Do you wish you were more generous? Sure you do—who doesn’t? How to become more generous is the question.

You might think that more money would make you more generous. That sounds good at first, but between the lines you are actually blaming God for your lack of generosity: until he gives you more money, you can’t be generous.

Since blaming God never seems to end well, let’s think through this a different way. God’s greatest act of generosity did not require money. It required a plan and a sacrifice. Might the model of generosity he wants you to follow be similar?

Make a plan. Throw away the list of everything God hasn’t given you and replace it with an inventory of what he has given you. Then the first thing you do is decide how much to give back to him through an offering.

So how much should you give? That’s a fair question, but there’s actually a better one that you can ask. It might scare you, but it goes like this: How much money do you have to sacrifice before you are forced to trust God with what’s left?

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Having a plan insulates you from giving reluctantly or out of compulsion. A plan that includes sacrificial giving moves you to trust in God every day. Generous people don’t make more money. They make a plan.