Giving in the Bible

Giving is a way of life, not just an optional extra to make us feel better. These verses from the Bible show that giving enriches our lives as well as enriching the lives of those we give to. It is a win-win situation. I am not promising you cars and yachts  but I am saying that having a generous heart will make you a better and happier (or in biblical language, blessed) person.

Giving, is the way of love, compassion and justice and can set us apart from a world system so often based on self-interest and greed. Because we are made in the image of God, all human beings have, deep down, a desire to give and to love. Let us rediscover the joy of giving, and together change this sad old world of ours!

Quotations from Old Testament

Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. Deuteronomy 15:10

Every man shall give as he is able, according to the blessing of the LORD your God which He has given you. Deuteronomy 16:17

Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it. Proverbs 3:27

There is one who scatters, and yet increases all the more, and there is one who withholds what is justly due, and yet it results only in want. The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered. Proverbs 11:24-25

Whoever oppresses a poor man insults his Maker, but he who is generous to the needy honors him. Proverbs 14:31

Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and he will repay him for his deed. Proverbs 19:17

He who is generous will be blessed, for he gives some of his food to the poor. Proverbs 22:9

He who gives to the poor will never want, but he who shuts his eyes will have many curses. Proverbs 28:27

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows. Malachi 3:10

Quotations from the New Testament

But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you. Matthew 6:3-4

For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ Matthew 25:35-45

And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the people were putting money into the treasury; and many rich people were putting in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent. Calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, “Truly I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she had to live on.”  Mark 12:41-44

And he would answer and say to them, “The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise.” Luke 3:11

Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back. Luke 6:30

Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return. Luke 6:38

Sell your possessions, and give to the needy. Provide yourselves with moneybags that do not grow old, with a treasure in the heavens that does not fail, where no thief approaches and no moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. Luke 12:33-34

And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. Acts 2:44-45

In everything I showed you that by working hard in this manner you must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive. Acts 20:35

Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having all-sufficiency in everything, you may have an abundance for every good deed. 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 2 Corinthians 9:10

Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God. Hebrews 13:16

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 1 John 3;17

What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. James 2:14-17

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