Marriner’s Moments: Recommitment: Giving God’s Way – Part 3

By Pastor Melvin O. Marriner
Grove Church

How do we give God’s way? Sacrificially, cheerfully, faithfully and unconditionally.
Too often we tip rather than tithe. What if God granted His grace and mercy to us according to our giving? He does NOT! His love for us is unconditional and in spite of us; however, there is a caveat – our blessings are in proportion to our giving and our faith.

I don’t like talking about money. Much of this reluctance comes from the fact that I believe if we are following God’s Word it is not necessarily my place to admonish or remind others of their responsibility to God. Let’s be real, even when money is tight, somehow we always manage to find the resources we need to do what we want to do, yet we give God what’s left. Isn’t it ironic, then, that we want God to bless us with His best and show us favor, but when it comes to finances, He is frequently an afterthought for us?

It is easy to say we love and trust God when things are going well and all the bills are paid, but when the mortgage is due and bills are piling up, are we still supposed to trust God and pay our tithes? When it comes to giving, many times our faith wanes and fear takes center stage. My definition of FEAR is Failure to Exercise Authority over Reality. The reality is that we may not be able to see how the bills will get paid, but the truth is that we have authority over the amount of faith we release to trust God at His Word. Many of us simply need to trust God more than we trust ourselves. Perhaps this is a good time to go back to the Word of God to learn how to give God’s way; after all, He owns it all and He is big enough to supply every need.

© Dr. Melvin O. Marriner,
March 2016

We invite you to join us at Grove Church, 5910 West Norfolk Road, Portsmouth, Virginia, Sundays at 8 a.m. and 10:30 a.m., Tuesdays at noon and Wednesdays at 7 p.m.