We live in a selfish world that tries to avoid financial giving. As born-again believers, we’ve received the greatest gift of all time—Jesus Christ—who empowers us to set an example for others in the area of giving. Being a giver, especially in our finances, attracts its own kind of attention and makes us stand out. Fear of giving can paralyze us as Christians, which is why we mustn’t tolerate it.

Whether we’ve been saved for only a short time or for many years, one of the biggest challenges we face is the fear of giving. However, fear doesn’t come from God; when we find ourselves feeling uncomfortable at the thought of giving, we know we’re under attack from the enemy. “For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind” (2 Timothy 1:7). Money is a tool to impact and change others’ lives; however, the devil wants to render God’s people ineffective in this area. Believers have authority over the spirit of fear; we use that authority when we give in faith.

Any fear we have stems from unbelief. Fear threatening to hold us back from doing what we know is right is a sign that we don’t believe one of God’s promises somewhere in the pages of the Scriptures. We may see giving as a loss rather than a gain, in the same way the rich young ruler did when Jesus told him to let go of the wealth he valued so greatly (Matthew 19:21, 22). This type of thinking is common in new believers, but sometimes more mature Christians can also struggle with the same fear.

Spending enough time in the Word to allow it to renew our minds and change our thinking begins to free us from the dread of giving. According to the spiritual laws that God established, it’s impossible to give with the right motives without receiving something in return. “Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man soweth, that shall he also reap” (Galatians 6:7). Change is a gradual and ongoing process; meditating on what God says results in enough confidence in this law to free us to give without fear of losing something.

We overcome our fear when we learn to trust God in all areas, including our financial lives. When we stop compartmentalizing Him, we allow Him to bless and multiply the seed that we sow into others’ lives. We see a generous return by giving freely out of love. “Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (Malachi 3:10).

Unlike the message we hear in the world, which changes constantly, we can rely on God’s Word and take it as the ultimate and unchanging truth. Giving with the intention of blessing others causes great return in our lives. We can believe this with no reservations. “God is not a man, that He should lie, Nor a son of man, that He should repent. Has He said, and will He not do? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Behold, I have received a command to bless; He has blessed, and I cannot reverse it” (Numbers 23:19, 20, NKJV). There’s no reversing God’s promise to bless the giver.