Stinginess and the Generosity of God
On a trip to Ukraine in 1991, my pastor friend and I spent the evening with a large family, feasting, singing hymns, laughing, and exalting Jesus together. We felt guilty when we learned our hosts had served an entire month’s ration of butter at the meal, but they assured us there was nothing they would rather have done to serve their brothers in Christ.
To the selfish person, the generous giver’s behavior appears foolish. (Why part with a month’s worth of butter to serve rich visitors who have unlimited amounts of butter at home?) Scripture says the opposite: “Give freely and become more wealthy; be stingy and lose everything. The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed” (Proverbs 11:24–25 NLT).
A life characterized by greed and stinginess is neither Spirit-filled nor Christlike — nor is it happy. If we know Jesus, we will become more and more like our generous God.
Stinginess Displeases God
Proverbs 23:6–7 says,
Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy;
do not desire his delicacies,
for he is like one who is inwardly calculating.
“Eat and drink!” he says to you,
but his heart is not with you.
The stingy person calculates, “What will sharing cost me?” In contrast, the generous person asks, “What can I give to bless others?” While the stingy person sees giving as a burden and a loss, the generous person knows that giving is a blessing and great gain.
Scripture warns us to avoid a stingy person, and it also instructs us not to be a stingy person. In ancient Israel, every seventh year was the “year of release,” when all debts were canceled (Deuteronomy 15:1–3). In the sixth year, any loans would probably be gifts because of the upcoming year of release, but people were still commanded to lend generously to the needy:
Be careful that there isn’t this wicked thought in your heart, “The seventh year, the year of canceling debts, is near,” and you are stingy toward your poor brother and give him nothing. He will cry out to the Lord against you, and you will be guilty. Give to him, and don’t have a stingy heart when you give, and because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you do. (Deuteronomy 15:9–10 CSB)
God sees our hearts and knows us well. We can be doing all the “right things” outwardly — staying debt-free, living within a budget, and giving regularly — yet still be inwardly greedy and stingy toward both our loved ones and those in need. That’s why Jesus warns us, “Take care, and be on your guard against all covetousness” (Luke 12:15).
Tight-fisted stinginess, whether motivated by selfishness or fear, is as dangerous as careless self-indulgence. Our goal is not to be penny-pinchers fretting over every expenditure but joyful, responsible, and generous money managers. Carefully stewarding the money God has entrusted to us, with the goal of having more to give to his kingdom, is wise; stinginess, which focuses on self-preservation, is profoundly unpleasing to God.
Our Generous God
Understanding God’s own generous nature is key to fighting stinginess. Charles Spurgeon wrote, “Let me be bountiful and liberal, for so shall I be like my Lord. He gave Himself for me; shall I grudge Him anything?”
Our giving doesn’t come out of altruism or philanthropy — it’s a result of the transforming work of Christ. We give because he first gave to us: “In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins” (1 John 4:10). The greatest passage on giving in all Scripture ends not with “Congratulations on your generosity,” but “Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!” (2 Corinthians 9:15).
God is not stingy. His generosity abounds — it’s overflowing, even excessive. (Aren’t we glad God doesn’t calculate how much grace to give us?)
“Gaze upon Christ long enough, and you will become a more generous giver.”
In the middle of instructing the rich, Paul took a moment to describe God not as demanding or begrudging but as a God full of joy who provides all things with our delight in mind: “As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides” (1 Timothy 6:17).
D.A. Carson likewise points to Christ as the root of our generosity:
The highest possible incentive to be generous, in a self-denying way, is found in the Lord Jesus Christ himself, who “though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9). For Paul, it is unthinkable that anyone who really delights in knowing this Christ could be stingy.
Gaze upon Christ long enough, and you will become a more generous giver.
Provision for Givers
A fear that God won’t provide what we need if we give openhandedly can motivate our stinginess. But Jesus teaches that generous giving isn’t a cause for insecurity and worry. It’s a cure for it.
After Jesus tells us not to worry about life’s necessities, he says, “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you” (Matthew 6:33). According to our Lord, giving is part of the solution to our material needs — because God promises to provide for givers (Malachi 3:8–11; Luke 6:38).
Paul experienced this reality firsthand. He told the Philippians, “I am well supplied, having received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18). Since they gave so generously to provide for him and his work, Paul was confident God would provide the same for the Philippians: “My God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:19).
Christian financial planning expert Ron Blue finds Paul’s insight relevant for modern-day giving. “When we give to those in need,” he writes, “we acknowledge God’s ownership and His power and His provision. We are able to remember that God will provide for us as He uses us as agents of provision in other people’s lives.”
God graciously gives us money and possessions to meet real needs, both our own and those of others. He doesn’t call all disciples to give away everything, but he does call us to put everything at his disposal, freeing us to live under his lordship. Over the years as we learned to give, my wife Nanci and I were amazed to see him come through again and again. The more you experience the wholehearted adventure of following Jesus, the greater your delight and trust in God.
A Lesson from Scrooge
A friend once asked me, “Do you know any generous person who’s unhappy?” I gave it a lot of thought. I know many generous people. Some have been through great tragedies or dealt with seasons of depression. But would I, overall, describe any of them as unhappy? No. Their generosity, which reflects the Lord they love, infuses joy into their lives.
I asked myself another question: “Do I know any stingy person who’s happy?” The answer came quickly: “Not a single one.” If you want to be miserable, greed and stinginess are the perfect recipe. Think of Ebenezer Scrooge from the classic Dickens tale A Christmas Carol. At the beginning of the story, the wealthy miser is caustic, complaining, stingy, horrendously greedy — and profoundly unhappy.
But after a radical transformation from his three visions, having been shown his sins of stinginess and greed, Scrooge walks through the streets of London freely distributing his wealth to the needy. He’s giddy with delight. (Grace will do that to you!) This man, who only one day earlier scoffed at the idea of charity, now takes great pleasure in giving.
Scrooge is the fictional counterpart of Zacchaeus, who, after his encounter with Christ and radical transformation, said he would give half his money to the poor and pay back fourfold those he had cheated. In response, Jesus did not merely say, “Good idea.” Instead, he said, “Today salvation has come to this house” (Luke 19:9). Jesus acknowledged the reality of this man’s salvation based on his cheerful eagerness to part with his money for the glory of God and the good of others. Zacchaeus understood God’s generosity toward him, and his heart responded accordingly.
May it also be so with us. As we fix our eyes on Christ, may we search our hearts for the sins of stinginess and greed, confessing them to our gracious Father. And then, like the transformed Scrooge and Zacchaeus, may we experience the gospel joy of generous giving!
