Monkey Hunting

There is a Biblical concept some TV preachers have so mischaracterized that we are in danger of missing out on the true spiritual and financial blessing Jesus promised us when we give.

We believe Jesus performed miracles. We believe He walked on the water, turned water into wine, healed the sick, and made the lame walk and the blind see. But does God perform miracles, or even blessings, today? Can we experience financial blessings in this age?

Jesus said, “Give, and it shall be given to you; a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over— will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38 CSV).

Let me simplify the last sentence of this passage with a little tongue-in-cheek KJV vernacular: “For the size of the scooper you useth, it will be scoopethed back to you!”

If you want small blessings, put into circulation a small gift, but if you want larger blessings from the Lord, give a larger gift. Giving to the Lord begins with the tithe. The tithe is 10%.

We are to GIVE – and real people, with real money, will give to you. Why will they give to you? Because you initiated, by faith – the first word in the verse: GIVE. When you give, you put into circulation God’s Economic plan to bless your life.

In God’s Economy, faith is everything. Because of our faith, we give. For money to work, it must flow; it must circulate. In your body, you have a certain amount of blood. If that circulation stops or gets cut off, you could perish. Our Lord has given us the answer to our financial worries. It begins with GIVE.

I firmly believe in budgeting, frugality, saving, investing, and Best Practices in business principles. But the LORD also expects His followers to live at a certain level of generosity and faith. The answer to God’s Economic Principle is in Luke 6:38, but we don’t dare to believe it. It sounds too simple.

Luke 6:38 reminds us that God’s financial blessing comes by putting our money into circulation. But many choose to hold on rather than let go. We put this miracle of sowing and reaping in motion when we give. That is, we put our gift into the circulation of God’s economy when we let go.

Do you know how hunters in India capture monkeys? They place a banana inside the narrow opening of a jar so the monkey squishes its hand inside. The monkey will find it, reach in, and close its hand around the banana.

And now – with the monkey’s clenched fist- it is entrapped by the tethered jar. When the trapper calmly approaches, the desperate monkey screams but will not let go of the banana. The monkey can easily escape but must first let go of what it is holding.

Many believers today won’t let go of what already belongs to God: The tithe is 10%. They hold ON to that tithe or habit or that besetting sin. And because they won’t let go, the thing they hold on to – makes a Monkey out of them.

Holding on to what we should give to the Lord means cutting off the circulation of blessings God wants. God circulates financial blessings to those who will let go and give.

The hymn writer dared to ask for,
Showers of Blessings, Showers of blessings we need.
Mercy drops around us are falling, but for God’s showers, we plead.

Do you need Luke 6:38 to work for you? If so, begin by tithing. But remember, we don’t give to keep. Evangelist Chuck Millhuff pointed out, “That would be selfishness. You cannot trick the Lord or abuse God’s promises for selfish gain.” Millhuff said, “We give to get, to give to get, to give to get, to…give.”

Let’s dare to believe that what Jesus said remains true.
Let’s dare to believe the Bible passages of great faith still belong to us.
Like the chorus from a generation ago, “Let go and let God have His wonderful way.”
Let go and see how the Holy Spirit will make your obedience of giving reap for you – a harvest.

“Give, and it shall be given to you; a good measure —
pressed down, shaken together, and running over—
will be poured into your lap.
For with the measure you use,
it will be measured back to you” (Luke 6:38 CSV).

Give. Don’t let Satan make a monkey out of you.

Bruce McCoy, D.Min.
Associate Vice President
Institutional Advancement, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary
Author of The Reluctant Peacemaker