Does the Miser Know God? When the Body Prays
Does the Miser Know God? When the Body Prays
Introduction
I was watering the flowers in my garden. I watched the green grass turn greener, the roses bloom, and the sun shine on everyone without distinction. Suddenly, a question came to my mind: Why do we treat each other opposite to what we see in nature? Nature gives without limits. The sun does not ask who shelters under it. The rain does not choose whom to water.
The earth does not count who eats from its fruits. But some people, even though they pray and go to church, are stingy with themselves first and then with others. “How can a person know God when they act against the nature of His creation?” This question is not an accusation—it is an attempt to understand this glaring contradiction between the faith we recite and the faith we live.
1. A Question in the Garden
On a quiet morning, I stood watering my garden. I watched a drop of water fall on a flower, and it opened wider. I saw dry grass turn green after being touched by water. I reflected on how generous the Creator is—rain falls from the sky for free, the sun shines on everyone, and the earth gives its fruits without charge. Everything in nature gives. There is no stingy tree that withholds its fruit from the hungry.
There is no stingy river that withholds its water from the thirsty. “Everything gives without calculation, without waiting for thanks, without expecting return.” This is God’s order in creation. In that moment, I felt ashamed. Ashamed because sometimes I count my giving as a merchant counts his profits. Ashamed because I might hesitate to lend a hand to those in need. Then the question struck me: Where does stinginess come from if the whole universe gives? How can a person who contradicts this universal nature know God?
2. The Generous God
Consider God’s gifts to humanity. He gave us life. We did not ask for it, we did not deserve it—yet He gave it as a gift. He gave us eyes to see, ears to hear, hearts to love. He gave us land to walk on, air to breathe, water to quench our thirst. All of this without price, without return, without waiting for thanks. And when we strayed from the path, He did not abandon us. He gave us what is most precious—He gave us His only Son on the cross.
“This is God: absolute generosity, boundless giving, love that does not count the cost.” In contrast, we find the miser who enters the church. He raises his hands asking for mercy from God, but closes his hands to his needy brother. He asks for forgiveness while he does not forgive. He asks for giving while he does not give. This is not just a sin of stinginess—it is a denial of the very meaning of faith.
3. The Miser in Church
I have seen countless scenes with my own eyes. People praying with devotion, raising their hands, tears streaming down their faces, reciting the most beautiful prayers. But once they leave the church, they become different people. They do not ask about their needy neighbor. They do not extend a helping hand to the poor.
They count what they give as if they are losing something. They donate in front of people to be called “generous,” but in secret they are stingy even with themselves. “This contradiction is not just a moral weakness—it is a split personality.”
The church is not a stage for acting. Prayer is not a ritual confined to church walls. True prayer is the one that changes your behavior. True worship is the one that makes you more generous, not less. If going to church increases your stinginess, know that there is something wrong with your prayer. If your worship makes you selfish, know that you are worshipping a god of your imagination, not the God of true generosity.
4. Selfish Prayers
Let us reflect on the prayer of the miser. What do they ask for? Health, money, children, success, security. All their requests revolve around “me.” “I” want this. “I” fear that. “I” need this. You rarely hear in their prayers a request for anyone else. Their prayer is all “I, I, I.” “This selfishness in prayer reflects a selfishness in life.” They pray only for themselves. They do not ask for their sick brother, their needy neighbor, or their struggling community. Their prayer is a mirror of their hearts: hearts closed to themselves, not opening to others.
As for their fear, it is the fear of poverty. They fear that someone will take from them. They fear that their balance will decrease. They fear that they will be forced to give. This fear is what makes them stingy. They think that giving is loss, that generosity is decrease. But they do not know that giving is real profit. Generosity opens doors of goodness, and stinginess closes them.
5. Does the Miser Know God?
This is the essential question. Does the miser truly know God? Knowledge in the Christian faith is not theoretical knowledge. It is not just information about God. True knowledge is a personal experience, a living relationship, a transformation in behavior. The miser may know information about God: he knows He is generous, He is loving, He gave His Son. But this knowledge remains theoretical, rigid, cold. “True knowledge of God produces likeness to Him.”
True knowledge of God produces likeness to Him. Those who truly know God try to be like Him in His generosity. Those who truly know God give as God gave them. Those who truly know God do not count giving as a loss. Therefore, I can say with boldness: the miser does not know God. He knows about Him, but he does not know Him. He knows His name, but he does not know His nature. He knows the rituals of worship, but he does not know His heart.
6. God’s Gift vs Miser’s Calculation
God gives without conditions. He does not ask for anything in return. He gives sunshine to the righteous and the wicked. He gives rain to the believer and the unbeliever. He gives life to everyone. He does not count every breath we take, nor every drop of water we drink. “This is the nature of God: giving without measure.”
But the miser counts every penny. He weighs every gift. He thinks: “Does this person deserve it?” “Will they repay me?” “Can I give less than I am able?” This constant calculation makes his life small, narrow, exhausting. He is not only stingy with others—he is stingy with himself. He does not enjoy his money because he fears it will run out. He does not rejoice in his giving because he thinks it is loss. He lives in a prison whose walls he does not see.
7. Recited vs Lived Faith
This gap is the biggest problem in our spiritual lives. We repeat verses about love, but we do not love. We repeat verses about giving, but we do not give. We repeat verses about sacrifice, but we do not sacrifice. There is a huge gap between our theoretical faith and our practical faith. “This gap makes us hypocrites.”
We say one thing and do another. We appear one way in church and another way in life. This split kills our souls before it kills our reputation. The miser who prays is the embodiment of this gap. His tongue praises while his heart is in profit and loss calculations. His eyes water from the devotion of prayer, while his hands are closed to a beggar asking. His body is in church, but his spirit is in the market.
8. Justifying Stinginess
The miser has beautiful justifications. He says: “I am not stingy, but I need to secure my future.” He says: “There are so many poor people, I cannot help them all.” He says: “I give when I feel the giving will go to the right place.” He says: “The money I save I will leave to my children.” “These justifications are all weak, but they are comfortable for the soul.”
The human soul is skilled at justifying anything. It always finds an excuse to ease its conscience. It decorates stinginess with the name of “wisdom,” and greed with the name of “ambition.” The danger is not in stinginess alone, but in the ability to justify it. The miser does not feel guilty because he has convinced himself he is right. He does not see himself as stingy, but as “careful” and “practical.”
9. True Test of Prayer
There is a simple test to determine whether your prayer is real. Look at your relationship with those in need. Does your prayer make you more sensitive to them? Does your worship lead you to sacrifice for them? Do you leave church with your hand more open than when you entered? “If your prayer does not change your behavior toward the needy, you are praying with your body, not your spirit.”
True prayer ignites the fire of love in the heart. And this fire drives you to give, to sacrifice, to be generous. The true test of faith is not in the church, but in the street. Not in prayers, but in dealings. Not in hymns, but in giving. The saints who truly knew God were the most generous people.
10. Healing the Divided Heart
The divided heart needs healing. A person cannot remain divided between church and life. This division kills them psychologically and spiritually. Healing begins with confession: “I am stingy, I am selfish.” “Confession of the illness is half the cure.” It is not a shame to be stingy. The shame is to think you are generous while you are stingy. The shame is in denying the illness and not seeking a cure. After confession comes repentance. Repentance is not passing regret—it is a change of direction.
The third step is practical exercise. Start giving, even if little. “Giving is like a muscle—the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes.” Give to a beggar in the street. Help a needy neighbor. Donate to a poor person. Do not wait to feel the desire to give. Start, and the desire will come.
11. Nature Gives Without Limits
I returned once again to my garden. I looked at the roses I was watering. They bloomed day after day. They offered their fragrance to everyone who approached, without asking for a price. I looked at the grass turning green without asking for anything in return. I looked at the trees spreading their branches to shade those who come. “Everything in nature gives without limits.”
Everything praises God through its giving. Even animals, even inanimate objects, even atoms—all follow the instinct of giving. Only man, honored with reason and will, is the one who deviates from this instinct and is stingy. Why do we fear giving when we see the whole universe gives? Because we have disconnected from our roots. We think we own what is in our hands, forgetting that everything is a gift.
12. No Faith Without Giving
I returned to my garden after finishing this article. I looked at the flowers once more. They whispered to me: “God is generous, so be generous.” I looked at the sun: “God gives without limits, so why do you limit your giving?” I looked at the earth: “God is bountiful, so how can you be stingy while carrying His image?”
I closed the garden gate. I went out to face the world. I made a promise to myself: I will not be stingy or selfish. Because I want to truly know God. “True knowledge of God begins where stinginess ends and sacrifice begins.”
You cannot claim to love God while being stingy with your brother. You cannot ask for God’s mercy while withholding your mercy from others. The conclusion: no knowledge of God without sacrifice, no faith without giving. This is the only law in the Kingdom of God. The stingy lose, the generous gain. Choose today—do you want to know God? Start giving. Start sacrificing. Start being generous. Only then will you discover that you never truly knew God before.
Recommendations
1. Test your prayer before you test your giving. Does your prayer stay in church or extend to your heart and hand?
2. Start giving, even if little. Giving is like a muscle—the more you exercise it, the stronger it becomes.
3. Remember that everything you have is a gift from God. You are merely a steward of what is in your hands.
4. Do not pray for mercy while withholding your mercy from others. What you ask for others, God asks for you.
5. Look at nature every day. Reflect on how the sun, rain, and earth give without calculation.
6. Do not justify your stinginess. Justification kills conscience. Admit your weakness and ask for a generous heart.
7. Remember: giving is not loss—it is real gain for your soul.
Conclusion
I returned to my garden once more. I looked at the roses I was watering. They bloomed more. I whispered to them: “Thank you for the lesson of generosity.” I looked at the sun: “Thank you for the lesson of giving without limits.” I looked at the earth: “Thank you for the lesson of humility and bounty.”
Then I raised my head to the sky and said: “Lord, forgive my stinginess. Forgive my selfishness. I did not truly know You before. I thought prayer was enough, and rituals sufficed. But I discovered that knowing You begins where my stinginess ends. Give me a generous heart. Give me a bountiful spirit.
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