“Bring all
the tithes (the tenth) into the storehouse, so that there may be food in
My house, and test Me now in this,” says the Lord of hosts, “if I will not open for you the windows
of heaven and pour out for you [so great] a blessing until there is no more
room to receive it.” – Malachi 3:10
I
count myself fortunate to have a wealth of memories and experiences. It seems almost every day I see or hear
things that remind me of something I experienced when I was younger. This happened the other day while listening
to my pastor’s sermon on giving. As he
shared the thought struck me that giving was like ‘priming a pump’. Having lived in the country as a child I
remember using a hand-pump to draw water for livestock. When the hand-pump had not been used for a
while we would have to add water to it to get water out of it. Sounds kind of strange, right? For the most part (excepting some rural areas
in the U.S. and some 3rd World Nations) in our day and age we have
the convenience of hot and cold running water at the turn of a knob but in the
late 19th through the early 20th centuries the only way
to obtain water was by a hand-pump that was connected to piping that went down
into a well. For the pump to work there
had to be water in the pump at the operator’s level so that the pump could
create suction to draw water from the well.
Otherwise all you got was air. If
the pump did not have a valve that held water within the pump or if it did and
the valve was leaking then water had to be added to the pump to create the
needed suction, thus the phrase ‘prime the pump’. A good animated graphic of a hand-pump can be
found at:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hand_Pump_-_Animation.gif#/media/File:Hand_Pump_-_Animation.gif
How can we apply ‘prime
the pump’ to our giving? One thing I
learned about giving is that God does not NEED our money. He is well able to accomplish His will
without our money for sure, but He knows that we need to give because when we
do so it releases a spiritual growth in us.
He loves to see us give because of the good it does for us!
“Let each one give [thoughtfully and with purpose] just as he has
decided in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a
cheerful giver [and delights in the one whose heart is in his gift].” - 2
Cor. 9:7
Sometimes we ‘prime the pump’ as a result of
spiritual growth and awakening that has already taken place as in Zaccheus’s
case: “Zaccheus stopped and said to the Lord, ‘See, Lord, I am [now] giving half of my possessions to the poor, and if I have cheated anyone out of anything, I will give back four times as much.'" - Luke 19:8
Some people ‘prime the pump’ to get something out
of it. I have heard it taught that this
is giving for the wrong reason, but I am of a mind that it is actually giving
for the RIGHT reason – the reason being that you believe God’s promises and
trust His Word! “Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure—pressed
down, shaken together, and running over [with no space left for more]. For with
the standard of measurement you use [when you do good to others], it will be
measured to you in return.” – Luke 6:38
Then, of course, there is the warning for those
who do not ‘prime the pump’: “For to everyone who has [and values his
blessings and gifts from God, and has used them wisely], more will be given, and [he will be richly supplied so that] he will have an abundance; but from the one who does not have [because he has ignored or disregarded his blessings and gifts from God], even what he does have will be taken away." - Matt. 25:29
One final thought comes to mind when I think
about ‘priming the pump’. Lest we think
that it applies only to financial giving let me encourage you that in any of
our giving (time, effort, caring, visiting, encouraging, supplies, etc.) we
will experience that fresh supply from the spiritual well of God: “For it is not [intended] that others be relieved [of their responsibility]
and that you be burdened [unfairly], but that there be equality [in sharing the
burden]—at this present
time your surplus [over necessities] is
going to supply their
need, so that [at some other time] their surplus may be given to supply your
need, that there may be equality; as
it is written [in Scripture], “He who gathered much did not have too much, and
he who gathered little did not lack.” - 2
Cor. 8:13-15
Let us not grow weary or become discouraged in doing good, for at
the proper time we will reap, if we do not give in. – Gal. 6:9
So, get busy and “PRIME THE PUMP”!
“Then I will rebuke the devourer
(insects, plague) for your sake and he will not destroy the fruits of the
ground, nor will your vine in the field drop its grapes [before harvest],” says the Lord of
hosts. “All nations shall call you happy and blessed, for you shall be a land of delight,” says the
Lord of hosts.” - Malachi 3:11-12
