Proverbs 11:25 reads, "The generous man will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered." God tells us to help others by giving to them and He is pleased with it (Deuteronomy 15:10). Now let's delve into how to give and do charitable works that are proper in God's will and thereby pile up goodness and mercy and bring down blessings from above.
Charitable works with love from the bottom of your heart
1 Corinthians 13:3 says, "And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing."
The kind of charitable work that has no 'love' in it is just a kind of formality. Although such a person has given his money, time, and everything he cannot receive any blessing or rewards for this kind of works.
And when we do charitable works, we should not desire to reveal ourselves or to be praised by others. We should always check our hearts and try to help neighbors only for their benefits with truthful love from the bottom of our hearts.
If you do charitable works with love for your neighbors, you wouldn't care whether other people recognize you or not. You are happy just that your neighbors' situations have become better. If your good deed is known to others and they praise you, you rather feel embarrassed. You want to give to others just because the grace you received from the Lord is so great. Also, you will be happy thinking the Lord is so pleased with your love and good deeds. And, because you believe that God who sees what you do in secret will reward you, you are even happier (Proverbs 15:3).
What kind of charitable work do we have to do in order to please God? God accepts our giving most delightfully when we give with true love and thankful hearts for being able to give.
Acts 10 records the account of Cornelius. Although he was a Gentile, he was a devout man and one who feared God with all his household. He gave many alms to the Jewish people and prayed to God continually. God was pleased with him, and moved Peter so that he could hear the gospel and receive the Holy Spirit for the first time as a Gentile. It was not only himself, but also his family members and friends who were saved. In Acts chapter 9 we find a woman called Tabitha, who was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity. She received the blessing of coming back to life by Peter's prayer.
If you do the deeds of charity of which the aroma of love will be accepted by God and proper in God's will, not because you want to gain honor from others, you will enjoy abundant blessings both in spirit and body.
Spiritual deeds of charity according to the Holy Spirit's guidance
It is important to hear the voice and receive the guidance of the Holy Spirit because when we obey the will of God we can do more perfect deeds of charity.
Charitable works in the Lord is not just about supplying basic needs of life like clothes, food, and housing. It is also about supplying the food of spirit to save the souls. But there is one thing we should consider when we do charitable works; there is inappropriate charity.
The first duty of churches is to preach the gospel and save the souls so that they will gain spiritual peace. The ultimate goal of charitable works lies here. Thus, it is very important to do a proper work of charity by receiving guidance of the Holy Spirit. If some improper help was given to a certain person, we may cause that person to become even more distanced from the Lord, and in the worst case, we may even drive him to the way of death.
For example, some people come to church not because they care about faith but just to receive financial help. They come to church to abuse the good intention of church for their own benefit. In this case, if we help them, it is only to cause them to disappoint God. If they have just a little bit of faith or goodness in heart, when they receive help, they will be thankful to God and the church, so that they will keep on attending church to receive salvation. Then, their faith will grow up, and at the proper time, they will ask God to give them what they need and receive answers.
But it does not mean that you should not help those who don't have faith. Sometimes, we should also help the worldly people to spread the love of the Lord, and in case of new believers who have weak faith, we should strengthen them until their faith grows up.
There are also some members who have congenital infirmities or disease, or there are others who suddenly had accidents. So, as a result they cannot make a living by themselves. In cases of those senior citizens who are living alone and in cases of children living as heads of family, they are in desperate need of charitable works.
We can do better in this kind of charitable works to the extent that we have spiritual love and that we pray more earnestly for other people and receive wisdom of goodness. Therefore, we should try to help others, but we should not just help thoughtlessly by our fleshly affection or with our thoughts. Even though it is our money, we should recognize that everything was given by God. So, we have to help others according to the will of God who is the owner of everything, by receiving the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
As Matthew 25:40 says, "…Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of Mine, even the least of them, you did it to Me," if you help your neighbors with true love, that work is same as serving our Lord. So we have to do charitable works that are proper in God's will according to the guidance of the Holy Spirit and thereby lead many souls to the way of salvation. By doing so, we can enjoy great blessings and rewards both on the earth and in Heaven.
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