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The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secrets of Joyful Giving

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-- Who wants to know why their giving doesn't work?
-- Why, when you give, is the joy not there?
-- Why, when the pastor does a series on giving at the beginning of the year is there a feeling that the church is trying to get into your wallet?
-- If we think about tithing, why is there endless debate on gross versus net?
-- Why, if we are trying to make prosperity giving work, do we feel fear that if we give, God won't give back in a large enough measure?

Dr. Alcorn deals with these questions and more in the delightful little book. This is a book for those who really want to understand God's perspective on giving. It is not "give and I'll bless you back," though He does say that He loves cheerful givers. It is not about the amount or percentage that we give. It is not about when or where we give. It is about our hearts and giving.

Are you willing to explore the thought, "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not corrupt, nor thieves break through and steal"? The Treasure Principle drills down on this thought and other key verses that help the reader understand that God is concerned about what our focus and perspective are, not on how much money we give. He is concerned about where our hearts are--compared to where they should be--not where our pocketbook is. He is concerned about the treasures we are collecting--and where we are storing them.

Armchair Interviews says: This little book packs a punch, and it is backed by Dr. Alcorn's own experience of seeing The Treasure Principle at work in his life and the lives of those involved with his ministry.

Hands down, this is one of the best studies ever done on the gift of giving. Randy Alcorn has done a surper job of taking a tough life issue and wraping it into a wonderful package. The treasure principle is simple: "You can't take it with you, but you can send it on ahead." This truth affects every aspect of our life as Christians.

I got this book at a church. They were giving them away for free. I decided to read it, because I'm interested in giving and tithing. I have to be honest: I thought this was going to be another "Rich Christian" book, the kind that give you strategies for reducing debt, being a good steward, and investing responsibly in the stock market, giving a good portion of your profits to the local church.

I was wrong.

While there are some things about this book I don't agree with--at one point Alcorn says that financial stewardship is central to our spiritual lives(I'm paraphrasing)--the overall theme is actually pretty good. Almost two-thirds of the book is devoted to giving. But not just the usual give to your local church because you should type of giving. Alcorn calls Christians to give generously, until it hurts. He even gives an example from his own life which was quite impressive.

If you're looking for a book on giving, The Treasure Principle is a good place to start. It isn't a very deep work, but it is surprisingly refreshing in a world of "gimme, gimme" Christians.

Finally, a book that is able to encourage joyful, sacrificial grace giving without brow-beating people with a guilt-trip on tithing! Finally, a book that takes a scripturally sound approach to this important area of Christian doctrine and practice! Finally, a book that offers hope to escape the bonds of slavery to our own materialism!

Pastor Randy Alcorn does a marvellous job in this small volume of unpacking truckloads of truth about how God intends His people to handle the money He entrusts to their stewardship. God intends for us to invest it, in ever increasing proportions, for the expansion of His kingdom -- not ours. God also intends for us to learn what it really means to trust Him, as He prompts and enables us to give "even when the bottom line says we can't."

God's "inexpressible gift" of giving is counterintuitive to most of us. Our normal mindset, heavily influenced by the world's materialistic bent, is to horde as much wealth as possible for ourselves. This is true even in the church, where more and more believers are giving themselves over to the materialism that our culture says we are entitled to pursue and enjoy.

It pains my heart when I see believers who will spend many hundreds of thousands of dollars for a 4,000 square foot house, and tens of thousands of dollars on a new luxury car or SUV, but can't seem to find a hundred bucks to support a short term mission trip. Those dear brothers and sisters are caught in a snare of the enemy. Randy Alcorn's small but powerful book tells them how to escape -- by giving away worldly wealth to store up eternal riches.

Scripture teaches, and I have found by my own experience, that the more we have, the more we want, and the more we have to worry about. When we implement the Treasure Principle in our own lives, God delivers us from the bondage of materialism and prepares a far richer, eternal inheritance that is out of all proportion to the pittance even the most generous of us are able to give in this life. We have experienced just a taste of this for ourselves, and look forward to the day when we can "excel in this grace also." Many thanks to Randy Alcorn for sharing his insights and experiences.

I was given this book free to review from Waterbrook Multnomah.

I must say that I'm glad I didn't buy it. I was very excited to read it when it came, but was very disappointed once I had read it. I think that I am just not at a stage of my life for this book to be relevant to me, nor is the country in a financial state for it to be as relevant as it was 10 years ago when it was written.

On top of that, I felt that the author used out of context scripture and circular logic to argue his point many times. He began every chapter with an out of place cliche or a story about a miserable millionaire. (Plus based on his other book titles, it seems that he fancies himself to be C.S. Lewis, but his eloquence is definitely lacking...)

I did not disagree with many things that he said, mostly just the way he put things. I do think that people should give as they are able. He did try to make an argument for what types of organizations should be given to and which are not as worthwhile, and I think that is a very personal decision that he has not much business delving into.

I also did not like how he assumed all of his readers had plenty enough income to spare, and that his main motivation for giving was so that he could be some sort of big shot in Heaven. I guess he thinks the homeless christians are going to be screwed over in Heaven too since they have nothing to give on Earth?? I just don't think that is how it works, nor should that be the motivating factor in giving.

I think I've read this book two or three times before. And I find Alcorn's treatment of biblical stewardship in The Treasure Principle to be helpful and motivating, and thus it's a book worth re-visiting on a regular basis. Alcorn begins the book, "All your life, you've been on a treasure hunt. You've been searching for a perfect person and a perfect place. Jesus is that person; heaven is that place." Alcorn then goes on to explain how stewardship in your life now can affect eternity.

"Some books try to motivate out of guilt. This isn't one of them." That proves to be true as Alcorn motivates more from the promises God makes to those who live for Him. Alcorn lays out what he calls the treasure principle: "You can't take it with you - but you can send it on ahead." The rest of the book is a further explanation of this principle from Scripture, replete with examples both from history and from Alcorn's own life. The explanations of the treasure principle fall under six themes (or keys).
1. God owns everything. I'm His money manager.
2. My heart always goes where I put God's money.
3. Heaven, not earth is my home.
4. I should live not for the dot but for the line.
5. Giving is the only antidote to materialism.
6. God prospers me not to raise my standard of living, but to raise my standard of giving.

I highly recommend this short, readable book to individuals or study groups looking to grow in giving generously.

This book will challenge you about your giving back to the Lord, even if you think you are already following Scriptural principles on giving. This book is NOT a guilt trip in any way. It will make you think. Randy Alcorn practices what he preaches and you will be amazed by his own personal story on giving. Buy two books: one for yourself and one you will want to give to someone after reading this book. This is a must read book for every serious Christian.

Randy Alcorn's "The Treasure Principle" is a book of very strong encouragement to give to the church and to charities the church supports. It includes all of the usual Bible verses on tithing and giving, along with Alcorn's personal experiences with giving, all of which are fine and appropriate for the topic.

However, I did feel there was a bit too much "this is what I did" in this book. I very much disagreed with Alcorn's opinion that giving should be a competition, and that Christians should be basically comparing what they give to what their friends give, in some sort of friendly way of encouraging one another. I believe that human nature can all-to-easily turn friendly competition into gloating and self-glorification, particularly where religion is concerned. I also was very turned off by Alcorn's story of his forced salary-reduction due to the results of a lawsuit. I found myself all too often focused on the author's situation, rather than on the actual topic of giving.

There were also many great Biblical verses, points and examples in this book, but I believe that the majority of these are covered just as well in other books on tithing. I much preferred Nelson Searcy's "Generosity Ladder" to this book.

Please note that I received a complimentary copy of this book from WaterBrook Multnomah, through their Blogging for Books program, in exchange for my honest review. The opinions stated here are my own.

Lately there has been no shortage of books about the "radical" Christian lifestyle. Often those books try to make the gospel into law or focus on very subjective things. Biblical sanity needed a booster shot. The release of an updated version of Randy Alcorn's The Treasure Principle: Unlocking the Secret of Joyful Giving is just such a booster shot.

Randy's book is radical. He argues for radical generosity, and does so on (largely) biblical grounds (the tithe as a starting point). He offers 7 treasure principles which are not like 7 steps. But these are applications of the teaching of Scripture. For instance: "God owns everything. I'm His money manager."

This is not a justification issue- like some of these books can sound like. It is a sanctification issue, how we are to live in light of Jesus' amazing love for us and His lordship over us. Randy does a good job of applying pertinent biblical texts and illustrating them, often from his own experience. He's lived this. He's not some televangelist with $2 million in the bank wanting you to give sacrificially. He practices what he preaches.

"Anything we try to hang on to here will be lost. But anything we put into God's hands will be ours for eternity."

I didn't get the guilt manipulation sensation that I did with some of the other books. I did feel conviction! We are in the midst of adopting. While I read this book we were deciding whether or not to adopt siblings. I was convicted of my tendency to seek financial security. Conviction is good, but guilt manipulation is bad. The first is the work of the Spirit; the second is the work of the author.

"Where we choose to store our treasures depends largely on where we think our home is."

The book is short. That should have made identifying the new material easy, but I couldn't tell what was necessarily new. You can read this devotionally. You don't need large blocks of time but can squeeze a chapter into a lunch break or before bed.

"Christ's grace defines, motivates, and puts in perspective our giving."

At one point he talks about "enlightened self-interest". Initially I thought of Ayn Rand, whose philosophy is not ultimately compatible with Christianity. But it is "enlightened" by the gospel and is not about self-indulgence but self-denial. It is not about greed, but generosity. This is more like Piper's work, seeking our ultimate joy in God not our stuff. So ... give it a read.
(I received a promotional copy of the book for purposes of review.)

Randy Alcorn has given us great principles for handling our earthly treasures in the first 60 pages of The Treasure Principle. He explains these principles in convincing and easily understood concepts.
* God owns everything. I'm His money manager.
* My heart always goes where I put God's money.
* Heaven is my home, not earth, so invest in heavenly treasures.
Because of his awesome presentation of the principles of treasure, I was shocked to watch him undermine his own principles in the last 60 pages of his book. While he teaches on the one hand that we give according to the leading of the Spirit, in the second half of this book he gives man-made rules telling how much to give and to whom. Although I agree with his suggestion that we ask God questions about our giving, his section on 31 Questions to Ask God includes only repetition of his man-made rules with little room for hearing from the Holy Spirit.
The first 60 pages are great; the last 60 pages should have been left out. In the same way, I'm divided on whether to recommend this book or not. I guess it depends on how much of a book you want to get for your money. Maybe if it's on sale for half price? I received this book for free from WaterBrook Multnomah Publishing Group for this review.