In recent years, many people have been forced into positions of financial hardship as they struggle to keep up with an unpredictable, ever-changing global economy. People from almost every walk of life have been affected by the rising cost of living.
Families scramble to keep up with rent, school fees, food, transport and a myriad of other monthly expenses.
This economic instability has also adversely affected churches, ministries, and mission organisations. When things get tough in the economy, many believers simply cut back on their giving to God, choosing not to set aside their tithes or give special offerings to ministries or charitable organisations. This decline in giving has had catastrophic consequences in the Kingdom of God because preaching the Gospel and establishing churches require money. Regardless of what is happening in the economy, there is a lost world that desperately needs to hear the message of Jesus Christ and when people cease to give to the work of God, it hinders the outreach to lost souls.
It is sad to note that some of my fellow grace preachers have gone to the other extreme those who practice “hyper-grace” where they argue that in this new dispensation of grace, you don’t have to pay any tithes or offerings. I know there is a huge debate in the body of Christ about whether one should pay tithes or not. Personally, I believe that a tithe is the minimum one should give to the Lord.
A mature believer gives beyond a tenth of their earnings. I trust I will be able to cover this topic on tithes exclusively in one of my future articles. However, for the sake of this article, I just want to focus on sowing and reaping assuming that we all believe that it is important for every believer to give to the work of God whether it’s a tithe or free offering or whatever you call it in your church.
The Bible makes it clear that tithes and offerings are not optional for us as believers. In fact, we have an even greater responsibility to be consistent and faithful in difficult times. God is watching.
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His law of sowing and reaping always works.
Right now believers all over the world are faced with these questions:
In light of current financial challenges, will I remain faithful and unmoving in my financial commitment to the work of the ministry?
What does this time of financial hardship reveal about me and my commitment to steadfastly sow into the work of the ministry?
Will the giants move my faith, or will my faith move the giants?
Be unmoved in your commitment to support the work of God, regardless of what is happening in the economy. Every time you give or pay your tithe or offering for the furtherance of God’s Kingdom, you are sowing a seed. God will provide for you in ways that your natural resources could never provide. God will multiply your seed back to you in ways you could never expect or anticipate. We don’t give to get but we give in acknowledgement of the fact that God is our source. All the good things come from Him. There is nothing we have that we haven’t received.
If God is your source, you give out of gratitude that He is the One who gave you the power to create wealth and you are not giving to get but you are giving because you have already received from Him.
In 2 Corinthians 9:6, the Holy Spirit said through Paul, “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” Paul wrote in terms of seed when he spoke about giving to the work of God. Since this is the metaphor the Holy Spirit gives us, we need to consider what it means. What does a farmer, a sower of seed do to guarantee that he will have a harvest in the fall of the year?
If a farmer puts seed into the ground, he is guaranteed to have a harvest other things being equal. But what if he says, “It’s too hard to plant right now, so I’m going to hold on to my seed and not plant it this year”? Or what if he decides, “I’m going to eat my seed because I have so little of it”? These faulty decisions will guarantee that the farmer is going to experience a crisis at harvest time because if no seed is planted in the ground, there simply will be no harvest.
The future of a farmer is completely dependent on getting his seed into the ground, and any farmer who fails to do this is guaranteeing his own crop failure. Therefore, regardless of how hot the weather or how difficult the task, a farmer must plant seed if he wants to reap a harvest. This is God’s law of sowing and reaping.
The law of sowing and reaping applies to every sphere of life, including finances. It supersedes natural laws and natural economic crises. Even if the world around you suffers financially, sowing seed into the Kingdom of God will bring you protection and blessing. This is God’s promise to you. This is why Paul says my God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory…” not according to the economy of a country.
God’s people were blessed and protected while the world around them suffered as they were delivered from Egypt. Although plagues ravaged the Egyptians, those plagues never touched the children of Israel because they hearkened to the voice of the Lord and did exactly what He instructed them to do.
The world around the Israelites was falling apart, but their obedience to God’s Word created an invisible wall that protected them from the destruction that crippled and laid waste to Egypt. If Israel had not obeyed God’s commands, that invisible wall would never have been erected and they would have experienced the same plagues the people of Egypt did. It was their obedience that set them apart and saved them while the godless world around them suffered terribly.
If you and I stay on track financially and give to God’s work, regardless of how difficult it seems to be to do so, we will be divinely protected, supernaturally provided for, and guaranteed a blessing multiplied back to us. Like natural seed, it may take a while for the crop to grow, but God promises in 2 Corinthians 9:6 that if we put seed into the ground, we will reap. If we sow sparingly, that is how we will reap. But if we sow bountifully, God promises that we will reap bountifully. The level we reap will be completely determined by the level we sow.
Just keep your eyes faithfully fixed on Jesus in this matter of giving. Carefully obey His command to tithe, to give offerings, and to sow seed. As you do, He will cause harvests of blessing to come to you, despite anything that is happening in the world around you. This is God’s promise to you.
I am very aware that many are worrying about the economy and wondering what’s going to happen in the future. But don’t let that happen to you. Don’t shrink back; keep pressing forward; keep your eyes on Jesus; and believe for a good harvest to come from the seed you have sown into good soil.
If you do what is right and obey God’s command to give, you needn’t worry about the future because the law of sowing and reaping works. This universal law assures a harvest of provision for you, for your family, and for your business, regardless of what happens in the world around you.
The Bible says “Give and it shall be given back to you, a good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. God’s blessings come from God through man to man. It is also unfortunate that this law of sowing and reaping has been abused by some of us, ministers of the Gospel. Unsuspecting congregants are being taken advantage of by the so called man of God. It is this manipulation that then makes people despise giving in church.