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The Spiritual Formation of Generous Givers

by

Dr. Duane E. Trimble, CBGC Stewardship Specialist

Why? Why give thought, or even the time of day, to "The Spiritual Formation of Generous Givers? Isn’t this something that just happens? If you have been a church leader for more than a couple of nanoseconds, you are well aware that "disciples are made, not born!"

The promise of Romans 8:29 provides us hope, "For those He foreknew He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son..." (HCSB) This hope is confirmed in 1 John 3:2, "Dear friends, we are God’’s children now, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when He appears, we will be like Him, because we will see Him as He is." (HCSB)

Our destiny as disciples is to be like Jesus Christ. To put it differently, Christ will be fully formed in us when we are made complete. Jesus said it like this: "A disciple is not above his teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like his teacher." (HCSB)

We are not to wait around for the end of days while anticipating having Christ fully formed in us; rather, we are to "train yourself in godliness, for, the training of the body has a limited benefit, but godliness is beneficial in every way, since it holds promise for the present life and also for the life to come" (1 Tim 4:7-8 HCSB)

As church leaders we are called to assist in the process of spiritual formation. Admittedly, spiritual maturity covers many bases. One that is frequently slighted is that of being a generous giver. Every believer needs to be trained to see all of life through the eyes of Jesus and Jesus had a great deal to say about giving generously!

I like what Donald Whitney writes in his book, Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life, "So how we use money for ourselves, for others, and especially for the sake of God’s Kingdom is from first to last a spiritual issue....the reason use of money and the things it buys is one of the best indicators of spiritual maturity and Godliness is that we exchange such a great part of our lives for it....how we use it expresses who we are, what our priorities are, and what’s in our hearts. As we use our money and resources Christianly, we prove our growth in Christlikeness."

In a day of overwhelming materialism coupled with America’s comparative wealth, it falls upon our shoulders to assist our members as they become Biblical Stewards with a heart for giving and with a spirit of divine generosity.