This pastor's blog post draws directly from Ricky Plummer's sermon “1 Corinthians Spiritual Disciplines” so you can keep engaging with the message all week. Read, reflect, and share it with your small group or friends.
When God Touches Your Heart, He Touches Your Wallet Too
Meta Description: What does your giving say about your faith? Discover 7 biblical principles of financial stewardship that reveal the true condition of your heart.
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Featured Image: An open Bible resting on a wooden table beside a person's open hands — conveying surrender, generosity, and trust.
What if I told you that nothing communicates your dependence on God, your trust in God, your faith in God quite like your giving does? That statement might make you uncomfortable. It made me a little uncomfortable writing it. But I believe it's true, and more importantly, I believe it's biblical.
This past Sunday, I continued our series on spiritual disciplines by turning our attention to one of the most personal and often avoided topics in the church: the spiritual discipline of giving. Jesus devoted at least 16 of his 38 parables to the subject of money and giving. If it mattered that much to him, it ought to matter to us.
Giving Is About So Much More Than Money
Before we get to the practical side, we have to get the spiritual side right. Every spiritual discipline has both a heart dimension and a practical dimension, and giving is no exception.
Here are five heart truths about giving that Scripture makes clear:
Giving is an act of worship. Jesus said, "For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Our giving reveals what we truly value.
Giving is an act of thanksgiving. First Chronicles 29:14 puts it this way: "But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to offer so willingly as this? For all things come from You, and of Your own we have given You." Everything we have already belongs to God. When we give, we're simply returning what was his to begin with.
Giving is an act of cheerfulness. Second Corinthians 9:7 says, "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." Giving starts in the heart. If it hasn't been purposed there first, it won't flow freely from our hands.
Giving is an act of faith. Proverbs 3:9 says, "Honor the Lord with your possessions, and with the firstfruits of all your increase." In Malachi 3:10, God issues a rare challenge: "Bring all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be food in My house, and try 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 such blessing that there will not be room enough to receive it." God says, "Test me in this." That's an invitation worth taking seriously.
Giving is an act of generosity. Jesus said in Matthew 10:8, "Freely you have received, freely give." We give generously because God has given to us generously.
Seven Practical Principles from 1 Corinthians 16
Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 16:1–2: "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come."
These instructions weren't just for one church. Paul gave this same command to every church in the region. And I believe these principles still apply to us today.
Consistency — Give on the first day of the week, regularly and habitually. A consistent giving pattern often reflects a consistent walk with the Lord.
Collective participation — "Let each one of you" is all-inclusive. Giving is not just for the wealthy. Everyone participates.
Intentionality — "Lay something aside" means you've thought about it, planned for it, and resolved yourself in the matter. Giving doesn't happen by accident.
Anticipation — "Storing up" carries the idea of saving in advance because you're expecting God to move. I think of a dear friend who, even when he couldn't be present for a special offering, called me to say he didn't want to miss being part of what God was doing. He was anticipating. That's the spirit of this principle.
Proportion — "As he may prosper" means giving is not one-size-fits-all. What matters is the proportion relative to what God has entrusted to you.
Efficiency — When God's people give faithfully and consistently, God supplies what's needed for the work he's called us to do. I've seen this over and over again.
Accountability — Paul instructed the church to choose trustworthy men to handle and deliver the offering. Accountability in giving matters — both personally and institutionally.
A Baptized Billfold
As I was preparing this message, I came across the story of Sam Houston — the sixth governor of Texas. He was a rough man with a rough reputation. But late in life, he surrendered his life to Christ and was baptized. When his pastor suggested he hand over his wallet before going into the water, Sam said, "No, I think not, pastor. I'm afraid it needs to be baptized, too."
And indeed it was. Sam Houston went on to pay half his pastor's salary and faithfully support ministerial students at Baylor University for the rest of his life.
That story captures everything I've been trying to say. When God truly touches your heart, he touches your wallet too. Salvation should affect not only our eternal destiny but our earthly possessions as well.
My prayer for all of us — myself included — is that we would live out Proverbs 3:6: "In all your ways acknowledge Him." Not some of our ways. All of them. Including this one.
If you'd like to dig deeper into the spiritual disciplines, I'd love to help you get a copy of Donald Whitney's book Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life. Just reach out and we'll get one to you.
Social Media Excerpt (Facebook/Instagram): What does your giving actually say about your faith? This week I shared 7 biblical principles from 1 Corinthians 16 that show giving is so much more than a financial transaction — it's a spiritual discipline that reveals the true condition of our hearts. Sam Houston said his wallet needed to be baptized too. Does yours?
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