One of the most subtle vices of mankind is something called greed.  Take a look at kids.  One of the first words they say is, “mine”.  Greed is in every single one of us, and we have got to fight against it.  You know what greed is? It’s keeping everything you get, and you don’t have to be rich for that.  It’s a part of our humanity.  You might say, “I’m not greedy, I just have a hard time giving.”  No.  It’s not about giving. We give all the time.  We give to McDonalds.  We give to Ross.  We give to Abercrombie and Fitch.  We give all the time.  But, I want to talk about strategic giving that gives the greatest returns that will help us understand the Kingdom of God.  If we don’t rectify greed, it will backfire on us.  But, God wants us to learn this principle of giving. 

2 Cor. 9:10-11 says,  

“Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness; and you will be enriched in everything…”  

Sometimes God will actually supply enough for us to sow that will bring in a greater harvest again and again every year.  The danger is when we start “eating” what should be stored.  When this happens the god of mammon (corrupted wealth or when money becomes your master) is when you start “eating and utilizing” it for yourself and then you are dependent upon mammon.  It’s like a god.  Here’s the interesting part.  Both God and mammon want to be your master which means if you give yourself to one or the other it tends to become your master.  That’s why God says it’s the “love of money” that is the root of all evil.  It becomes mammon which is why Scripture says you serve one or the other.  You can’t serve both.  Matthew 6:24 says, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other.  You cannot serve God and wealth.”  So here are a few suggestions/investments that will bring the highest returns:  the Bible says,

1.  Make friends with money by investing in lasting relationships.   

“I say to you, make friends for yourselves by means of the wealth of unrighteousness so that when it fails, they will receive you into eternal dwellings” (Luke 16:9).

So make friends.  What does that mean?  Take time to invest in making friends with money.  The only thing that will matter in the end is your relationship with Jesus and your relationship with people.  Everything else is gone when you die.  The first place that you can start by making friends is right at home.  In fact, the Bible says,

·     Provide for your own.    

As 1 Timothy 5:8 says, “If anyone does not provide for his own, especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.”

Can I just talk to men for a moment or women who are the breadwinners?  Your provision for your family is absolutely and Biblically a mandate.  Now, I don’t think anyone of us wrestle with that because of our love for our family, but you should know that God is saying your first priority is that you provide for them and not abandon them.  Let’s go beyond that.  Make friends with your family.  It is not just making sure they are provided for, but also giving them an emotional embrace. For example, invest in your wife.  Take her out to dinner just to build a friendship.  You know what I found?  People don’t get a divorce because they fall out of love; instead they fall out of friendship first.  They’re no longer friends.  They live at the same address, but they’re not friends.  When you make friends for yourself in your family, it’s one of the best investments with the greatest returns.  You know what the first symptom is of a lack in friendship?  No communication.  You don’t talk that much.  It’s just information.  “Where you going?” or “When you coming back?” So, take the time to invest in your spouse.  Secondly,

·     Invest in specific relationships.

In other words, invest in some friendships with those you need to be around.  Choose friends wisely.  Don’t just let it happen by chance.  Nothing good happens simply by chance. It’s an intentional life that you’re planning.  You should have intentional relationships.  The Bible says, “bad company corrupts good morals” (I Cor. 15:33).  If you don’t choose your company well, all the good morals you learn will get corrupted.  You have to make sure that you invest in very specific relationships.  Think of some of your best friends.  You take trips together and spend time together because you’re good friends.  Did you become friends overnight? It probably took years of investment.  The second greatest investment is …

2.  Give alms in secret.

Alms are helping someone that’s poor, or doesn’t have opportunity like you have.  But, you give it in secret because you give it unto the Lord and not by your reputation.   God keeps track like in the example of Cornelius.  Acts 10:31 says, “Cornelius, your prayer has been heard and your alms have been remembered before God.”  Don’t seek accolades.  Remember in Matthew 6:1; Jesus says “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.”  In other words, you’ll have your earthly reward but your heavenly Father won’t give any to you.  Service done in secret is one of the greatest remedies for greed.  Because none of us is immune to greed, we have to constantly combat that subtle takeover by greed that is always at our door.  Proverbs 19:11 states, “He who is kind to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will reward him.” If you give to the poor, it’s like you’re lending to the Lord.  The issue is not giving, but the priority of giving.  It helps you to enter the Kingdom and see what God has for you. 

3.    Give faithfully in tithes and offerings. 

It starts with your tithing because in Deuteronomy 14:23 it says, “The purpose of tithing is to teach you always to put God first in your lives.”  We have a tendency to put God last.  But, we need to put Him first.  We ought to be a people of the tithe.  Whatever you want God to bless, put Him first in that category.  If you want God to bless your marriage, put Him first in your marriage.  If you want God to bless your dating, put Him first in your dating.  If you want God to bless you in your finances, put Him first not last.  We learn from an early age —. “me first, God last”. People of the tithe are different.  Malachi 3:8-11 says this, “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing Me!  But you say, “How have we robbed You?”  In tithes and offerings.  Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, ‘if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows! Then I will rebuke the devourer for you, so that it will not destroy the fruits of the ground; nor will your vine in the field cast its grapes,’ says the Lord of hosts.”  

4.  People who give are the happiest people in the world!

“Give, and it will be given to you…good measure—pressed down, shaken together, and running over.  For by your standard of measure, it will be measured to you in return (Luke 6:38). 

“Remember the words of the Lord Jesus, that He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).  

“Happy is he who is gracious to the poor” (Prov. 14:21).

“He who is generous will be blessed” (Prov. 22:9). 

Instead of simply accumulating money and leaving it unconverted, transform it into true riches.  Then God says you’ll begin to enter the joy of the Kingdom.  It’s like how the Lord says in the gospels, “...I gave one, two talents; another one talent; and still another five talents.”  Use your talents and convert it into something for God.  Don’t let it sit in its’ original condition.  Then, you will enter into the joy of the Kingdom of the Father.  Invest in that which brings the greatest returns – like your family—make friends with them.  Don’t be afraid to invest in your spouse or kids.  Don’t be afraid to invest in very good relationships.  Make good friends.  Then, give alms in secret; God will remember that, and it will help you combat greed and open up freshness again in your life.  Lastly, give freely of your tithes and offerings.  You will have the Kingdom’s blessings.  I want us to be a people of the tithe.  Let’s commit to do that this year, and let’s be a people of the Kingdom of God. Amen. 

Discussion Questions:

1.   Are there areas in which you have not been providing for your family? If so, what?

2.   How can you better invest your time in making good friends?  How can you avoid bad company?

3.   Why is service done in secret important? What service have you done in secret?

4.   Why is giving so important in relation to God’s Kingdom?

5.   What are some excuses you use in not giving of time, money, etc?