Thanksgiving had not even yet arrived when “it” began …..
- not the posts on gratitude
- not the snow
- not the Christmas decorations
- not the Christmas music
- not the Christmas shopping
- not even the “what do you want for Christmas?” question
It was the requests for the end of the year donations.
They are in my inbox. I get them in the mail. And I have heard them in other places as well. You know the ones I am mentioning. The ones that ask you to give so that you can get your tax deduction.
For the very first time, and I am not sure exactly why, hearing it has caused my heart to hurt.
Let me preface this by saying, yes I give. And yes, I will take the tax deduction. So what is it that has gotten under my skin? What is it that caused me to hurt? And then the words echoed softly inside……
{{We should give with the proper motivation of heart.}}
We should give because ….
- He gave for us and gives to us.
- we desire to walk in obedience to His Word.
- it is more blessed to give than to receive.
- it is all His anyway.
Even in giving, we need to be so mindful as to our motivation in giving. For the last few days, my heart has been broken about this. I desire to give as He prompts my heart to give. I desire to give in obedience. I desire to give cheerfully and willingly and liberally and freely, without need of an expectation or meeting a goal.
The human heart is deceitful of all things and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is? But I, the Lord search all hearts and examine secret motives. I give all people their due rewards, according to what their actions deserve. (Jeremiah 17:9-10, NLT).
Today I lay my heart before Him and ask Him to examine and reveal any secret motives that may lay hidden. I desire that my motivations in giving be pure before Him.
Today I am joining … Faith Filled Friday and Faithful Fri. Blog Hop and Essential Fridays and Womanhood With Purpose and Anything Goes and Friendship Fri. and Recommendation Saturday .
This is a great challenge. it’s easy with many things to feel virtuous because we are going through the motions. Yet, Jesus challenged us to have our hearts in everything we do. To not just follow His commands but to offer our hearts to Him and allow them to be changed as we seek to love Him and love our neighbour.
Thanks so much for sharing at Essential Fridays.
Blessings
Mel from Essential Thing Devotions
Mel – Thank you for sharing your thoughts! May our hearts be changed as we bow our hearts before Him! Thank you for so faithfully hosting the linkup each week!
Blessings,
Joanne
Dear. Joanne
You have addressed an issue that lies near to my heart and I was also thinking about this a lot the last week. It is a matter of the heart, my friend. Jesus told us when we give, our left hand should not know what our right hand is doing. I am convinced that He was speaking of a changed heart when giving is the result of His love filling our hearts.
Blessings XX
Mia
PS Happy Thanksgiving, dear friend.
Mia, I agree with you in that giving is a heart issue. And I think at this time of year, it is a good time to check our motivations in giving. Grateful you shared here.
Very thought-provoking devotional! I love how this asks us to examine our hearts, just as Scripture asks us to do! Thanks for sharing at Recommendation Saturday! Heart Hugs, Shelly <3
Thank you, Shelly. Our hearts can be such a tricky thing even in our giving. I was happy to participate in your linkup! May God bless it & grow it in the days ahead!
Thanks so much for sharing this at Anything Goes!
Glad to be a part of the linkup 🙂