Dinner parties, get togethers, small group meetings? Do you do extra little things when you have someone stay overnight at your home?
TIP: Be generous and secret.
Matthew 6:3 says, But when you give to the needy do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.
Be humble and make sure your motivation for giving is because you want to help. It shouldn’t matter if anyone sees what you’re doing. God knows and that’s enough.
4. MONEY
The topic that everyone thinks about when you hear “giving.” It’s the one that seems like we’re being asked to do more than anything else. One Christian habit we should be practicing is giving to our church. Tithing is a standard Christian principle to follow, but there are other ways, creative ways we can give money.
First, it’s important that we’re being a good steward of our money. Our money comes from God. He provides us with skills, talents, opportunities to earn money. It belongs to him and we’re just here to make sure it’s being used wisely. Not having debt is giving yourself peace and opening up situations where God can use you for his purposes more.
If you’re in debt or if you don’t have any margin to give, giving money to something or someone can feel like an impossible thing to do or at a minimum, it doesn’t make you feel good to give it.
Dave Ramsey, one of the biggest financial guys says, “If you live like no one else, you can live and give like no one else! “
We will be able to give, to help others and build the kingdom and live a great life. If you’re feeling the weight of debt, please focus your giving on tithing and the first three things of time, things and attitude. Then get a plan in place to help make your situation better. If you need help figuring out a plan to get out of debt you may want to consider getting a Christian Financial Coach. We also highly recommend you learn more about a class called Financial Peace University. It’s offered by Ramsey Solutions and they work with churches all over the US to offer these classes. If your church doesn’t offer it, you may be able to tap into another church in your area or find a virtual class on the Ramsey website. Get a plan to become a cheerful giver.
One more area to get organized is with your will and your beneficiaries. You can give to your family by making sure you have a will in place and have clearly identified beneficiaries for all of your investments and savings. Don’t leave your finances up to your family to figure out when you die. They will already be grieving your loss and now they have to deal with things like probate and all the other legal stuff. Trying to sort out things on top of being heartbroken from losing you can be such a burden. If you love your family, make sure your wishes for all of your money and investments and possessions are organized. Make it official with an estate planner. You will be able to give your family peace and money if you take some time now to create a plan.
One more thing about wills. You could also give to other ministries and charities as a part of your instructions in your will. This is easier than you think. You can contact an estate planning attorney, or you can use a website that focuses on this type of service. We know one called Mama Bear Legal Forms. See if it works for you and what you’re trying to do.
Once you’re in a solid position to give beyond tithing. There are all kinds of options for you to consider. You can give to help spread the gospel. There are organizations and missionaries that go all over the world to help people with basic human needs and they teach them about Jesus. Places like Compassion international. They bring food, clean water and Jesus to children. They seek out people to support a child with a monthly monetary gift. They will send you information about that child and you can even exchange communication with them.
To give to missionaries, check out your local church and see how they are supporting people in the mission field. Sometimes the church will already have a fund in place for them, or they know who they are, and you can give directly to them. Many missionaries are required to raise their own support. So they will greatly appreciate an unexpected monetary gift.
Spreading the gospel doesn’t have to be just an international focus. There are so many local ministries that operate only from generous people giving. Start with your church ministries to see who may need some support, and then you can take it to the internet to support other gospel spreading ministries all over the United States, all over the world.
One of my favorite ways to give is paying it forward. This is where you step in and just pay for something. You hear about a need and you just take care of it. I have seen this happen and it is one of the biggest joy moments that there is in the world of giving. Imagine a single mom whose beat up car just dies and she has no way to pay to get it fixed. No way to get it to work in order to support her family. Someone hears about our situation and goes and buys a used car and drives it to her house to give it to her. This gift could change her life!
Imagine going through the drive-through of your favorite restaurant or coffee place. When you get to the window to pay, the employee says it’s already been taken care of. You have no idea who did it, no idea who you even need to thank. This could be a small gesture but it would impact that person in a crazy positive way for the rest of the day.
If you’re in a situation to give in big ways or even creative, small ways… It is so much fun.
Psalms 112:5 Good will come to those who are generous and lend freely who conduct their affairs with justice.
Hebrews 13:16 And do not forget to do good and to share with others for such sacrifices God 📍 is pleased.
The habit of Generosity, in time, will become an instinctive impulse and it helps you live more like Jesus. And don’t forget to allow others to give to you. It is a two way street. If someone offers to give to you, just say “thank you.” Accepting someone else’s gift allows them to be blessed.
We hope we’ve given you some great ideas and suggestions and that you’re feeling inspired to be generous.
DISCLAIMER: Good News at Work helps fund their ministry from qualifying purchases as an affiliate associate of Amazon and Compassion International. The host and blog author of Good News at Work is married to Rob Goldberg, Financial Coach.
Compassion International
Financial Coaching
The Forge – movie
War Room – movie
