Giving To The Heart Of Christ

I have to start by saying—this month has been something else! The Holy Spirit has been flowing, pouring out revelation after revelation, and I’m just trying to keep up. February has felt like an open heaven over my writing, and let me tell you, this is not normal for me. I can write, sure, but I’m more of a talker. Writing isn’t always my favorite thing to do, so the fact that I’ve been cranking out blog posts like this? That’s how I know it’s God using me as His vessel.

Alright, enough of my rambling—let’s get into it.

Today’s topic is something I never really heard extensively preached in church, and honestly, it took me a while to understand. I had a religious stronghold in this area, and God had to break it off me and renew my mind. What am I talking about? Giving to the poor/needy.

The Religious Mentality on Giving

How often do we actually hear about giving to the poor in church?

Growing up, I was a faithful tither. I actually learned to give money to God before I learned to give Him my time (the irony!). I started tithing early, when 10% of my income was just $20-$25. I was disciplined in it, and in my mind, that made me “good” with God.

Here’s where the deception came in: I thought as long as I was giving my tithe, it somehow balanced out the other areas of my life where I was in full-blown sin and rebellion. At least I was still following some principle. It’s like I subconsciously thought my giving would “make up” for my disobedience.

I cringe thinking about it now—was I really trying to bribe God?

Still Cringing!!!

The Truth: No amount of tithing or seed-giving can cleanse your sin.

The Bible says we must repent of our sins (Acts 3:19), not buy our way out of them. God is holy. We cannot negotiate sin with Him. You cannot obey one principle while neglecting others and think it will cover your disobedience.

The Neglected Truth About Giving to the Poor

All through my lukewarm days in church, I rarely heard a message on giving to the poor, yet the Bible talks more about giving to the poor than tithing!

Here are just a few scriptures:

• “Whoever is generous to the poor lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his deed.” (Proverbs 19:17)

• “Blessed is he who considers the poor; The Lord will deliver him in time of trouble.”(Psalm 41:1)

• “Whoever closes his ear to the cry of the poor will himself call out and not be answered.” (Proverbs 21:13)

• “The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor.”(Proverbs 22:9)

I always heard about giving to the church—the famous Malachi storehouse blessing verse:

“Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.” — Malachi 3:10

Who wouldn’t want the floodgates of heaven to open over their life? But let’s me honest my tithing was purely transnational, I wanted monetarily blessings in return.

Giving to the poor is not secondary—it is the very heart of Christ.

Jesus made this clear in Matthew 25:35-40:

“For I was hungry and you gave Me food, I was thirsty and you gave Me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed Me, I was naked and you clothed Me, I was sick and you visited Me, I was in prison and you came to Me.”

The righteous responded, “Lord, when did we do these things?” And Jesus replied:

“Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me.”

Did you catch that? Giving to those in need—the poor, the vulnerable, and the overlooked—deeply moves the heart of God.

Breaking Free from a Transactional Mindset

For the longest time, I thought my responsibility was just to give to the church, and then it was the church’s job to take care of the poor.

But let me clear this up: it is everyone’s responsibility to give to the poor/needy.

If we’re honest, a lot of us approach tithing with a transactional mindset: “If I give to God, He will bless me financially.” But that’s not how it works. Yes, God honors generosity, but giving isn’t about manipulating Him into blessing us.

I struggled with this. I thought if I didn’t tithe to the church, I was robbing God and He wouldn’t bless me. But the Lord showed me something: tithing to the church is under the bigger umbrella of giving ( as you continue to read I’ll explain this further).

Balancing Giving: The Church & The Poor

Now, don’t get me wrong—I’m not saying don’t give to the church. Supporting ministries that advance the Kingdom is biblical (Philippians 4:15 shows that the Philippians supported Paul’s ministry).

But what I am saying is: don’t forget the poor.

Jesus rebuked the Pharisees for their religious tithing mentality , saying:

“For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore the more important aspects of the law—justice, mercy, and faith. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things.” — Matthew 23:23

Tithing was never supposed to replace justice, mercy, and love for the needy. If we only tithe to the church but neglect the poor, we are missing the heart of God.

Tithing to the church is just one aspect of giving. Under the New Testament, we are commanded to give based on what we are able:

“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” — 2 Corinthians 9:7

Did you see that? “Must give.” Not maybe. Not if we feel like it. Giving is not optional. And we can do both give to advance the gospel  and give to the poor, needy, the vulnerable and the overlooked.

Silent Giving & Eternal Rewards

Another thing: When we give, we should do it quietly.

Jesus said:

“When you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.” — Matthew 6:3-4

The rewards of giving to the poor are not just earthly but eternal.

Why Don’t Churches Preach This?

Honestly, I don’t know. Maybe it’s ignorance. Maybe it’s negligence. Maybe some churches have a selfish agenda.

But whether it’s preached or not, giving to the poor is a biblical command, and God expects it from us.

How Can We Give to the Poor?

Giving isn’t just about money. You can serve with your time as well.

Ways to help the needy:

• Support orphanages, NGOs, or shelters

• Give to a homeless person on the street

• Buy groceries for a struggling family

• Volunteer at a soup kitchen or homeless shelter

• Mentor someone from a less privileged background

The list goes on! We need to be a people who actively consider the needy because that is the heart of Christ.

We Can Help

Final Thoughts

Some of us are so religious about tithing to the church because our pastor told us to, but we never took the time to study the Bible for ourselves. We listen to sermons more than we actually read the Word. But let me remind you: salvation is personal. You are responsible for what you do with God’s Word.

Giving to the poor pleases God. And when we do it, we reflect the very heart of Christ.

Let’s not be religious tithers who ignore the weightier matters of the law. Let’s be cheerful givers—to the church, yes, but also to the poor more especially.

So let’s not just be hearers of the Word—let’s be doers.

Amen?