📖 Biblical Definition
Biblical giving is the cheerful, voluntary offering of one's resources to God and to others as an act of worship and stewardship. "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver" (2 Corinthians 9:7). The Old Testament established the tithe as a baseline, but the New Testament emphasis is on generosity from the heart. The widow's two mites exceeded the gifts of the wealthy because she gave out of her poverty (Mark 12:41-44). Biblical giving acknowledges that everything belongs to God and we are stewards, not owners.
📜 Webster 1828 Definition
GIVE: To bestow; to confer; to pass or transfer without compensation.
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GIVE, v.t. 1. To bestow; to confer upon another the ownership of a thing, without compensation. 2. To grant; to yield to another. Webster understood giving as a free act of the will — not coercion, not obligation extracted by guilt, but voluntary generosity flowing from character.
📖 Key Scripture
• 2 Corinthians 9:6-7 — "He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly... God loveth a cheerful giver."
• Mark 12:41-44 — "This poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury."
• Malachi 3:10 — "Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse... and prove me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts."
• Acts 20:35 — "It is more blessed to give than to receive."
• Proverbs 3:9-10 — "Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase."
⚠️ Modern Corruption
Giving has been twisted into a transactional seed-faith investment scheme.
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Prosperity theology has corrupted biblical giving into a financial investment strategy. "Sow a seed of faith" has replaced cheerful generosity with manipulative fundraising. Preachers promise hundredfold returns on monetary gifts, turning the offering plate into a slot machine. This is the spirit of Simon Magus, who tried to buy the power of the Holy Spirit with money (Acts 8:18-20). Biblical giving is sacrificial and selfless; prosperity giving is selfish and calculating. The widow gave her last two mites with no expectation of return — that is biblical giving. The televangelist who promises that your $1,000 offering will bring $100,000 back is practicing sorcery, not stewardship.
Usage
• "Biblical giving begins with the recognition that everything we have belongs to God — we are returning to Him what is already His."
• "The widow's mite teaches that God measures giving not by amount but by sacrifice — what it costs you, not what it costs others."
• "Seed-faith theology turns generosity into greed dressed in religious language — it gives in order to get, which is the opposite of giving."