What does the Bible say about Giving?

Scriptural Principles for Giving

These key scripture verses are arranged according to the six principles found in Randy Alcorn's book The Treasure Principle: Discovering the Secret of Joyful Giving. 

1. God Owns Everything, and I Am His Money Manager
2. My Heart Always Goes Where I Put God's Money
3. Heaven, Not Earth, Is My Home
4. I Should Not Live Merely for the Moment but for Eternity
5. Giving is the Only Antidote to Materialism
6. God Prospers Me Not to Raise My Standard of Living, but to Raise My Standard of Giving
   
   

God Owns Everything, and I Am His Money Manager

We are the managers of the assets God has entrusted—not given—to us.

• Psalm 24:1 — “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it, the world, and all who live in it.”
• Haggai 2:8 — “ 'The silver is mine and the gold is mine,’ declares the Lord Almighty.”
• Deuteronomy 8:18 — “Remember the Lord your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.”
• 1 Corinthians 4:2 — “Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.”
• Romans 14:10-12 — “For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat … each of us will give an account of himself to God.”
  
  

My Heart Always Goes Where I Put God's Money

Watch what happens when you reallocate your money from temporal things to eternal things.

• Matthew 6:19-21 — “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
  
  

Heaven, Not Earth, Is My Home

We are citizens of “a better country—a heavenly one” (Hebrews 11:16).

• Philippians 3:20 — “Our citizenship is in heaven.”
• Psalm 90:10 — “The length of our days is seventy years—or eighty, if we have the strength; yet their span is but trouble and sorrow, for they quickly pass, and we fly away.”
• Psalm 39:5b — “Each man’s life is but a breath.”
  
  

I Should Not Live Merely for the Moment but for Eternity

From the dot—our present life on earth—extends a line that goes on forever, which is eternity in Heaven.

• Hebrews 11:25-26 — “[Moses] chose to be mistreated along with the people of God rather than to enjoy the pleasures of sin for a short time. He regarded disgrace for the sake of Christ as of greater value than the treasures of Egypt, because he was looking ahead to his reward.”
• Matthew 25:21 — “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’"
  
  

Giving Is the Only Antidote to Materialism

Giving is a joyful surrender to a greater person and a greater agenda. It dethrones me and exalts Him.

• Ecclesiastes 5:10, 13-14 — “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless … I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner, or wealth lost through some misfortune, so that when he has a son there is nothing left for him.”
• 1 Timothy 6:9-10 — “People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.”
• 1 Timothy 6:17-18 — “Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.”
  
  

God Prospers Me Not to Raise My Standard of Living, but to Raise My Standard of Giving

God gives us more money than we need so we can give—generously.

• Malachi 3:10b — “ 'Test me in this, ’says the Lord Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it.' ”
• Acts 20:35 — “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
• 2 Corinthians 8:7 — “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.”
• 2 Corinthians 9:7 — “God loves a cheerful giver.”
• 2 Corinthians 9:10-13 — “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 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. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”
  
  

Additional Verses

• 1 Chronicles 29:14 — ”But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand.”
• 2 Chronicles 24:10 — All the officials and all the people brought their contributions gladly, dropping them into the chest until it was full.
• 2 Corinthians 9:6 — Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.
• Psalm 37:21 — The wicked borrow and do not repay, but the righteous give generously.
• Proverbs 21:26 — The righteous give without sparing.
• Mark 12:41-44 — Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a fraction of a penny. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “I tell you the truth, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on.”
• Proverbs 28:27 — He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.
• 1 John 3:17 — If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?
• 1 Timothy 6:9-10 — People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
• 2 Timothy 3:1-2 — But mark this: There will be terrible times in the last days. People will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boastful, proud, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy.
• Hebrews 13:5 — Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.”
• Matthew 10:42 — And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is my disciple, I tell you the truth, he will certainly not lose his reward.
• Matthew 25:21 — “His master replied, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!’ ”
• Matthew 25:34-36 — Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.
• Romans 12:6-7 — " We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully."
• Proverbs 3:9-10 — "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."