God’s economy is a matter of giving. We must learn to give all the time. No one who loves the Lord should say that he has nothing to give. In Matthew 14 when a great crowd followed the Lord in the wilderness, the disciples said, “Send the crowds away so that they may go into the villages and buy food for themselves” (v. 15). To send the crowds away was not to give anything to them. However, the Lord told them, “They do not need to go away; you give them something to eat” (v. 16). Verses 17-19 say, “And they say to Him, We have nothing here except five loaves and two fishes. And He said, Bring them to Me. And commanding the crowds to recline on the grass, He took the five loaves and two fishes, and looking up to heaven, He blessed, and brake and gave the loaves to the disciples, and the disciples to the crowds.” This portion illustrates the way of giving. The disciples had very little compared to the number of people, but after the Lord’s blessing, what they had fed five thousand men, and what was left over filled twelve baskets.
Regardless of how much you have, simply give it. Before giving it you should say, “Lord, this is all that I have. I give it over into Your hands. Bless it and I will give it to others.” If we do this, we will see the abundance. This principle applies to all kinds of giving, including material giving.
To function in the meetings is to give. Do not say that you have nothing. You have something. It may be little, but you still need to give it. Just give what you have. If you will give the little you have, you will get more.
We all must give to others. First, we must give the gospel. Preaching the gospel is the giving of something to others. Then we must give people nourishment. Third, we must give material things. In the gospel, in visiting the saints, in shepherding, in functioning, in material matters, and in everything, we must learn to give.
In principle, when I was not generous in giving, I became poor. But when I was generous in every matter, I became rich. The more one gives, the more one receives. When five young ones come together, one may feel that he knows so little, but he should present what he knows or has experienced to the others. This little bit will be multiplied. By our giving we will get the multiplication. The way to multiply our life experience is to give. This is crucial to our Christian life, the church life, and our functioning in the meetings.
Learn to give everything. If you have two Bibles or two hymnals, give one to someone else. In principle, if you give one, you will receive two. When water flows out of one end of a water hose, more water flows in through the other end. But when the flowing out stops, the flowing in is cut off. In the giving of material things, we should not count the dollars we have to give. We should simply give something. Even one dollar is meaningful if it is given by us. If we stop giving, we cut off the Lord’s blessing.
The more we preach the gospel and pass on the Lord’s salvation to others, the more we experience salvation. The principle is always the same—the more we give, the more we receive, but when we stop giving, we cut ourselves off from the Lord’s blessing, even from His presence. A good church life is a life full of giving.
I hope that the young people will practice all the things we have seen in these chapters. You need to flee youthful lusts and pursue Christ together. You also need to see the vision of the Lord’s recovery. You should know the life experiences and concentrate your whole being on the divine Spirit and our human spirit mingled together as one spirit. Moreover, you should read the Word and the messages and learn to give in God’s economy. The place to practice all these things is not in the big meetings but in the small groups.
(Fellowship with the Young People, Chapter 3, by Witness Lee)