“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”  2 Corinthians 9:7

They lost their parents within 48 hours of each other. Six kids left alone, unexpectedly facing funeral expenses for both of their parents. My heart broke for their family as I imagined our own six kids left alone without anyone to raise them and facing the financial burden of a growing family. I watched as their GoFundMe account grew quickly, monies pouring in from people across the states as the emotional agony seared sadness into their hearts, sending them reaching into their bank accounts.

We give easily when there’s a devastating need for funeral expenses when one (or many) has lost both their parents within days of each other, or when someone’s just been diagnosed with cancer and their insurance doesn’t cover the monstrosity of bills they’ll incur, or when we feel emotionally moved after a soul-stirring message.

But are we giving consistently? Are we just giving to people when our hearts strings are pulled or are we giving to the Lord consistently in our local churches? Is it a personal, financial sacrifice to give every week?

Before I married Hubs, I was conservative with my money a tightwad. Regardless of the reason, I rarely gave to anyone or any cause because I was sure my prayers were sufficient and the financial need would be met. So you can imagine what the first few months as a married couple was like when Hubs would give the shirt off his back to anyone in need and I would rather just dig through the closet for an old shirt we didn’t wear anymore to share. A little tension in our home would be a slight understatement.

They say people don’t change their spouses but I disagree. Hubs prayed for me and was a daily living reminder of sacrifice, giving what I thought we couldn’t spare when someone had a need. Not only that, but faithfully giving to the church every week, even when we could barely make ends meet. His example modeled trust of the highest degree that the God we served would faithfully provide and He did. He has. Every single day of our lives, His provisions have far exceeded my expectations.

INSPECTION

In the Old Testament, we read story after story of the Israelites offering up sacrifices to the Lord, confessing and repenting their sins. They took the best of their flocks, the fattest, healthiest, blemish free animal they had, slaughtered it and offered it as a sacrifice.

I never realized how big of a sacrifice that was until we purchased our first head of cattle. After inspecting them to find the absolute best of the bunch, Hubs told me the value. My head shook back and forth as I imagined killing it and sacrificing it, knowing how much money it would’ve brought in. But the Israelites gave the best anyway.

Sacrifice hurts. You have to give up something of value when you sacrificially give.

If we were to suddenly give away or lose one of our beautiful, healthy young heifers or steers, we would feel the financial ripples for years. The loss would result in the stunted growth of our herd, there would be one less animal to butcher to feed our family, and there would be no financial gain.

I don’t think we could afford to just give away a cow. There are probably many things you’re thinking of right now that you couldn’t give up either, something small like your weekly Starbucks or big-ticket items like your luxury vehicle. The thing is, when we love something or Someone, we will sacrifice for them. We’ll give up those valuable things to prove our love, our adoration, our devotion.

REFLECTION

The Israelites sacrificed their best animals. Abraham was willing to sacrifice his son. What are you willing to sacrifice? And to whom do we give this sacrifice?

If you’re anything like this frugal farm wife, you keep a tight rein on your finances, carefully examining the cost of everything and comparing it to the budget. There may not be a lot of wiggle room in your finances for giving. Don’t give up–stay with me for a few minutes and find out what you can do with your change!

Or you may have more freedom in your budget to spend as you wish. Eating out or costly outings with the family don’t stress your budget or your mind and that’s great but this means you’ll have to dig deep to figure out how you can sacrifice to give.

It doesn’t matter which of these you are, or where you fall on the financial spectrum, if your giving isn’t sacrificial.

The Bible says not to be slave to the lender (Proverbs 22:7). Are you living beyond your means? Do you have multiple loans you struggle to pay off each month? Don’t fall into the trap of owing money to anyone, save your mortgage lender, so purpose to pay off what you can as soon as possible.

ACTION

Take a close look at your finances this week and determine where you can cut back. Figure out how your family can best sacrifice, giving up certain things from your lifestyle and using those dollars in a different way.

Start at home and slowly begin saving, even if it’s only a few dollars per week. Eventually, it will add up.

Then, move on to your church. Hopefully you’re faithfully tithing each week or each pay period and giving offerings beyond that. If you’re not, this is a great chance for sacrificial giving. Whether you have $5 to give or $5,000, God is so good to bless the givers, the cheerful givers, and stretch your money further than you can imagine so I challenge you to try Him on this. Give up your Starbucks this week and put that prayed-over-money in the offering plate when it passes by and see what God does with it.

What’s the biggest thing you’ve seen God do with your sacrificial giving?

Want to read more about giving? Check out these fun ideas for giving with your family here!