The Problem with "Give in Order to Get"

DG Blog:

Prosperity teachers sometimes teach that if we give, God will in turn give back more to us than we have given. This, then, becomes an incentive to give and a subtle way of advocating the idea that "God wants you to be rich."

There are two main problems with this worth mentioning. First, while it is true that God absolutely does give back to us more than we have given (see, for example, Matthew 19:29 or the feeding of the five thousand), this is not always (or usually) financial. God gives to us in a multitude of ways, and finances are only one such way—and, by far, not the most important.

Second, when God does give back to us, it is not so that we can keep it to ourselves—as though God intends for his further outpouring of grace to terminate on us. Rather, as we are blessed more by God (in all ways—not just financially), he expects us to in turn bless others even more. This doesn't diminish the significance and meaningfulness of his grace but actually increases it even more, for we experience his grace most fully when it is a means of further serving others. 

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