The Power of Giving: Unlocking Blessings Through Generosity

Going to start by saying something that might just shock you. You ready for this one? Giving is not about money. A lot of people say, Ralph, what have you thought about this time? But here's the more shocking part.Here's what I'm going to tell you. In my personal view, giving is war. Yes, I said it. Giving is war. Because every time you give and it's really what I'm going to dig in.In today's episode, you're declaring war against three things. You're declaring war against fear, you're declaring war against greed, and you're declaring war against mammon.And every dollar you release, and this is what I'm really going to lead into today, every dollar you release says, this money doesn't own me, Christ does. And see, here's the paradox for today. The world says, hold tight and you'll be secure. That's the world tells us, it tells us this bold faced lie.Hold on tight to what you got and you'll be secure. But God says something completely different. Open your hand and I'm going to pour out blessings you can't contain.So today on the show, we're going to tear down the lies about giving and we're going to step into the freedom of generosity. Let me just tell you right now, friend, this one truth could transform not just your finances, but maybe your very soul.It's going to be a great show today. Feeling lost in today's headlines, seeking God's truth for our chaotic culture. Welcome to Truth Unveiled with Ralph.We'll cut through the noise guiding you to biblical discernment for your faith, your finances and your life. Now here's Ralph Estep Jr. Hello there and welcome back to Truth Unveiled with Ralph.This is my weekly show to really connect faith with what's going on in today's culture. And I'm so glad that you're here. I'm so glad that you've chosen to spend just a little bit of time with me today.And if you've been listening, we've hit some really hard truths lately.I'm going to encourage you right now, if you missed any of our shows, you can find them all at truth unveiled with Ralph.com but we've had some really tough discussions, haven't we? Last week we talked about that God first budget. We talked about living in that scarcity mindset.Hey, we even took a deep dive into pursuit of happiness and we talked about that not too difficult situation of cancel culture. But today I thought about, I'm going to change it up a Little bit.I want to really talk about a truth that shakes the very roots of our faith, because this is so rooted in what so many people believe, and that is truly the power of giving. Because I've seen how this has changed lives. I've seen how it's rippled out into the universe. And for so many people, it's just a box that you check.But here's the thing I want to tell you right now. It's not when you can afford it. See, a lot of people think, well, I'm going to give when I can afford it, Ralph.I'm going to check that box when I can. But right now, hey, things are tight, Ralph. It's a scarcity situation we're living in.But when we really get underneath of the surface, the power of giving is this. It's a radical act of trust. And that's really what I want to talk about. That's what I want to unveil as a truth on today's show.So let's start off by asking this question. I want you to be completely honest with me. How does giving make you feel? What are those feelings?As soon as I use the word giving, what's the first thing that comes to mind? So many people have said to me over the years, well, Ralph, feels like a heavy obligation to me. Seems like it's something I've got to do.Yeah, I hear the Bible talks about that. But it's like this obligation, I feel compelled to do it. Like somebody stand over me. You got to do this.For many other people, it's a financial burden. I've had so many people say to me, ralph, you want me to give, but, dude, I'm having a hard time paying my bills.You're asking me to burden myself with something that I certainly can't afford. And for so many people, and I've crossed these people time and time again in my life, it's just a complete feeling of resentment.So I want to go back to it again and ask you that question because we really need to start there. This is the central point of where we need to start this discussion today. How does giving make you feel?And I did a little research for today's show, and I found out some excellent statistics. First one I want to talk about is feeling overwhelmed. This is what I found when I did some reading on this.53% of donors, a little bit over 53% of donors say they feel overwhelmed by the number of giving requests they get every year. I don't know about you, but I get those Things in the mail constantly.And when you constantly are bombarded by that, it's no wonder that you can feel like, this pressure to do it. See, that's not what God intended for generosity to be. It's not this pressure.Like, let's see how many emails we can get, how many letters we can get. I don't know about you, but I'm getting these things in the mail with, like, coins attached to them, trying to get my attention.And when it feels like that, that pressure, it just steals the joy away from it completely, doesn't it? But here's the truth. We're going to talk about a lot of truths today on the show. That's the whole point of this show. Truth Unveiled.Why we're going to talk about truths. But here's the truth, and I want to start with this truth. God never designed generosity to feel like guilt.That wasn't his intention, what he really intended. And this is my personal view, and I think there's scripture to back it up. We'll talk about some of the scripture here in just a few minutes.But he designed it to feel like freedom.So if the first thing that comes to your mind when I talk about being generous or giving is feeling overwhelmed, hey, listen, over 53% of the population feels the exact same way you do. And you can understand why there's such pressure. Which leads me to the second statistic, and this one was even better. Burden versus blessing.Let's dwell on that for just a minute. This is what the statistics tell us. Nearly 75% of Americans give the charity each year, but most given this one.This kind of shocked me when I read this, but it didn't surprise me. My practice, I deal with charitable giving sometimes when I'm doing people's taxes.So 75% of Americans give the charity each year, but most give less than $500 total. Now, you might be saying, okay, Ralph, you gotta unwind that a little bit, guy. We're not really understanding why you're saying that.And I thought about it and I dug into this, and it's because so many people feel like giving is a financial burden, and it's something he just can't stretch. And now I'm gonna get right into Scripture a little bit because Proverbs 11 tells us this. It says, one gives freely yet grows richer.Whoever brings blessings will be enriched. And see, this is what I'm talking about when I say God designed this to be freedom. God designed this to be something that brings us blessings.Because God flips the script on this, so many people think, oh, giving is going to be a subtraction from what I have. But God's not saying that. God is saying giving isn't a subtraction, it's a multiplication.What does Proverbs 11 says, One gives freely, it grows richer, and whoever brings blessings will be enriched. So think about that. 75% of Americans are giving something, but less than $500 total.And then there's this last piece of statistic I want to talk about today, and that's generational tension I thought about. I wonder if there's a difference between generations. I assume that there was. Well, I got into the stats, and here's what I found.Younger adults today are twice as likely as older adults to give nothing at all. I'm talking about zero, zilch, nada, 30% versus 20%. And it doesn't surprise me. I do bookkeeping for several churches in the area.And when I look at the age of the people who are donating, it's absolutely true. Older adults give more. In fact, there's statistics out there in the church world that 10% of your congregation gives 80% of the budget number.And here's the other thing that was interesting when we peel back the curtain a little bit on this. And when those younger people do give, most prefer direct aid.See, the traditional charity thing, like helping a friend or something like that, because they don't do that organized charity anymore.But the thing I want to take away from this, the thing I want you to hear today, because this is what was reassuring to me, because we have to say, okay, what does this data really show us? And it shows us this, that deep down, and I truly believe this, I believe so all my heart, deep down, people want to be giving something.They certainly don't want to do it out of obligation. They don't want to do it out of pressure, and they want to have a real impact.So those are just a little bit of a statistical deep dive to kind of start our conversation today. And as I thought about how do I feel as I asked you that question a few minutes ago, how do you feel? And I'll tell you, I've been there, too.I did what's called a closed fist.My hand would let go of the money, but my heart, man, it was still clinging to that super tight, like, I'm giving her some money, but I'm not sure I want to. And you might be watching or listening right now, and you're feeling the exact same way. You're like, ralph, man, I'M right there with you.I'm giving, man. My fist is closed, man. I don't really want to give this, Ralph. My heart's not in it. I'm certainly not a cheerful giver.And the problem is, when we examine that, when we look at what that looks like, that kind of giving, it steals the joy. There's no joy in that if you feel compelled to do it. Listen, first of all, you're not going to do it for very long.And if you just do it out of compulsion, you're going to look for every excuse not to do. Also locks you in the scarcity, because you truly believe that looks. And I only have so much. I've only have so much to give, Ralph.I can only give so much. My heart's telling me I shouldn't be giving at all. I got bills to pay. I got future I need to plan for retirement.I got kids that are going to college. And the really sinister part of that kind of giving, it turns something that's intended to be worship.I truly believe with all my heart that giving is a form of worship. But if our heart is so cling tightly to that, it turns worship into duty.See, if your giving never stretches you, if you're giving never makes you take that little extra step of faith, I'm going to say something rather harsh and rather controversial. If that's what your giving looks like, you're not giving at all. You know what you're doing? You're tipping.You go to a restaurant, you give a tip because you feel obligated to do it. That's what giving is. If that's the way you think about it.See, because God's truth, and I started the show about this today, God's truth says generosity is warfare. You're thinking, Ralph, you've lost your mind. You're talking about giving is warfare. Well, let's get into scripture.I'm going to prove what I just said. Let's get right to the book of Proverbs. This is from Proverbs, chapter 11, verses 24 to 25. And it says this. We talked about this a few minutes ago.I'm going to read the rest of the verse. One gives freely that grows all the richer. Another withholds what he should give and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessings will be enriched.And the one who waters will himself be watered. And listen, I could do an hour long talk about this. I'm not going to do that, trust me. But you could do an hour long. What are the key words here?Gives freely when you make that decision to give freely, not out of compulsion, not out of duty, none of those things of the steal and the joy, what's the scripture say? You grow richer. But look at the warning about the one that withholds.And I want to just say for a minute, think about what the scripture is telling us. The one who withholds, will they suffer? They suffer. One. Well, that's so counterintuitive if you think about it.You're thinking, well, if I don't give it, then how do I want? See, there's something in that, isn't there?Because what you're doing by giving, what you're doing by being generous is you're bringing blessings to others. And what does the scripture say? When you water, you yourself will be water. You'll be water.You'll be watering other people, and you will receive that watering back, like the bushes and the trees and the flowers around us. Because here's the lie. And I always want to do this on the show. It's all about contrasting culture, contrasting the world with what scripture says.And the world says, this giving means you have less. That's the lie. That's what the world is saying to you, Ralph. If you decide to give, you're going to have less.And so many people buy into that because they live in that scarcity mindset. But God's word says something completely different. What does it say right here in Proverbs 11:24? God's word says giving, you get more.And you're thinking, ralph, that's a complete paradox. But let's change the word there, because what it really is, it's a promise.And what God is promising us, if we have that heart, that cheerful giver's heart, we're going to receive so much more in return. What does he say? Read in the scripture, we're going to grow richer. We're going to be watered.Yes, it's a paradox, but that's what this whole show is about. It's about contrasting the world and culture with what God's word says. Let's go to Mark, chapter 12, 41, 44.A lot of people know this story from the Bible. It's called the Widow's Offering. I want you to picture this scene with me just right now. Just stop what you're doing for a second. Just picture this.Here you've got the Jewish temple. It's buzzing with activity. There's people running around doing all kinds of things. And Jesus is just sitting back watching this.And the wealthy of the congregation are Stepping forward, they got these flowing robes, and their heads are held high. They're almost heads of state. And Jesus is taking it all in, just sitting, watching this. And these robes are flowing, their heads are held high.The wealthy, they're stepping forward, and they're dropping huge sums of money into the treasury box. And I can just picture this myself, you know, they're walking up there all high and mighty.They're dropping these things and looking around, who's looking, who's watching this? If you're taking that in, you can hear the sounds of coins clanging. Echoes throughout the whole courtyard. Putting on a show, as Ralph would say.Everyone notices it. Everyone says, oh, look at that. That's rich people. Look, look what they're doing. They're giving so much. But then something amazing happens.Some lady shuffling quietly in the background. A widow all alone, completely forgotten by most. The crowd's not watching. This lady, she doesn't have those fine clothes.She's in torn and tattered clothes, not that long. Throwing robot holding herself up, no heavy purse. And she approaches the treasury with just two tiny copper coins in her hand.And I've heard scripture, I've done some research on this, said worse than worth less than a penny. She just approaches real slowly. There's no trumpet, there's no clanging, no applause.And she just slips those two coins into the box and just walks away. Nobody even seen her. She was completely unnoticed by the crowd, but she didn't go unnoticed by Jesus.And right away, Jesus says, listen, I'm going to call my disciples. He calls the disciples over urgently. Come on, come on, you guys got to see this. You're not going to believe this. Come here. Look.Did you see what just happened? Did you see her? And then he says something that absolutely must have stunned his disciples, because the disciples are watching the people coming in.The high and mighty, dressed in robes, standing big, tall rich people. Jesus says something that stuns him. He said, this poor widow has given more than all the others combined.Can you imagine what the disciples were thinking? I think, wait a second, Jesus. All the rich people are dropping coins in like it's going out of style. And here you got this lowly widow woman.She just brought in two coins, less than a penny, Lord. And at that moment, you can imagine, maybe imagine if you were one of the disciples.You're glancing back at the treasure, going, wait a minute, I missed something. They're absolutely confused. And they say to Jesus, lord, she. She barely gave anything. What are you talking about? She gave two coins.Lord, these People been bringing in bucks and bucks and buckets and buckets and buckets of money and dropping in. You can hear the clanging all around you. Jesus. And then Jesus says what Jesus says best. He said they gave out of their abundance.He totally turned it, didn't he? He said to get out of their abundance. They had that. It was no big deal for them. That was no stretch for them.But her, but she, what does she give out of? She gave out of her poverty. She gave everything she had. She gave everything she had to live on. Now, can you imagine that? Imagine being in that room.Man, there are days when I would love to go back to be one of those people around Jesus, just to see what was going on in the crowd. I don't even need to be a disciple. I just want to see what it was like to. To live on the earth when Jesus was there in the flesh.Can you imagine that? See, to the world, it was almost nothing. Two small coins, less than a penny. But what did God say? What did Jesus say? It was everything.Because she gave out of her poverty. She gave everything she had to live on. See, the rich gave from comfort. When you give from comfort, you're not given at all.But she gave from sacrifice. And see, the rich gave what they could spare, but she gave what she couldn't even afford to lose. Which leads me to this.And I want you to hear this loud and clear right now. Generosity isn't measured in dollars. It's measured in trust.See, the wealthy folks, the big glowing robes, they had plenty of dollars to throw into the treasury. There's not generous in that was extra for them. But that poor lowly widow, she didn't have it to give. So what was she giving up?She'd given it out of trust. See, there's magic in that. There's impact in that. Well, let's move on to Second Corinthians, chapter 9, verses 6 to 8.And it says this again, Second Corinthians, 9, 6, 8. Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly. Whoever sows bountifully will reap bountifully. God loves a cheerful giver. I mentioned that a few times.I use that on my daily show all the time. I'll talk about that in just a couple minutes. But God loves a cheerful giver. See, God already recognizes that giving is not a debt that we owe.I'm going to say something kind of funny. When I was putting together today's show, I came up with this, and I thought it was perfect. It's not a debt we owe, it's a seed that we sow.When you water, you'll be watered back. And see, the reason the widow could trust is because of God's promise. See, God promises sufficiency in all things when we sow back into the kingdom.And just think about this. I came up with this idea today when I was planning for the show. I want to go back to the Macedonian church.This is right from Second Corinthians, chapter 8, verses 2 to 3. And this is Paul writing to the church in Corinth. If you don't understand that that's what was going on here.Paul was writing to this, and he's going to point to an unlikely example of generosity, and that's those Macedonian believers. Now, these Macedonian people, I wasn't that familiar with them. I had to do some research. These were not wealthy people.They certainly weren't living in luxury. In fact, this is what Paul says. He says they were in a severe test of affliction.Man, I don't know how much more obvious you can say that these folks were not wealthy. They were not living in luxury. They were under a severe test of. Of affliction. Yeah. Guess what? They were poor.Not only were they poor, they were persecuted. They were barely scraping by. And yet, what does Paul say in this letter? Their abundance of joy overflowed into a wealth of generosity. Imagine that.Imagine being able to find joy in the middle of hardship, to find generosity in the middle of poverty. See, that's joy there. That's generosity there. When you can do that in the midst of being poor, being persecuted, barely scraping by.And Paul testifies this. He says they gave according to their means and yet beyond their means of their own accord. I just want you to think about that for a second.No compulsion, no guilt. No 10 emails in your email box. No 15 letters with coins attached to them. None of that. Nobody forced them to do it. Nobody manipulated them.In fact, scripture actually says they begged Paul for the privilege of giving to others. Imagine that. Begging for the privilege to give to others. Can you see that picture?I mean, these are people with almost nothing, insisting on sharing what little they had. They were begging to bless someone else, a community that said this. We may be poor in possessions, but we are sure rich in generosity.I mean, we can all learn from that, can't we? See, the world says this. It says, give when you're secure. So the world says, hey, if you're wealthy, you're rich. You give.You know, you see television shows, you see movies. About this, the philanthropist. They're going to be big givers. That's what the world's telling us.But here, the Macedonians said we can't afford to not to give. Where they totally flipped the script on that one, didn't they? And they certainly didn't give out of their abundance. They gave out of their lack.Which leads me to a very big point I want to make right now. See, true generosity isn't about resources. It's not generous when you got the resources to do it. What it really is, it's about resolve.The Macedonians resolved. They didn't have the resources, they didn't have the wealth. They didn't. They didn't have the big flowing robes.They didn't have all of the gold and the coins and all that. That's not being generous. What they did have was resolve. They had to beg Paul to help other people. Think about that for a second.When's the last time you begged to be generous to somebody else, man? We can learn from that today. Let's move on to Luke chapter 6, verse 38. Again, Luke 6, 38. Give and it will be given to you.Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over. I put that in today because I just love the thought of that. Give and it'll be given back to you.Good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over. What are we talking about here? Overflow? We're talking about abundance. We're talking about a blessing that you can't even contain.Let me tell you something else. This story I found when I did some research for today's show. It's a guy named George Mueller. He did breakfast miracles.I'm going to take you back to England in the 1800s. Now here's George Mueller, a man of faith. He ran orphanage for hundreds of children. This is what he did. That's what the Lord had compelled him to do.Faithful guy running orphanages for hundreds of children in 1800s England. And this is the part that I found fascinating when I did this research. He never fundraised, they say he never begged for money. He simply prayed.Can you imagine that? He did not send out those, oh, we're really hurt and we need the money.There was no Sally Stuthers trying to get him to send money for food to people, little kids. He never begged for money. What did he do? He prayed. But bigger than that, George Mueller trusted God to provide.And I remember they said in the story one morning, then staff came to him and panicked. They said, Mr. Mueller, the children are ready for breakfast and we've got no food in the pantry. I'm talking about nothing.The staff was freaking out. They didn't know what to do. Imagine if you were that staff member in that moment. You got hundreds of little kids.You know how kids are when they want to eat, they want to eat. They're hungry, they're expectant, they're waiting, they're all sitting. I can just see this in my own mind.They've all filed into the big cafeteria room or whatever they had. They're all sitting there waiting. And the staff had nothing to give them. So of course they went to Mueller and said, hey, what do we do here?What do we do? And I imagine they were astonished because what I understand from the stories, Mueller didn't panic at all.Instead he went into that dining room, he gathered all the kids together. They sat down at these long wooden tables. You can just picture this in your mind. There's not a lick of food on these tables.All these kids, they're ready to eat. Orphaned children. He just sits them all down. Empty plates, empty cups. Can you imagine the tension that must have been in the air at that very point?The kids are probably thinking, hey, where's the food? Usually when we come in there, there's stuff for us to eat. The staff's thinking, look, Mueller, what are we going to do here?And then Mueller calmly says this, children, let us thank God for the food he is about to provide. And he bows his head and he prays. Thank God for breakfast. Hey listen, think about an act of faith.He was thanking God for a breakfast that isn't even there yet. And according to the story, as he finishes the prayer, there was a knock at the door. Can you imagine the tension in this room?All these kids are looking around, praying. He's thanking God for a breakfast that doesn't exist. They're probably thinking, this dude has lost his mind. And all of a sudden a knock at the door.And I can just picture one of the staff members run over there, open the door, and who's standing at the door? A baker standing there. You imagine what must have gone through the staff members mind. That's what the baker said.Mr. Mueller, I couldn't sleep last night. I felt the Lord wanted me to bake bread for you. Could you use it? Could we use it? Are you kidding me?And right there behind the baker, just picture this in your mind. Trays of fresh bread, enough bread for everybody in there.And before the children could even take their first bites of that bread, because you could imagine they took these Trays. They passed it out to the kids again. Another knock at the door and the staff member hurried to the door. And now it was a milk cart. Guess what?I almost had to take a double take when I read this. A milk cart had broken down right in front of the orphanage.Talk about God being able to use things for his abundance and give people out of his abundance. Abundance. So here the driver comes up to the door, says to the staff member, this milk is going to spoil soon if I don't unload it.Could your children use it? Think about that for a second.They got these trays of bread from this baker who couldn't sleep the night before because God had compelled them to bake this bread. The kids are sitting at the table, they're starting to tear this bread apart.Knock at the door, here's a milk truck with enough milk for every cup of every table. And just like that, breakfast was served. Not a moment too early. Mueller had already asked the prayer.He already asked the blessing for a breakfast that didn't exist. And not a crumb too late. And see, here's the mindset. Think about this for a second. This is the mindset that Mueller had.And we need to challenge ourselves to have the same mindset. Mueller didn't see lack of. He didn't see empty tables. He didn't see empty cups, he didn't see empty plates.He didn't see his staff running around freaking out, what are they going to do with all these hungry kids? He didn't see that lack. What he saw was a chance for God to show his glory. And God will show his glory.And generosity flows when faith opens the door. And here's a promise for you as you're listening right now. God's provision is never late. And God's provision is never small.You just have to trust in that. You have to be like Mueller and thank God in anticipation of what he's going to do. Well, let's look at the Book of Acts, chapter 20, verse 35.Just a small piece of scripture I thought, just kind of went along with what we're talking about. Acts 20:35. It is more blessed to give than to receive.And see, this is another one of those scriptures that completely turns culture and turns the world on its head because the world says there's joy if you get something. Oh, it's such a great thing to get gifts. Hey, we, when we're kids, wait, we're used to that. Christmas time, whatever, birthdays.Why are you excited about it? Because you're getting Gifts and see, that's the world says, but what does Jesus say? See, Jesus says, there's joy in giving.Think of the joy that that baker had. That baker couldn't sleep the night before. And the Lord pressed it upon his heart, Go bake this bread for this orphanage. These kids.He had no idea whether that orphanage had enough food or not. But think of the joy when he showed up. And he sees all these kids sitting at the tables with nothing on their plates. See, that's the joy of Jesus.That's the joy of true generosity. It's not about receiving. I want to tell you about a family that I know is a typical, ordinary, hard working family.Like most people, 67% of the population lives paycheck to paycheck. I talk about that on my daily show all the time. Said ordinary, hardworking family living paycheck to paycheck, nothing extravagant.Sort of like the Macedonians, if you will. They got no cushion in their budget. In fact, they were budgeting. Every dollar that mattered was being used for something else.If you went into their kitchen, you see bills piled up on the kitchen counter. They're worrying about rent, they're worried about groceries, gas for the car.And yet every month, this family that I know, every single month, and listen, they don't live in abundance. Let me tell you right now, there is no abundance going on with this family. Every month, the first thing they do is they set aside their tithe.10% off the top. It doesn't matter even when it hurts. It meant that they had to say no to things they wanted. And I'm told, here's a funny story about this.One month the car broke down. Another month a medical bill showed up they weren't expecting.And they shared this with me one time they said, ralph, honestly, sometimes they wondered, lord, are we crazy for doing this? But here's what they discovered, and you can discover the same truth today.Every single time they gave, I'm talking about every single time they gave, God showed up. That surprise refund check in the mail, that neighbor who just happened to bake something and stopping by with something.Maybe a neighbor stopped by with groceries. Maybe it was that bonus at work they weren't counting on. No, they never got rich.They never bought a big mansion and lived in Hollywood Hills or anything like that. But they never went hungry either. Just like those kids in the orphanage. They didn't go hungry.And their children grew up watching something extremely powerful. And it almost gives me goosebumps when I think about this. And this is a lesson for us as parents, what can we teach our kids?Their children grew up watching something extremely powerful. Mom and dad trusting God when it made no sense. Can you imagine the kids in this family?They know they're struggling, Listen, it's not hidden from them, but they always had food to eat. And so their whole childhood they were brought up understanding that mom and dad trusted in the Lord even when it didn't make any sense.And I knew these children, years later, they talk about their parents. They don't talk about fancy vacations.They're not the ones that talk about, oh, we took that trip to Disney World and we took this trip to the Bahamas. We did this, we did that. They don't talk about that. They didn't grow up around expensive toys. They didn't have fancy stuff around the house.But when you talk to them, these are some of the most well adjusted people I know. When you talk to them, they talk about faith.They talk about a peace that they have in their own families now, with their own children, A piece that they know, something that we all need to learn from at this very moment, at this very time today. And that's God provides. See, the greatest inheritance that this family gave their children wasn't money.A lot of people say, I'm going to do something great for my kids, for my grandkids, I'm going to leave them bags full of money. Ralph, that's great. If you want to do that, fantastic. But that's not what they left their kids.They left them inheritance that was so much greater than that. It was faith. See, they didn't just teach their kids how to budget. A lot of people, listen, I could teach you how to budget.These kids learned a much more valuable lesson. They taught them how to trust.And see, when that family tied with open hands, open hearts, out of joy, out of generosity, God delivered every single time. God filled those hands again and again and again when they made that step of faith.And now you're probably thinking, ralph, these are really unconventional claims, but it comes full circle back to what I mentioned earlier. Giving is not charity. Giving is not when you're rich enough to do it, oh, I got a surplus. I can give this right now, friend. Giving is warfare.And every dollar that you surrender says this Mammon, you don't own me, the world, you don't own me. Christ owns me. And if you're giving never disrupts your lifestyle, guess what? It's probably not biblical. I know that's not a nice thing to say.But if you're just giving out of abundance. If you're giving out of extra, it's not disrupting your lifestyle. Guess what? It's probably not biblical. And I'm not judging you.That's not my place to judge. You judge yourself. Think about it. If you wait until you have enough to give, guess what? You're never going to have enough.Because what you're really saying is, lord, I don't trust you. I don't believe in you. And that unbelief is disguised as prudence, because that's what the world calls it. Keep for yourself first.Then when you got a little extra, you can share it. Because here's the truth of all truth. God doesn't need your money. He doesn't need it. He doesn't want it. What he wants is your heart.He wants your heart. He wants that cheerfulness. He wants that joy. He wants that feeling of not that you have to do it, that you want to do it. He wants you to choose Him.And if we're being honest with each other, it's the reason I did today's show. If we're being truly honest with each other, your money is usually the last piece of your heart to surrender. It's not easy.Let's talk about the two ways to people live in today's society. I really think this is what we need to really talk about. There's culture's way and there's God's way. That's what I would.I like to come back to every one of these truth unveiled episodes. Because culture says there's a zero sum giving, it's a limited pie. There's only so much you can give from. That's the way the world sees it.If you give, you have less. It's just that simple, Ralph. Hey, listen, the math works, Ralph. If I have a hundred dollars and I give away 80, I got 20 left.So many people give for tax break. I take a little aside here. When I'm doing people's taxes, I'll say to them, hey, did you do any charitable contributions this year?Oh, Ralph, you're never going to believe this, man. I gave a ton to charity. And I'll say to them, okay, define ton. Oh, Ralph, we gave a thousand dollars to charity this year.And again, I'm not judging them. Look at their tax return. They made $300,000, but in their mind, they gave a ton of why they're giving it for tax breaks.They're giving it for applause. They're giving it for optics. They want to see.Listen, they were in the synagogue they are taking on the role of those fancy robes and they're taking those coins, just clanking them so that everybody goes, oh, look at that. Look what they did. They got the tax break, they got the applause, the optics, they look fantastic.And when you give like that, all it does is it keeps you in a cycle of scarcity, it keeps you in a cycle of anxiety, and it keeps you in a cycle of self protection. Because guess what? But you don't trust the Lord for anything. You trust yourself. And when there's enough extra, then I'll give.Because there's no sum, there's no benefit to it. Only if people see what I'm going to do. That's all that matters. That's culture's way. But God's way completely turns that on its side.See, God's thing of giving is abundance and blessing. And I say this almost every week on my daily show. A lot of people have a tough time when I say this, but listen, you need to start here.God owns it all. A lot of people say, wait a second, Ralph, I work hard for what I have. That's fine, you work hard, great. God gave you the ability to work hard.But guess what? It's still not yours.So when you give, when you truly give with a joyful heart, when you truly give with a decision that you've made, that giving is worship.But bigger than that, and this is the whole point, that giving is trust, that giving is saying to God, you know I can give because I know you got me, Lord. I know you're going to make up the difference here, Lord, you're going to bless me 10 times over. What's the scripture say?You're going to make me more abundant when I give more away. That's worship, that's trust. And when you can finally find that, my friend, that is ultimately freedom.And rather than scarcity, rather than anxiety, rather than self protection, that kind of living leads to joy, it leads to peace, and it leads to confidence. The only true confidence that really matters. Because what does the scripture say time and time again?What you cling to, you lose, but what you release to God. Here's the truth. You need to hear this right now. What you cling to, you're going to lose. But what you release to God, you keep forever.Now, before we move on, I just want to, I've mentioned a couple times I want to invite you into something practical. Every day I do a daily show. It's called Financially Confident Christian.It's a daily encouragement in trying to live out this kind of faith, the kind of faith we talked about Today, it's just 10 minutes a day. But let me tell you right now, I talk about real things. I talk about biblical truth.And every day I give you just one clear action to help you break financial shame and walk into confidence. You can think of it like your daily boost.I had a client say that to me, say, ralph, I get your daily boost every day, but it helps you keep God at the center of your money decisions.And I just want to encourage you today, I'm so thankful you're listening to Truth Unveiled with Ralph, but I really want to encourage you to go listen to my other show or go watch my other show.You can find it right@financiallyconfidentchristian.com you can find that right at that website, or you can get it From Apple, Spotify, YouTube, Rumble, wherever you like. I going to encourage you. Give me 10 minutes of your time each day and I will truly help you step into a life of financial confidence.Not in the world, not what the world tells you, but financial confidence in Christ. Well, now let's get to the real part of today's show.I've set a big table here, but now you're probably thinking, okay, Ralph, dude, I want to have that joy. I want to be trusting. I want to have that feeling of peace. I want to have that feeling of freedom. How do I actually get to that kind of generosity?But the things I'm going to tell you right now aren't very complicated. They're going to test your heart. It might be a little bit complicated to implement. The first thing I'm going to encourage you to do.Like that family I talked about. You got to start by prioritizing giving in your budget. We talked about that last week on the show, a God first budget.And you can start that right now. You can start that this month. When you sit down to plan your bills, you're going through that spreadsheet or however you do it.You sit down and do that. Make giving the first line, Ralph. Wait a minute. That's a lot of trust, dude. Yes, it is. It's a lot of trust.But you got to have faith before your rent, before you put food on the table, before anything else. That giving needs to start there. So write it down. Write down what that offering is going to be, even if it feels scary. And that's okay.It's okay to feel scary because you're going to build that trust muscle. Because every time you do that, you're making a bold declaration and you're saying this. God is my provider, not my paycheck.There's liberation in that, and there's freedom in that. God is my provider, not my paycheck. You want to get liberated. You want to find freedom? Start by giving first. So that's the first step.Second thing I'm going to encourage you to do is pray about it. Because you might be like, wait a minute, Ralph, I'm feeling resentful about this still.You might have taken that first step and said, I'm going to do what Ralph said. Don't do it because of me. Look, first of all, listen to what I'm saying to you. Go check the scripture.My grandfather used to say, go test the scripture. When you hear a man talk or hear somebody talk about faith, go test them. I encourage you to do the same thing. Look up the scriptures.We talked about all that sort of thing. But the next time you feel that resentment, we start to feel that fear. Oh, Ralph, I don't know if I can do this, man.You're telling me to give before I pay my rent, Ralph, you're telling me to give before I pay for food on the table, before I do all the other things. If you start to feel that, stop what you're doing right at that moment and just take it to the Lord. Say something like this, Lord, help me give.Cheerfully remind me that you are my provider. And listen, don't wait till Sunday. Don't wait till Sunday to pray. You should be praying all the time.Do it in that moment when you start to feel that fear creep in, that's when you got to do it. Hey, maybe for you, it's at the gas pump. You're putting that gas in the tank. And like, man, I want to give, but I got to put gas in this car.Pray about it. Maybe you're online paying bills and you're thinking, oh, man, these things are adding up. My paycheck is almost gone. Pray about it.And as that collection plate comes by, you in church, have your churches do. A lot of people don't do the collection plates anymore. But right before that, just pray about it. Say, God, give me that cheerful heart.Lord, help me to see the joy. Help me to put that trust in you. Invite God to soften your heart in real time. See, the prayer is not going to change your account balance.A lot of people think, well, if I pray about it, Ralph, is magically money going to appear? No, I'm not saying that at all. I'm not one of those prosperity knuckleheads. Not at all.That prayer is not going to change your account balance, but that prayer will change the posture of your heart. Here's another thing I'm going to encourage you to do. And this one will truly bring you joy if you do it. And that's practice spontaneous generosity.We'll call it God's surprise. This week, I want to encourage you to do something. Set aside a small amount of money. It doesn't have to be a lot.It could be 10 bucks, 20 bucks, could be 50 bucks. Whatever you can afford.Keep it in cash, put it in your wallet, set it aside in your budget, do something for it, and then I want you to really look for a chance to use it. Spontaneous generosity. Maybe for you. You buy lunch for a co worker for no, no reason other than, hey, I felt like I wanted to buy you lunch.Maybe, you know, somebody struggling at work and you just go buy a gift card, you slip it to someone in need. You don't even know. They don't even know who it was from. That's even better when you can do this and they don't know who it's from. Even better.Or here's one, they talk about this. Pay it forward rate. Pay for coffee for the person behind you in line.By the time you're out the door, they're like, wait a minute, my coffee was paid for. Yeah, you don't need the applause.And if you do that, trust me on this one, you'll be amazed how God puts opportunities in front of you once you prepare to say yes, once you put that trust in him. So I just want to encourage you, do those three things this week. Start off with your budget tithing. First, prioritize giving in your budget.Pray for that generous heart. When you feel like, I just can't do this, Ralph, pray about it. And really dig in deep and say, lord, I need you to show me how I can trust you.And then I just want to challenge you. Be spontaneous this weekend. Like I said, it doesn't have to be a lot of money, but look for those opportunities.Look for that person that's struggling a little bit. Look for that person that's having a rough day. And like I said, don't do it for accolades. Don't do it for declining of the coins in a synagogue.Do it like that widow did. Just kind of sneak in, unbeknownst to everybody, just drop it in there because Jesus is watching. Jesus is going to see it.And I want to tell you a quick personal story about this because I went through this same Mind shift in my own heart. I remember I was sitting in church one Sunday morning, and I remember it was right before service started.The sanctuary was super quiet, just a humming. People sort of settling in for the service that day. And I had my Bible open. I was kind of preparing what we're going to talk about.There's kind of half listening, half thinking about, I got a lot to do this afternoon. I got these appointments coming this week. And then all of a sudden, the pastor came up. He started telling the story of the widow's mind.That's why I want to really focus on that today. And he painted this picture, that poor widow shuffling forward just two tiny coins. I'm thinking, where is he going with this?I was sort of a young believer at this point, and he said, it's worth less than a penny. I said, okay, big deal. What are you trying to tell me?And he continued to paint that picture, dropping into the temple treasury unnoticed by the crowd. But this is the part that reached out and grabbed me from the pew I was sitting in. And he said, but noticed by Jesus.And as he read those words, I honestly felt this, and I've not felt this many times in my life. I felt like he was aiming them straight at me. It was almost like he was saying, ralph, I see you over there. You got that reluctant heart, Ralph.You got that lack of joy, Ralph. And I'll tell you right then, the conviction hit me in my chest, man. It hit hard. Because I realized something. I've been blessed.I've had a blessed life. Raised in a decent family, never hurt for money. I'm not hurting for where my next meal comes from.And what he said really pierced me to the core, because I started to think about that widow. She gave everything out of complete trust in God. Everything. All she had. And me, I was giving out abundance. I was holding back.I was one of those guys that only gave when it felt safe. I wasn't going to give when it cost me. It wasn't going to be a stretch for me. I was given out of my abundance, never out of sacrifice.As I sat there in that church that morning, it was almost like God leaned in and whispered. He said, ralph, if your hand stays closed, how can I put anything in it? And I'm gonna tell you right now, my heart sank. Talk about conviction.You know, you talk about when you hear something convicted. Had a pastor say to me one time, ralph, if you don't leave here feeling like I stepped on your toes, I haven't done a good job.Well, Let me just tell you right now, this pastor done squashed my toes because I knew what he was saying was true. That little whisper, Ralph, if your hand stays closed, how can I put anything in it? I knew it was true.My fist was clenched tight, my heart was not in it. I lived with fear, I lived with control. I lived in that scarcity mindset.But at that very moment I opened my hand and I thought, if I trusted him with what I had, I've got a wife, I've got kids, I've got bills to pay, I've got business expenses to cover. Would there finally be room in there? Room for the Lord's blessing, room for his peace.I'm going to tell you right now, that day was a turning point for me. And it was from that point forward. And listen, I still have those days of reluctance and that's when I drop to my knees and pray.But on that day, giving stopped being a duty. It stopped being a must, it stopped being a have to. It stopped being something out of reluctance, out of fear.And it truly became trust and it became worship. And I just want to share one more word with you today. That day, that very moment, my giving changed from scarcity to surrender.So I just want to leave you with this today.If you stay closed fisted in life, you're going to continue to feel that fear, you're going to continue to feel that scarcity and you're going to be on that treadmill forever. But if you open up that hand, you're going to find joy, you're going to find freedom and you're going to find abundance.Because like I said at the beginning, giving is not about money. Yes, it's part of it, but it's not just about money. It's about obedience and it's about trust. It's about worship.I thought I was crazy at the time, but I think you get it now. It's about declaring war on greed and stepping into God's abundance. See, generosity isn't about what leaves your hand.The world would have you to think it's about what's leaving my hand. It's not about that at all. It's about what fills your heart. And I hope that's encouraging today. But listen closely, friend.As powerful as generosity is, and I think we've nailed that today. And I hope you're feeling that conviction like I felt.I'm actually feeling more conviction today myself, I've got to think about how can I be more spontaneous? I encourage you to do that. But even beyond that, there's something far greater than that. The greatest act of generosity ever. Think about this.What was the greatest act of generosity ever is when God gave his son. That's when Jesus laid down his life so you could have eternal life. Think about the generosity in that. It's a gift that you can never earn.It's a gift that you can only receive. So let me ask you this. Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? I want you to really think about that for a second.Do you know Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? He laid down his life for you. He gave it for you. And listen, you can never earn that.A lot of these boneheaded knuckleheads on television and all these prosperity preachers say, well, give, give, give, and God's going to bless you with abundance. You can earn your salvation. Well, guess what? They're a bold face lying to you. You can never earn it. It's a gift that you receive.So I ask you again, do you know Jesus as your Lord and Savior? If you don't, or maybe you're unsure right now, I want to tell you right now, today is the moment to change that dynamic.I want you to just pray this with me from your heart. It's really this simple.If you have a question, if your heart is saying, hmm, I'm not sure, Ralph, and you want to have that assurance, I'm going to encourage you. Pray this prayer with me right now. Just say this. Dear Heavenly Father, I know I'm a sinner and I truly need your forgiveness.And I believe with all my heart that Jesus Christ is your son. And I believe that he died on the cross for my sins. And. And I believe that you raised him from the dead, Lord.So right now, at this very moment, I turn from my sins, Lord. I confess Jesus as my Lord and Savior. And I invite him to come into my life to take full control or to change me from the inside out.Today I give you my heart, Lord. I give you my life. I give you my everything. Thank you, Lord, for saving me. Thank you for forgiving me. And thank you for the gift of eternal life.And I ask this in Jesus name, Amen. If you prayed that prayer, I'm going to tell you right now. My personal belief is this. Heaven is celebrating.There are celebrations going off in heaven right now because another sinner has found Christ as their personal savior. And if you prayed that prayer, you're a child of God today. You're forgiven. You are loved, You're a new creation.That's what the Bible Says, says you're a new creation in God and I'm going to encourage you right now. Don't keep that inside of you. Tell someone if you know a pastor, reach out to them. If you've got a Christian friend, reach out to them.Hey, reach out to us. You go right to our website. That's truth unveiled with Ralph.com decision. You don't have to walk this alone. I'd love to talk to you.I'd like to encourage you to take those next step, find that church and really build your faith again. You can go to Truth Unveil with Ralph. You.com decision would love to hear from you. Before we close, I want to ask you for a favor.If this episode spoke to you, I tell you what, it spoke to me as I was planning this one. There's certain episodes of my shows. I do three different shows. Certain episodes. It just grabbed me. This one really grabbed me.I was so excited to get in here and record this today. If it spoke, I want you to share it with somebody. Share it with your family, share it with your church. Share it with a friend who needs hope.There's so many people out there right now who just are hurting. They don't have that hope. Because every time you share this show, you're planting no seeds. Plant those seeds. You're planting those seeds of truth.You're battling against culture. You're battling against those lies. You're planting those seeds in someone else's life. So I just want to encourage you to do that.You can send them right to our website. That's Truth unveiled with Ralph.com Again, truth unveiled with Ralph.com.let's spread the word of God, of God together and let's change this one person at a time. So I just want to thank you for joining me today on the show. Next week we'll be keeping unveiling God's truth in a world of lies.Until then, I just want to encourage you, walk in faith, learn in wisdom, trust in the Lord and live confident in Christ. God bless you and you have a great day today.