Tuesday, July 15, 2025

A Reluctance to Give

He told them, "The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables."
- Mark 4:11

In times of financial difficulty, many ministries struggle financially. Donations go down, and people stop giving because tithing seems like an extraneous expense. They want to protect what they have.

In Matthew 25, Jesus told a parable about a master who divided up his goods among his servants. While he was away, several of his wiser servants traded and gained talents for the master, but one fearful servant buried his, afraid of losing it.

When the master returned, he became angry with the servant who did not even gain interest on the talent he was given.

Jesus said, “For everyone who has will be given more, and he will have an abundance; whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken from him.”

There’s a lesson here for us today. Sometimes we’re reluctant to give, but God gives us every good thing we have and we must take care of it wisely if we want to reap His abundance.

It is hard not to want to hold on to what we have, but if we let go and trust God, He promises that He will give us more!

Further Reading

• Matthew 25:14-30
• Mark 4:26
• Matthew 25:1-13