Blessed are the Givers

“Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”          

—Luke 6:38

Jesus spoke some very touching Beatitudes, but I’d like to add my own, “Blessed are the givers, for they shall never be poor.” I am not adding to the Bible, only summarizing some Biblical truths about giving. You see, one cannot be poor if they are giving to meet the needs of another. Givers are rich for two reasons. One, according to God’s principle of seed and harvest, those who give cannot be poor because God promises to bless abundantly all who give to God and to the needs of others. “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over” (Luke 6:38). Although many struggling families ignore it, and TV evangelists abuse it, the truth still holds. God promises to bless those who give.

Givers are also rich because they focus on meeting the needs of others rather than on themselves. Givers don’t realize they are poor. “But godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Timothy 6:6). Eddie Ogan’s story, Richest Family in the Church, illustrates this point beautifully. I first read this story as a circulating email. More recently, I did a little research to find its origin.

Ms. Ogan first included her story as part of a monthly letter she writes to Assembly of God missionaries in the northwest. Richest Family in the Church describes an event in Eddie’s childhood when the minister announced a special Easter offering for a poor family in the church. She, her sisters, and her mother sacrificed, scrimped, and saved to joyously make a $70 donation to this “poor family.” They later found out they were the poor family when the minister paid them a visit giving them the offering, only $87. They had never known what it felt like to be poor, but they suddenly did not feel very joyous.

They went very reluctantly to church the next Sunday and listened to a missionary speaker who asked for a special offering for a roof. Eddie’s family immediately put their $87 into the plate. The offering came to just over the needed amount of $100. The missionary praised the little church for such a great offering stating, “You must have some very rich families in this little church.” Eddie’s family realized they were not a poor family, but the richest family in the church. My apologies to Eddie for my brief summary of her story. If you would like to read the entire story, you can easily find it with a simple search of the internet. If you don’t have internet, call or write me at Oakland UM Church, I’d be glad to send you the entire story.

Ms. Ogan remains a very rich person. According to her facebook page, she is now 80 years old, has 33 grandchildren, makes quilts for Teen Challenge, knits over 5,000 hats for orphans around the world, and most recently, is making over 5,000 African rag dolls for aids orphans. She will soon celebrate her 60^th wedding anniversary with her husband, Phil.

If you are not feeling especially blessed these days, take a cue from Eddie Ogan and Jesus. Look around for someone worse off than you and sacrificially give to bless them. I pray God will open the windows of heaven to meet your needs, and even more, I pray you will feel more blessed than ever.