Let’s be honest — a lot of us have thought it, even if we haven’t said it out loud: “The church just wants my hard-earned money.”
And hear me, I get it. We live in a world where everyone’s trying to get something from us. Marketing ads, subscriptions for everything, and don’t get me started on the plethora of bills — it feels like somebody’s always got their hand out. So, when you hear the word “giving” at church, it causes your face to tense up like you were weaned on a pickle.
But here’s what I want you to hear: God isn’t after your money. He’s after your heart.
God Owns It All
Everything we have — our paycheck, home, car, investment portfolio — it all came from Him. The scriptures remind us of this.
Psalm 24:1 says, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”
That means what’s in your bank account isn’t really yours. That position at your job that you worked your butt off for, also not yours. It’s something God’s entrusted to you. You’re not an owner — you’re a steward.
And when you begin to see it this way, giving stops feeling like you are losing something and it becomes more of an act of trusting God with what is already his.
Generosity Is About Trust, Not an Amount
Jesus said something powerful in Matthew 6:21:
“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
Leave it to Jesus to go straight for the jugular. Is your “treasure” wrapped up in stuff? I don’t believe Jesus is at all against us having “nice things”, but it’s clear He is concerned about our “nice things” having us.
If I’m being honest, I used to see money as my safety net—the thing that gave me a sense of security. The more commas and zeros in my bank account the better I felt, but I never felt like it was enough. But then I began to give consistently, and I realized it was like God was showing me that I should rely on Him instead of just the numbers on my paycheck or what’s in my bank account.
That’s why being generous is such a big deal in scripture. It’s not because God needs funding. It’s because He uses generosity as a way to shape us. This is what being a disciple of Jesus looks like.
God’s Not Trying to Take Anything From You
There’s a passage in Malachi 3:10 that gets quoted a lot, but it’s easy to miss what God’s actually saying:
“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse… and see if I will not open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.”
A lot of people read this passage and think here comes that massive commission bonus I have been working so hard for or that the lotto numbers they have been playing for the last 17 years are finally going to hit. I hate to break it you, but that’s our 21st century American interpretation of the scripture. What God is promising is to take care of you — to show you that when you live open-handed, He’ll fill your hands with what you truly need.
Being generous doesn’t drain your life. It opens the door for God to work in it.
Jesus Was the Ultimate Giver
When we talk about generosity, we have to look at Jesus.
2 Corinthians 8:9 says, “Though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you through His poverty might become rich.”
That’s the gospel.
Jesus gave everything for us — His time, His love, His life. Our generosity is just a reflection of His heart.
When we give to the local church, we’re not just funding programs or paying for buildings. We’re joining in God’s story of grace. We’re saying, “God, I want to be part of what You’re doing through my church, in the community, and around the world.”
Practical Ways to Live Generously
So, what does this look like in real life?
- Start small, but just start.
If you’ve never given before, start somewhere. Maybe it’s 5% of your income. Maybe it’s a one-time gift. The goal isn’t a certain amount— it’s participation. - Give regularly.
Generosity grows when it becomes a habit. Maybe your next step is to move from occasional giving to intentional generosity. Plan it, budget for it, and make generosity a part of your routine. - Pray before you give.
Ask God, “What do You want me to do with what You’ve given me?” You might be surprised by how He leads you. - Celebrate what God does with it.
Your giving fuels life change: baptisms, missions, and families in need to name a few. When you see the impact, you realize: this isn’t about money; it’s about ministry.
Here’s the bottom line, generosity isn’t about the church getting your money.
It’s about you learning to trust God with it all — because it all belongs to him anyways.
