Money and giving
Will God make me rich if I give?
Short answer
No. God blesses generosity, but giving is not a deal to get more money. Anyone who promises you wealth in return for a gift is teaching something the Bible doesn't.
Some preachers say that if you give, especially to their ministry, God will pay you back many times over in money and health. This is often called the prosperity gospel, and it twists the Bible.
God does bless those who give. Paul says God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that you have enough and can give even more. The blessing is for more generosity, not a bigger bank balance. Jesus promised His followers a hundred times as much in homes, family and fields, and in the same sentence, persecutions.
Paul warns about people who think godliness is a way to get rich. The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and some who longed for it wandered from the faith. Paul himself had learned to be content whether he was well fed or hungry, with plenty or in need. He could do all things through Christ who gave him strength, including going without.
Give because God has been generous to you, not to twist His arm. Be wary of anyone who asks for money with the promise of a breakthrough, or who pressures you to give. If you gave under that kind of pressure and stop, you are not under a curse. Talk to a pastor you trust.
My verses
And constant friction between men of depraved mind who are devoid of the truth. These men regard godliness as a means of gain. Of course, godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into the world, so we cannot carry anything out of it. But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with these. Those who want to be rich, however, fall into temptation and become ensnared by many foolish and harmful desires that plunge them into ruin and destruction. For the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil. By craving it, some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows.
I am not saying this out of need, for I have learned to be content regardless of my circumstances. I know how to live humbly, and I know how to abound. I am accustomed to any and every situation—to being filled and being hungry, to having plenty and having need. I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.
And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: “He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever.” Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your store of seed and will increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous on every occasion, so that through us your giving will produce thanksgiving to God.
Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for My sake and for the gospel will fail to receive a hundredfold in the present age—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields, along with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life.
Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, for God has said: “Never will I leave you, never will I forsake you.”