‘If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?’ –Luke 11:13
What is it to truly give a gift? Or to give a good gift? Jesus, in the passage above, seems to give us the benefit of the doubt when it comes to blessing others with a gift or donation, but I wonder, do we naturally know how to give a gift, especially in light of how our heavenly Father pours out His blessing upon blessing? I would contend we don’t—at least at times.
So, back to gift giving, or better yet, godly gift giving. Yes, I’m claiming there are two ways in which to bestow blessing—only one of which is right, and akin to how our Father in heaven gifts both His children and the world alike. Pinpointing the differences between the two, and thus better understanding how to align our style of giving with His, is best endeavored by identifying the characteristics of God’s giving to us.
How does God give to you and me? How would you describe it? Well, if the record of my reception of His grace is any indicator, then the overarching attribute of a God-given gift is its unconditional nature. ‘He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.’ (Matthew 5:45b) When God blesses our life with any good thing, when He supplies our next breath, when He provides safety or health or rain or sunshine, He does so solely out of His goodness, not at all based upon our deserving or merit. The same goes for the gift of faith. Note how Paul describes it: ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.’ (Ephesians 2:8) God is wholly gracious, meaning He never acts, or blesses, out of obligation. To be clear, there are no preconditions for God’s goodness. He is good, and His good nature is explicitly expressed by His unconditional giving.
In contrast, look at worldly (fleshly) giving. When you or I give a gift, when we show favor to another, it is often due to that person’s merit, or at least a met condition. No surprise, our society reinforces this type of giving all the time (look no further than the blessings we lavish upon a person because it’s their birthday—blessing which might otherwise be withheld). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against giving a birthday gift or anything of the sort, but I do think situations where gift giving is obligatory, or done out of assumed obligation, can cause slippage into an ungodly form of giving, or giving in a way that is misaligned with the heart of God. Another example: bribery, or tit-for-tat. You and I might not call it that, or own up to doing it, but it happens more often than we think. Now, I’m a parent, and I readily admit that I have a tendency to give my daughter a gift if she does this or that (‘Grace, if you’re a good girl, Daddy will give you a cookie…’). But what am I really teaching her with this kind of gift or favor? Bright and perceptive as she is, how could this not color her understanding of giving in a way that attaches strings to any or every gift? No matter my intentions or the motive behind the cookie (I’m just trying to get her shirt changed!), actions as such can only reinforce how the world gives and further complicate her understanding of how, in stark contrast, our heavenly Father grants His favor.
Now, God not only gives unconditionally on the front-side, He also does so on the back-end. When God blesses you and me, He does so without expectation of repayment (if that were not the case, He would cease to give, based on our typical lack of response). Again, God gives out of His goodness. Now, we must be careful so as to not over-generalize. Does God desire a grateful and obedient response to His indescribable gift giving? Of course. But He doesn’t expect one—that’s a big difference. The same can be said for us. It is not wrong to feel good about giving a gift, nor is it deviant to delight in a grateful response, but the expectation of such can contaminate the purity of the motive behind the blessing.
Unfortunately, it all too often does. Anyone else ever feel slighted when the receiver of your gift didn’t respond as expected or return a show of favor? If so, you’re not alone; I am certainly guilty of this. Sadly, and to our own shame, we easily give with expectations attached and rarely bless one another out of the pure goodness of our heart (as God does). The result? Well, we pay for it; we’re robbed of the true joy that accompanies giving. The Bible says it’s better to give than to receive. But that’s only the case if we give how God gives: unconditionally, with no strings attached.
Reflect on yourself, on what kind of giver you are more often than not. Do you, like me, ever hesitate to bless someone based on his or her perceived worthiness? Do you ever give, and then get disappointed when an expected and favorable response isn’t returned? Not to be overly blunt, but there’s an easy remedy if you do: think if God did the same. What if He withheld His blessing based on our unworthiness? What if He ceased to grant us favor due to our utter lack of repayment? Simply, we’d be bankrupt, literally and figuratively, without hope for daily bread, much less for the salvation of our souls.
Fight the flesh with me. Let us ask for, and receive, the power of the Holy Spirit, that we might unlearn the worldly ways of giving and become godly givers—as always, to the praise of His great Name!
What is it to truly give a gift? Or to give a good gift? Jesus, in the passage above, seems to give us the benefit of the doubt when it comes to blessing others with a gift or donation, but I wonder, do we naturally know how to give a gift, especially in light of how our heavenly Father pours out His blessing upon blessing? I would contend we don’t—at least at times.
So, back to gift giving, or better yet, godly gift giving. Yes, I’m claiming there are two ways in which to bestow blessing—only one of which is right, and akin to how our Father in heaven gifts both His children and the world alike. Pinpointing the differences between the two, and thus better understanding how to align our style of giving with His, is best endeavored by identifying the characteristics of God’s giving to us.
How does God give to you and me? How would you describe it? Well, if the record of my reception of His grace is any indicator, then the overarching attribute of a God-given gift is its unconditional nature. ‘He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.’ (Matthew 5:45b) When God blesses our life with any good thing, when He supplies our next breath, when He provides safety or health or rain or sunshine, He does so solely out of His goodness, not at all based upon our deserving or merit. The same goes for the gift of faith. Note how Paul describes it: ‘For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.’ (Ephesians 2:8) God is wholly gracious, meaning He never acts, or blesses, out of obligation. To be clear, there are no preconditions for God’s goodness. He is good, and His good nature is explicitly expressed by His unconditional giving.
In contrast, look at worldly (fleshly) giving. When you or I give a gift, when we show favor to another, it is often due to that person’s merit, or at least a met condition. No surprise, our society reinforces this type of giving all the time (look no further than the blessings we lavish upon a person because it’s their birthday—blessing which might otherwise be withheld). Don’t get me wrong, I’m not against giving a birthday gift or anything of the sort, but I do think situations where gift giving is obligatory, or done out of assumed obligation, can cause slippage into an ungodly form of giving, or giving in a way that is misaligned with the heart of God. Another example: bribery, or tit-for-tat. You and I might not call it that, or own up to doing it, but it happens more often than we think. Now, I’m a parent, and I readily admit that I have a tendency to give my daughter a gift if she does this or that (‘Grace, if you’re a good girl, Daddy will give you a cookie…’). But what am I really teaching her with this kind of gift or favor? Bright and perceptive as she is, how could this not color her understanding of giving in a way that attaches strings to any or every gift? No matter my intentions or the motive behind the cookie (I’m just trying to get her shirt changed!), actions as such can only reinforce how the world gives and further complicate her understanding of how, in stark contrast, our heavenly Father grants His favor.
Now, God not only gives unconditionally on the front-side, He also does so on the back-end. When God blesses you and me, He does so without expectation of repayment (if that were not the case, He would cease to give, based on our typical lack of response). Again, God gives out of His goodness. Now, we must be careful so as to not over-generalize. Does God desire a grateful and obedient response to His indescribable gift giving? Of course. But He doesn’t expect one—that’s a big difference. The same can be said for us. It is not wrong to feel good about giving a gift, nor is it deviant to delight in a grateful response, but the expectation of such can contaminate the purity of the motive behind the blessing.
Unfortunately, it all too often does. Anyone else ever feel slighted when the receiver of your gift didn’t respond as expected or return a show of favor? If so, you’re not alone; I am certainly guilty of this. Sadly, and to our own shame, we easily give with expectations attached and rarely bless one another out of the pure goodness of our heart (as God does). The result? Well, we pay for it; we’re robbed of the true joy that accompanies giving. The Bible says it’s better to give than to receive. But that’s only the case if we give how God gives: unconditionally, with no strings attached.
Reflect on yourself, on what kind of giver you are more often than not. Do you, like me, ever hesitate to bless someone based on his or her perceived worthiness? Do you ever give, and then get disappointed when an expected and favorable response isn’t returned? Not to be overly blunt, but there’s an easy remedy if you do: think if God did the same. What if He withheld His blessing based on our unworthiness? What if He ceased to grant us favor due to our utter lack of repayment? Simply, we’d be bankrupt, literally and figuratively, without hope for daily bread, much less for the salvation of our souls.
Fight the flesh with me. Let us ask for, and receive, the power of the Holy Spirit, that we might unlearn the worldly ways of giving and become godly givers—as always, to the praise of His great Name!
