My book The Law of Rewards was first published in 2003, but in 2023, I had the opportunity to update it and also add some new material, especially as it relates to Nanci’s life, death, and relocation to Heaven. I continue to be excited about this small book and its potential for big impact in the lives as believers as they get excited about investing in eternity. (The updated book is available from EPM both in softcover and as a special edition with a leatherlike cover.)
My long-time friend Mart Green, of the Green family that owns Hobby Lobby, is the founder of Mardel Christian Stores. He kindly wrote, “Reading The Law of Rewards impacted me greatly. I have read many books on generosity, but this one fleshed out biblical concepts I had never heard before. I am a book guy, but I have handed out more copies of this book than any other—by far!”
So to answer the question in the title of this blog: how does giving bring greater blessing than receiving? By not giving, we don’t just rob God or rob others of blessing. We rob ourselves of the rewards God wants to give us. How many blessings have we kept from ourselves in the last year by failing to give as we could have? How much spiritual growth and joy have we missed out on by not living by God’s law of rewards?
For Nanci and me, the process of discovering God’s will about money and possessions was exciting and liberating. Our growth in financial stewardship closely paralleled our overall spiritual growth. In fact, it propelled it. We learned more about faith, trust, grace, commitment, and God’s provision in this area than any other. These choices required us to have some challenging giving discussions which ultimately strengthened our marriage, and bonded us around common goals of investing in eternity.
That unforgettable Monday morning in 2022, when I held Nanci’s hand as she exited her body and entered the presence of Jesus, I could picture Christ’s outstretched arms and hear his loving words, “Well done.” I could imagine her broad smile as he hugged her. Home at last! And I thought of all the people from all over the world she would then meet and get to know and love—those we had the privilege of helping through our giving, and who thereby received the gospel, food, clothes, clean water, medicines, Bibles, and good books. Sometimes I feel like part of me went to Heaven with Nanci. That’s not only because of our deep love for each other, but because she and I partnered together to invest in people for eternity. I so look forward not only to seeing old friends but to having Nanci introduce me to these new friends we invested in before we ever met them!
Paul said, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). I have found that cheerful givers love God, and that love grows deeper each time they give. To me, one of the few experiences comparable to the joy of leading someone to Christ is the joy of making wise and generous eternity-impacting choices with the money and possessions God has entrusted to me. Both are supreme acts of worship. Both are exhilarating. Both are what we were made for.
I believe that the knowledge of what eternity holds for us, and how that relates to our money, is the primary missing ingredient in most Christian books on finances. When we see money only as money, and not in light of its potential impact on eternity for others and for us, we walk away with a shortsighted vision that results in shortsighted financial decisions and lifestyles.
By looking at Jesus’ teachings about finances, I hope you’ll gain a clearer vision of the importance of living for eternity, of the types and extent of eternal rewards, and of the way God created us to be motivated by rewards. When you grasp the concept of delayed gratification in light of eternal rewards, your attitude toward giving will never be the same.
Let’s determine not to be rich fools disguised as disciples. Instead, let’s develop the heart of the poor widow, learning boldly to put all our resources at God’s disposal, as He has put all his resources at ours. I pray you will join a multitude of God’s people, past and present, in not just talking about God’s grace but also experiencing it at your heart’s deepest level.
On the wall of President Lyndon Johnson’s White House office hung a framed letter written by General Sam Houston to Johnson’s great-grandfather George Washington Baines, Sr. more than a hundred years earlier. Baines had led Sam Houston to Christ. Houston was a changed man, no longer coarse and belligerent but peaceful and content.
The day came for Houston to be baptized—an incredible event for those who knew him. After his baptism Houston offered to pay half the local minister’s salary. When someone asked him why, he said, “My pocketbook was baptized too.”
Sam Houston demonstrated the reality of God’s grace to him by reciprocating that grace through giving.
As Sam Houston did, may we learn together the truth that Martin Luther recognized when he said that for each of us there must be not only the conversion of the heart and mind but also the conversion of the purse.
