Joyce Meyer - The Power of Giving (02/01/2026)
In this message on giving, the preacher explains that being a generous giver, not a taker, frees us from greed and aligns us with God's giving nature (John 3:16). Using the Good Samaritan parable and scriptures like 2 Corinthians 9 and Luke 6:38, she encourages cheerful, generous giving—beyond just tithing—to the poor, needy, and kingdom work, promising God's abundant blessings in return. The key is to give joyfully to God, help others without limits, and store treasures in heaven.
Why Giving Changes Your Life for the Better
Well, hello and welcome to «Enjoying Everyday Life,» where I teach the word of God, which has changed my life, and I believe it will change yours. Today I’m gonna talk to you about giving. And when I say that, don’t go, «Eeh». You know, somebody teaching me how to give, was one of the greatest things that they ever did for me. When you’re a giver and not just a taker, it changes your life.
You know, greed is always chasing all of us around. More, more, more, more, more. And greed is very dangerous. And the Bible tells us that we are to be very careful of greed and to guard ourselves against greed. God’s a giver. And when you’re giving, you’re behaving like God. For God so loved that he gave his only begotten. He gave his best and his only. And we should never have a bad attitude when somebody talks to us about giving.
Giving sets you free from the power of money and greed. But listen to this in Proverbs 19:22, «That which is desired in a man is loyalty and kindness [and his glory and delight are his giving], but a poor man is better than a liar». Now, this is the Amplified translation. «[And his glory and delight are his giving]». And I can tell you that I do delight in giving. I believe that God has given me a gift of giving that is one of the gifts that the Bible talks about. And I love to give. I do it on purpose. I look for ways to give.
Are You a Stingy Taker or a Joyful Giver?
And, you know, I don’t know if you’re stingy or if you’re a giver or how free you are with your money, but I just want you to know what the Bible says about giving. And then you can decide if you wanna be a taker or a giver. First of all, my brother once asked me, «Why do you give so much money to the church»? And when he first asked me that, it kind of took me back and I said, «Well, I’m not giving it to the church, I’m giving it to God». It never occurred to me that I was giving to a person, or a church, or a ministry. I was giving to God.
And I suggest that when you give that you always keep in mind that you’re giving to God. And you should give to God out of respect for what he’s done for you, and give to people that are making the same thing that God did for you happen for other people. Always give in to places that are bearing good fruit.
Story I wanna read you: the Good Samaritan, Luke 10:25–37, one of my favorite stories in the Bible. «On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus. And he said, 'What must I do to inherit eternal life?' 'What’s written in the law?' he replied. 'How do you read?' And the boy answered, 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind;' and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.' Jesus said, 'You have answered correctly, do this and you will live.' But he wanted to justify himself, so he asked Jesus, 'And who is my neighbor?'»
Well, I guess that is the question, isn’t it? Who is this neighbor that I’m supposed to help? Is it just people that I like, just people that are in my circle? Or am I willing to give into God’s kingdom to help somebody on the other side of the world, have the message of the gospel preached to them, so they can also be in heaven?
The Parable of the Good Samaritan
«In reply Jesus said…» He’s gonna tell them a parable. Jesus told stories. «'A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he was attacked by robbers,'» on the way. «They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead». Now, I would like you to put yourself in this story. Now, let’s really think about this and you put yourself in this story. This man was attacked, stripped of his clothes. They took his clothes, they beat him, and beat him so bad that he was half dead, and threw him on the side of the road. I’m glad that wasn’t me, aren’t you?
Well, «A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side». Shocking! A priest, a religious man, saw this man’s condition, and so he didn’t have to deal with him, he crossed over on the other side of the road. I want you to think about as we read this. Would you have crossed over on the other side of the road, or would you have done what the Samaritan did?
«So too, a Levite,» who is also a religious man, «came to the place and saw him and passed by on the other side.» They were going somewhere in a hurry. And, you know, we’re always in a hurry. But Jesus always took time to stop for hurting people. We study the steps of Jesus, but I think we might do well to study the stops of Jesus, because he always stopped for hurting people. He always had time for people that were hurting.
«But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him». Now, this is especially impactful because the Samaritans were hated. Why were they hated? «The Jews accused the Samaritans of idolatry, straying away from Yahweh, and considered them a mongrel race. The city of Samaria had a checkered history as well. King Ahab built a temple to the pagan god, Baal there. Jewish people regarded the Samaritans as apostate people who had sold their spiritual birthright. After all, the Samaritans had actively participated in the defilement of the land. They had polluted the bloodline and were guilty of idolatry».
Why the Samaritan's Mercy Stands Out
Well, you know, the religious Jews were very good at judging other people. And I mean, it looks like that, you know, these Samaritans did things they shouldn’t have done, but they must’ve not been all bad because the Samaritan was the one who stopped for the man on the side of the road. You know, maybe they were deceived. Maybe they were taught wrong. We need to learn to pray for people and not judge and criticize them. You can judge their sin, but don’t judge them.
The more we know about Christ, the more we recognize sin. But so often, and I see it around me all the time, even among Christians, because somebody sins, we judge them. But see, the good thing about God, the reason he can be merciful is because he knows the why behind the what. He knows why the person did it, not just what they did. And we don’t know what caused this man to be a Samaritan, but maybe it was what his parents taught him?
«So too…a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was, and when he saw him, he took pity on him. He went and bandaged his wounds». Now he was going somewhere too, but he stopped. «He bandaged his wounds, poured on oil and wine. Then he put the man on his own donkey, brought him to an inn and took care of him. The next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper. 'Look after him,' he said, 'and when I return, I will reimburse you for any extra expense that you may have.'»
Now, that’s what I want you to see. He didn’t put limits on what he would give. He said, «Here, I want this man taken care of». He gave him some money. He said, «Whatever else you spend… whatever else you spend, I will give it back to you when I come back». Wow!
«Which of these three do you think was a neighbor to the man who fell into the hands of robbers»? So your neighbor is not just the person that lives next door to you. Apparently your neighbor is everybody. «The expert on the law replied, 'The one who had mercy on him.' And Jesus told him, 'Go and do thou likewise.'» It’s a great story.
Giving Generously Without Limits
I don’t think we should put limits on how much we give. You know, people argue about, well, there’s tithing, which is a 10% of all of your increase that God commanded under the law that people give. Although interestingly enough, Abraham tithed to Melchizedek before the law was ever given. And I’ll read you about that. But everything we have belongs to God, not us. You know, you really don’t own a thing. The Bible says you came into the world with nothing, and that is the same way you’re gonna go out.
So we should store up treasure where it doesn’t decay and rust and wear out. So every time we give, we’re storing up treasures in heaven. And God wants a joyful giver, not somebody that feels forced. See, the thing is, is you don’t have to give. You’re free to sit in every church service or watch teachers that you enjoy on TV and do nothing. Nobody’s gonna come and get you and make you do anything. But you also have the privilege of giving. So I ask again, do you just wanna be a taker in life or do you want to do what the Bible says, and be a giver?
One thing’s for sure, you cannot outgive God. And I dare you to try. We think of too many things as being ours. My this and my that. When everything we have was given to us by God and we need to be reminded of that once in a while. And it should all be made available to him at his request. That won’t frighten us, if we know God’s character, because we know that anything we give to him with a right heart attitude of wanting to obey him and be good to somebody, he will return to us multiplied many times over. That’s not why we give, but it is a benefit of giving.
Blessings of Honoring God with First Fruits
Proverbs 3:9-10, «Honor the Lord with your wealth, and with the first fruits of all your»… this says crops, I said, increase. «Your barns will be filled to overflowing». Well, I changed it because most of us…I don’t have a barn. Do you have a barn? I don’t want my barn to overflow. So I just put, «Then your bank accounts will overflow and you will brim over with new wine». Now, I didn’t say this. God said it. He said, «When you bring the first fruits to me, what you need in your life will come to you in overflowing measure».
Now, Malachi 3:10 is talking about the law of giving. «Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there might be food in my house. And test me in this,» says the Lord, «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». Wow! It’s like God saying, «Come on, I dare you, try me».
Now, what about under the New Testament? Is tithing required under the New Testament? I don’t think so. I don’t think we can say that it’s required. But actually, God said something that I think is probably more than 10%. He said, «Be generous». And I’ll read you in a little bit what that means.
But first, in Genesis 14:18–20, «Melchizedek king of Salem [later called Jerusalem] brought out bread and wine [for their nourishment]; he was the priest of God Most High». Now, nobody really knows who he was, but most scholars believe that he was Jesus in a different form. Because it said he had no parents, no beginning, no end. Well, only the Godhead has that.
«And he blessed him and said, 'Blessed (favored with blessings, made blissful, joyful) be Abram by God Most High, possessor and maker of heaven and earth, and blessed, praised and glorified be God Most High, who has given your foes into your hands.' And [Abram] gave him a tenth of all [he had taken]». There was no law given then. The law was not given until Moses came. But Abraham gave Melchizedek a tithe. So it doesn’t look like we have to have a law to tithe because it started before the law was given.
New Testament Giving: Be Generous and Cheerful
But what God says to us in the Bible is in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11, «Remember this:» Remember this! «Whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things…having all that you need, you will also be able to abound in every good work. As it is written: 'You have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.'»
Do you know there are 2,000 scriptures in the Bible that tell us to give to the poor, the needy, widows and orphans. God had hurting people in his heart and he wants us to care about them too. You say, «Well, I don’t have any money». Well, maybe you could give some time working at a shelter in your city to help them. They have to have volunteers. And you know, volunteers are not real plentiful these days. Seems like everybody wants to be paid for every move they make. But when I first came into a serious relationship with God, people volunteered for stuff all the time. And it’s good to do that. You could give your time, if you don’t have money. There’s always ways that you can give.
«Generously,» defined on the Google online dictionary says: enough or more than enough, bountiful, liberal, magnanimous. I like that! I wanna be magnanimous. Profuse, ungrudgingly and unsparingly. So, God’s not telling you to give 10%. Not here anyway in the New Testament. He’s saying, «Be generous». Well, sounds to me like generous might be more than 10%.
I don’t count up what I give to God. I still do believe in tithing. I believe you’re blessed when you do it. I don’t think it’s a law, but I believe you’re blessed when you do it. I think there’s a blessing connected to tithing. Don’t have to, want to. So we have certain amount of money that we’ve committed, a certain percentage. It’s actually more than 10%. But in addition to that, we give all the time, to different things, different people who need things, who need help. They need a bed, or they need a new refrigerator, theirs conked out and they don’t have any money.
I mean, there’s always… you say, «Well, I’m just not gonna work hard and give all my money away». Well, you’re not getting it. If you give out of a right heart, you’ll always have more than enough to meet all of your needs, and to give into every good work. That’s what I wanna be able to do.
The Promise of Receiving When You Give
Luke 6:38 says, «Give and [gifts] will be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together, and running over, will they pour into [the pouch formed by] the bosom [of your robe and used as a bag]. For with the measure you deal out [with the measure you use when you confer benefits on others], it will be measured back to you again». You reap what you sow. 2000 scriptures, I guess it’s pretty important.
Proverbs 19:17 says, «He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and that which he has given he will repay him». 1 John 3:16–18, «By this we come to know (progressively to recognize, perceive and understand) the [essential] love: that he laid down his [own] life for us; and we ought to lay [our] lives down for [those who are our] brothers [in him]». Well, you know, sometimes we don’t even wanna be inconvenienced, let alone give your life. And I’m not even…I’m not talking about dying, like Jesus did for us. But just be willing to give part of your life and time to somebody who has need.
«But if anyone has this world’s goods (resources for sustaining life) and sees his brother and fellow believer in need, yet closes his heart of compassion against him, how can the love of God live and remain in him»? You see, love is a living thing and it has to have a flow. So, a river that stays fresh is one that has clean water flowing in and water flowing out. Water flowing in and water flowing out. The Dead Sea is dead because it’s stagnant. There’s no outlet and inlet. You gotta keep things flowing. You gotta keep yourself stirred up.
Sit and think about what it would be like if it was really cold in your city tonight. Of course, now it’s summer right now. So, while I’m preaching this, it’s summer. You may listen to it in the winter. But if it was really cold, like below zero, and you were living in a cardboard box somewhere because you were homeless, think how that would be. And you can help make it easier for somebody. And if you only help one person, it’s better than helping nobody.
I always like to say there’s only one thing that we cannot do, and that’s nothing. We just cannot be people who do nothing to help anybody else. You’ll be the most miserable of all people if you do that.
«If anybody has this world’s goods…yet closes his heart of compassion». So we apparently can close it and we can open it. I like this, too, James 1:27. «External religious worship… as it is seen in outward acts». Now, you know, we’re ambassadors for God, and we’re supposed to get out in the world and act like Jesus would if he were here, so people see what we do.
So, «External religious worship…[as it is expressed in outward acts] that is pure and unblemished in the sight of God the Father is this: visit and help and care for the orphans and the widows in their affliction and need, and keep yourself unspotted and uncontaminated from the world». Live a holy life unto God because you love him and wanna honor him and be good to people that have less than you do.
God bless you and thank you for listening today. And I hope that you will put some of these practices to work in your life. God bless you.