"Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us … he that giveth, let him
do it with simplicity" (Rom. 12:6,8).

The apostle is speaking here of gifts and of the manner in which the various duties of Christians,
as members of one body, ought to be performed. He whose gift is riches, and who gives of his
substance for the needs of the poor or the work of the Lord, is to do it with simplicity. Let us
pause and note carefully this weighty caution. Nothing is more difficult than to distribute money
according to this word of the Lord. "Simplicity" here has the same sense as "singleness of heart,
fearing God" (Col. 3:22; Eph. 6:5). How searching is the Word of God! It guards against
ostentation, love of praise, wrong motives, improper objects; and on the other hand, it warns us
against all evasive pretexts, such as, "Not convenient, I receive so many requests, I am not able
to give, etc." (Ed. note:Probably one of the most common of these evasive pretexts today is, "I
cannot claim it as a deduction when figuring my income tax.")

At the same time, the Christian is but a steward, whether he distributes what may be called his
own, of the bounty of the church, and he is entitled to look for "simplicity and godly sincerity"
in the applicant as well as in himself. There are many plausible appeals made for money which,
when carefully examined, are found to be neither simple nor sincere. He must also watch against
the clever pleader who puts his soul in bondage through emotional appeals and makes him
unhappy unless he yields to the appeal.

Ed. note:While the writer of the preceding article refers to one "whose gift is riches," let us note
that Scripture simply refers to one "that giveth" and not necessarily to one who is wealthy. Many
impressive stories are told of Christian millionaires who give 90% of their income to the Lord’s
work and to the poor, and keep only 10% for themselves. But such are not necessarily the ones
referred to in Rom. 12:8. The one who has the gift of giving is one who is sensitive to the needs
of those about him, even when those needs may not be broadcast about and may not be obvious
to most others. Such a one is much before the Lord as to the use of his/her material possessions.
And the one "that giveth" has the God-given wisdom, compassion, liberality, and care for the
sensitivities of the recipients, to effectively meet such needs. It may well be that those whom God
recognizes as having the "gift of giving" are found more commonly among those of lower
economic classes, some of whom perhaps have at one tune known something of poverty
themselves, and who give _ perhaps at some cost to their own comforts and conveniences_to
relieve the needs of others even worse off than themselves. We who feel good about the extent of
our giving to the Lord should be reminded of the Macedonian Christians who, "out of the
abundance of their joy and their deep poverty," gave liberally to relieve the poor, persecuted saints
in Jerusalem (2 Cor. 8:2-4). There may be a tendency for it to be the other way around with us:
giving out of the abundance of our wealth and deep poverty of joy.

There is only one remedy for all the difficulties connected with giving, as for all other things. The
giver must walk before the Lord with purity of motive, free from all improper designs, and
waiting to do His will with an honest, impartial simplicity. When the eye is single, the whole body
is full of light; perplexity with darkness flees away, the mind of God is discerned, and the clear

light of heaven shines on the steward’s way.

(From Meditations on Christian Devotedness from Romans 12.)