YEARS AGO, an evangelist I knew kept saying to me, “You ought to write a book! You could really make money!”
Because he said this, it was years before I actually did write a book. I knew that if I ever wrote a book to make money, I would be in trouble with the Lord. I did not want to write a book until I was absolutely certain that I was only doing it to help people. That had to be my only motive.
God promised to bless us, and we need to know, remember, and believe that. But sometimes there is a fine line that has to do with the motives of the heart. We can close the windows of Heaven on ourselves if our motives are impure.
First and foremost, people should give because they love the Lord! They should give because they love souls and want to promote God’s Kingdom and His work. They ought to be able to say, “I’m going to give to help and benefit others even if I never receive anything in return.” When people can make that statement of commitment, they know their motives are pure. And when people give from pure motives and they believe God and love Him, He will honor their giving.
Pure Motives Bring Promotion in God
I have seen people be blessed financially through their giving, even though they didn’t know much about faith or believing God. But they lived right, and their motives for giving were pure. They wanted to bless people and promote God’s Kingdom.
For example, I remember one fellow in particular who was a minister in the 1930s Depression days. Back then, men would work all day long—from sunup to sundown—for $1. This man knew very little about faith, yet he became wealthy. He didn’t know it, but he was actually acting on faith principles.
One day he said something profound to me. He said, “Brother Hagin, I really don’t know much about exercising faith. For instance, I really don’t know how to exercise my faith to get healed. But even in the trying times of the Depression, I always owned a brand-new automobile. In fact, I was never without a new car.”
He said, “Financially speaking, my family never suffered, even though we pastored some small churches. We always lived in a nice house and had plenty to eat; we never suffered financially.”
Why did he always have plenty, even in the Depression days? Why was he always well provided for, even when others experienced lack and went without? Because he always kept the windows of Heaven open in his life. He not only paid his tithes, but he was a great giver and advanced God’s work. That was the secret of his success. He put himself in a position to receive God’s blessings.
The Man Who Became a Millionaire in Depression Days
I knew another fellow down in Texas who never went beyond the fifth grade. He dropped out of school to go to work. He never wore a pair of shoes until he was 12 years old.
As a child, this fellow never owned any store-bought clothes. His mother would take clothes other people gave her and remake them for him. But when this man grew up, he made it big! He was worth more than a million dollars in Depression days! That was practically unheard of.
I knew the fellow personally, and I talked to him about it. He didn’t know much about faith, but he knew a little bit. However, he knew how to get God to open up the windows of Heaven by obeying the Word on giving. He got the windows of Heaven opened up early in his life, and those windows were never closed on him. Why? Because he kept them open by his giving.
On God’s side, God kept them open because this man obeyed His Word on giving (Mal. 3:10; Luke 6:38). And the Bible does promise us a return on our giving.
PROVERBS 3:9–10 (AMPC)
9 Honor the Lord with your capital and sufficiency [from righteous labors] and with the firstfruits of all your income;
10 So shall your storage places be filled with plenty, and your vats shall be overflowing with new wine.
God promised to fill our storage places with plenty! He said our vats would overflow with new wine. I don’t know about you, but I want the abundance the Lord promises! God doesn’t make empty promises. What He has said in His word, He is able to perform (Rom. 4:21).
Giving to the Poor
Now this man who became a millionaire in Depression days didn’t give generously just to get. He didn’t have a stingy, grasping attitude—giving just to get everything he could.
No, that fellow was one of the most generous people I had ever met. Whenever he saw anyone in need, he always helped them. He gave generously because he wanted to see the work of God promoted and advanced. In other words, his motives for giving were pure.
Not only did he give his tithes and offerings, but he was a great one to give to the poor. He believed and stood on the promise of Proverbs chapter 19.
PROVERBS 19:17 (AMPC)
17 He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, and that which he has given He will repay to him.
Sometimes I think believers read this verse, “He who lends to the Lord, the Lord will just forget about it.” No! That’s not what the Bible says. The Bible says that if you give to the poor, you are actually lending to the Lord, and the Lord will repay you. This is one of the ways to keep the windows of Heaven open in your life.
If you have the windows of Heaven open in your life, it doesn’t matter what happens in this world. No matter how bad inflation or the economy gets, the windows of Heaven will still be open in your life.
You are the only one who can close yourself off from the windows or doors of Heaven. Through disobedience, impure motives, and failing to walk in the light of God’s Word, you can in effect shut the doors and windows on yourself.
So let’s get the windows of Heaven open in our lives so we can enjoy the blessings of God and be a blessing to humanity! Let’s learn the secret of obeying God in giving, and then watch Him open the windows of Heaven.
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