Asking God Some Radical Questions about Giving, Part 1
Excerpted from The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving by Randy Alcorn
Asking specific questions of God is a great tradition in Scripture. At a pivotal point in his life (2 Samuel 2:1-2), David asked the Lord two very specific questions:
‘Shall I go up to one of the towns of Judah?” he asked.
The LORD said, “Go up.”
David asked, “Where shall I go?”
“To Hebron,” the LORD answered.
As God's children, we should ask and seek and knock (see Matthew 7:7). His answers won’t always be as direct as they were to David, but He invites us to ask Him nonetheless.
When it comes to financial stewardship, how God leads you will be different in many details than how He leads me. He hasn’t handed each of us a standardized checklist with boxes to mark off. Rather, He has provided us His Word with stewardship principles we must wrestle with. In the process of this struggle, God expects us to seek His face and to pursue counsel from godly believers.
Financial stewardship decisions require wisdom beyond our own. Scripture says, “If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault” (James 1:5). Do you truly desire God's wisdom and empowerment in making difficult stewardship decisions (and evaluating your own heart)? Then ask. He won’t leave you in the dark. He has given you His Word and His Spirit to guide you.
The following questions are designed to assist you. After each question, I’ve listed a key passage of Scripture as well as other passages I’d encourage you to look up. (You can ponder consecutively as many as you wish or meditate on one per day for a month.) God promises that His Word won't return to Him without accomplishing the purpose for which He sent it (see Isaiah 55:11). So, in each of these brief meditations, focus first and foremost on the scriptures and secondarily on the questions.
Ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart and give you direction. He will. Count on it.
Questions To Ask God
1. Lord, in Your Word, You make a direct connection between experiencing grace and expressing grace through giving. So does the degree of my giving suggest that I have recognized and embraced Your grace?
See that you also excel in this grace of giving . . . for you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (2 Corinthians 8:7, 9). See also 2 Corinthians 9:15 and Romans 8:32.
2. Father, have You raised me up for such a time as this? Is it more than a coincidence that You have entrusted me with many financial resources in a time when the poor and unreached have such pressing needs and there are unprecedented opportunities to help them?
And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this? (Esther 4:14, ESV). See also Acts 17:26 and Ephesians 2:10.
3. Father, what am I guarding and keeping for myself that’s preventing me from depending wholeheartedly on You? Which of “my” assets can I give to You, so that You, not money and things, will be my center of gravity?
No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money (Luke 16:13). See also Psalm 42:1-2 and Matthew 5:6.
4. Lord, am I honoring You as owner of the assets You’ve entrusted to my care? Or am I treating You as a mere financial consultant, to whom I pay a fee (2 percent, 10 percent, or. . . ?) Have I been acting as if I own the store and You work for me rather than recognizing that You own it and I work for You?
The land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants (Leviticus 25:23). See also Deuteronomy 10:14 and 1 Chronicles 29:11-12.
5. Where in my community do You want me to participate in meeting physical and spiritual needs through Christ-centered ministries? The inner city? Prison ministry? Pro-life work? Is a short-term missions trip or long-term service overseas part of Your exciting plan for me and my family?
[Josiah] defended the cause of the poor and needy, and so all went well. Is that not what it means to know me? (Jeremiah 22:16). See also Proverbs 28:27 and Romans 10:13-15.
6. Lord, why have You entrusted me with greater financial blessings than I once had? Is it to raise my standard of giving? Do I really see myself as Your delivery person, or do I assume You put things in my hands so I can keep them?
You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God (2 Corinthians 9:11). See also 2 Corinthians 8:14 and Acts 11:29.
7. Lord Jesus, have I over-accumulated? Have I allowed unwise spending and accumulating debt to inhibit my giving to You? Have I said, “There’s not enough left to give,” while maintaining spending habits that make sure there’s not enough to give?
Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine (Proverbs 3:9-10). See also Proverbs 22:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:2.
Faith & Finance Perspective
It may seem fairly easy to pose these questions to God. Receiving His answers and living by them, however, requires courage and determination. But that doesn’t mean we should avoid asking.
God’s invitation to ask, seek, and knock is, as the author suggests, not meant to enslave us but to free us from the bondage of our fallen nature and the prince of the power of the air (Ephesians 2:1–2), who exercises his power in this world (1 John 5:19) to lure us away from God. And the love of money and possessions is one of the most powerful weapons in his arsenal.
So, as you wrestle through these questions and answers—and pose some of your own—remember that God’s intention is never to heap guilt or shame on us—only grace, mercy, and truth.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
- John 16:33
If any of you lacks wisdom, he should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding Fault.
- James 1:5