As we continue our journey through the alphabet, finding words that encourage us in our relationship with God and others, we come to the letter “G”. This week, the letter “G” stands for giving. If we are to grow in our relationship with God, we must be willing to give back to God. No, this isn’t an article all about giving our tithes and offerings, though that is part of it. However, this is an article about giving back to God what He has given to us.

In 1 Corinthians 4:2, Paul writes, “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.” In the NKJV these are the words; “moreover jt is required in stewards that one be found faithful.” The idea behind this verse is that we have been blessed by God with what He has given to us and we need to make sure we are being good stewards of those gifts. Being a good steward means “utilizing and managing all resources God provides for the glory of God and the betterment of His creation.” (Wikipedia) A part of that stewardship is in giving back to God a portion of that which He gives to us. I believe there are basically three areas in our lives where God blesses us and we need to make sure we give back to Him out of these areas.

First, we need to give back to God our time. Each of us has been given 24 hours a day. How we are able to use this time depends upon where we are in life. The point in giving back time to God is not about what we do, but why we do it. It is about the attitude with which we use the time. Are we grateful for the time He gives us and use it in a way that pleases Him, or are we using the time we have angry, upset or causing harm to others? All of us need to make sure we are giving back quality time to God.

Another area we need to give to God is our talents. We all have gifts and skills we can use to serve God. There are no greater or better gifts when it comes to serving Him. It really comes down to understanding how He has gifted us and then using those gifts to encourage others and glorify God. We all have gifts and abilities and we should use them to give back to God.

Finally, I do want to say we are all commanded to give from our finances to God. We are called to give our tithes and offerings. By doing this, we are showing God that we are thankful for how He blesses us and we are also recognizing He is the true giver of all we have.

Growing as a Christian is not all about us, but about God and recognizing His faithfulness to us. Giving to Him draws us closer to Him and helps us realize what He means to us. Until next week…

Peace and Blessings…

Johnny