Proverbs 11:24-25 There is one who scatters, yet increases more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul shall be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.
Generosity is not an attitude, it is a spirit. It comes from the Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit is generous and when you come to Christ one of the first attitudes and mindsets the Holy Spirit will start developing within you, is a spirit of generosity. This is often one of the first resistances and challenges for many new Christians.
We see the generosity of God’s Spirit in scripture:
Jesus turned not just a few jars of water into wine, but an abundance of water into wine;
Jesus fed thousands with the few loaves and fishes;
The poor widow's tiny flask of oil, filled an abundance of empty jars;
However, the opposite of Generosity, i.e. ‘Selfishness’ is also a spirit – it’s the spirit of the world (or the spirit of the devil).
Jesus said, “we are either for Him or against him”. (Luke 11:23) There is no middle ground. Likewise, we are either influenced by God’s Spirit or the spirit of this world. When Christians are anti-giving, regardless of their reasons, it always comes back to this spirit of the world.
Mark 14:3-5 reveals a powerful story of the spirit of Generosity.
A woman broke a flask of expensive perfume and anointed Jesus. It was her offering to Him. Now, when a great offering is brought unto God, the spirit of generosity rises up in worship unto God. However, the spirit of the world rises up in condemnation. The scriptures tell us that there were some who became indignant at the absurdity and waste of this offering.
The spirit of the world will always be indignant towards offerings. This spirit called the spirit of anti-Christ manifests in the following ways:
Offense - It becomes offended with teaching concerning giving from the Word of God;
Condemns - It is indignant and condemns the church that preaches on giving toward the House of God
Accuses - It will accuse the church of wanting to take your money. The Bible says that one of the names of the devil is “Accuser” (Revelation 12:10).
Rebels - It rebels and refuses to surrender to God’s Word and give in to the House of God
Jesus said that He has come to reveal the works of the devil (John 10:10). He revealed that the devil came to rob, to kill and to destroy. One way the devil robs the blessing from Christians is to shape their thinking concerning offerings given into God’s House (Malachi 3:8).
Don’t let your thinking be shaped and influenced by the spirit of this world. Allow the Holy Spirit of God to develop Christ’s Spirit of generosity within you!