Giving Must Cost You Something - by Joyce Meyer

But God, being [so very] rich in mercy, because of His great and wonderful love with which He loved us, even when we were [spiritually] dead and separated from Him because of our sins, He made us [spiritually] alive together with Christ (for by His grace--His undeserved favor and mercy--you have been saved from God’s judgment).

— Ephesians 2:4-5

I believe that in God’s economy, nothing cheap is worth having. God gave His only Son to free us, and while we can never equal that sacrifice, we must give back to Him in a way that means something. King David said he would not give God something that cost him nothing. And I have learned that true giving is not giving until I can feel it.

Giving away the clothes and household items I’m finished with may be a nice gesture, but it doesn’t equal real giving. Real giving occurs when I give somebody something that I want to keep.

I’m sure you’ve had those testing times when God asks you to give away something you like. But when you consider how He gave His only Son for us because of His love for us, doesn’t that make you want to give of yourself too?

The simple truth is this: We must give to be happy, and giving is not true giving if it doesn’t cost us something.