Christians who regularly read the Bible are significantly more generous than the average American—so says new survey data from the American Bible Society.

The numbers show it is not even close: About 92 percent of Christians who read the Bible regularly give to charity, compared to 54 percent of believers who do not. Among all Americans who donate, regular Bible readers give twice as much.

For people who keep their noses in God’s Word, such a stat likely comes as no shock. They know giving produces real blessings, believing Jesus Christ’s words: “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35).

The study also looked at churchgoers. About 91 percent of this group gives to charity, compared to 52 percent of those who do not attend. Regular parishioners give 42 percent more on average. This includes both regular tithes and offerings, as well as donations to Christian and secular nonprofits.

Of those who “strongly agree” with the statement “I believe God is actively involved in my life,” 84 percent give to charity, the study found.

While such statistics may be unsurprising to regular Bible readers, they are exciting because they offer proof that God’s Way works.

But even though a person may desire a deep relationship with God, following through can be difficult. The survey explored this as well, stating that 52 percent of Americans desired to read Scripture more. Despite this, just 14 percent succeeded in increasing their Bible reading in 2023.

“Only a quarter of the U.S. population (25 percent) reads the Bible weekly on their own, apart from a church service,” the study found.

So even though people are reading their Bibles and growing in their ability to give, most would like to do more—knowing that drawing closer to God by studying His words unlocks great benefits.

These instincts are correct!

We should be “searching the scriptures daily,” like the Bereans in Acts 17:11. This will reveal the Bible has much more to say about generosity—and the incredible blessings that flow from it.

Christ’s Plain Words

The relationship between giving and reading the Bible is clear from a statistical standpoint. And Jesus not only said it was important—He also explained why a mindset of giving is so crucial. How a person uses his or her money says a lot about who they are.

After warning against accumulating “for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust…corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal,” Jesus urged His listeners to instead “lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust…corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matt. 6:19-20).

Christ continued with this statement: “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (vs. 21). In other words, investment is a window into character. Excessive accumulation—focus on self—reflects one’s heart. Contrast this to wisely helping others, and the point is impossible to miss.

In the same setting, Jesus Christ explained that giving should be done with the right attitude. It can be easy to give with the intent to impress others. But this carries unseen and unintended consequences.

Notice: “Take heed that you do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise you have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when you do your alms, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward” (Matt. 6:1-3).

In other words, giving to gain praise from others results in just that—praise from other human beings—not rewards from God!

Jesus showed that giving should remain private: “But when you do alms, let not your left hand know what your right hand does” (vs. 4). Secrecy is vital.

Doing so will ensure that “your Father which sees [you give] in secret Himself shall reward you openly” (vs. 4).

Giving produces real blessings: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that you mete [give] withal it shall be measured to you again” (Luke 6:38).

Yet generosity has an even greater importance. Mankind was created in God’s “image” and “likeness” (Gen. 1:26). This means human beings were designed to give, as God wants everyone to be more like Him: “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).

God’s Way can be summed up like this: learning to practice the give way of life!

Part of the blessing of giving is that helping others feels good. But the benefits experienced by the giver do not end there. Those who make generosity a lifestyle can attest to this. Their giving is not limited to where their monetary “treasure is,” remembering Christ’s words. They give of their time and energy in ways that can be as simple as taking an extra moment to say hello to someone who looks lonely. And they are regularly “rewarded openly” in ways that must be experienced to be understood!

Reaping Rewards

Jesus Christ’s instructions do not solely revolve around giving. He also said, “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word of God” (Luke 4:4). The reader should be ready to follow what the Book says. Such obedience strengthens a person’s relationship with God so that “whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, because we keep His commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in His sight” (I John 3:22).

This principle is easy to see at work in families. If children obey and please their parents, there are real benefits. Similarly, yielding to God, our spiritual Father, allows us to confidently go to Him in prayer. Of course, “whatsoever we ask” must align with God’s will on a matter.

At its core, keeping the commandments is an expression of love (vs. 23). This fact is clearly seen when Jesus answered this question, “Master, which is the great commandment in the law?” (Matt. 22:36).

Christ’s response: “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” He then explained: “On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.”

In other words, far from doing away with the Law, Christ explained that keeping the Ten Commandments expresses love toward God and other human beings.

There are impossible-to-miss benefits to keeping each of the Ten Commandments. Those who do—whether they realize it—reap certain rewards. Easy examples to understand are honoring your father and mother (the fifth commandment), not killing people (the sixth), and guarding against adultery (the seventh). These require no explanation.

The eighth commandment—“You shall not steal”—is also universally accepted and understood, regardless of culture or creed. Even thieves who steal things belonging to others do not want to be stolen from! Thievery comes in many obvious forms, but most are shocked to learn it is possible to unwittingly steal from God.

In Malachi 3, God asks the reader a rhetorical question: “Will a man rob God?” He continues, “Yet you have robbed Me. But you say, Wherein have we robbed You?”

God’s answer is plain: “In tithes and offerings” (vs. 8).

He then issues a challenge, promising tremendous benefits: “Bring you all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in Mine house, and prove Me now herewith, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it” (vs. 9-10).

Obeying God’s instruction to pay Him a tithe—meaning a tenth—of our increase allows us to claim this amazing promise. Read our booklet End All Your Financial Worries to learn much more about God’s tithing command.

Giving carries real blessings!

A Life of Great Abundance

God’s challenge goes far beyond just giving. He knows living His way of life is the only path to true happiness. In John 10:10, Christ said, “I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.” The things He taught were not burdensome, but freeing.

Jesus taught a life of reliance on God and promised that those who “seek…first the Kingdom of God, and His righteousness” will have “all these things...added unto you” (Matt. 6:33). The context shows that “all these things” includes all the physical needs we have in life.

Obeying God on any matter, including living the give way, automatically yields blessings. To understand all these benefits, you must dig through God’s Word. It reveals exactly how you can lead the fulfilling life Jesus promised.

Our Editor-in-Chief David C. Pack expanded on this in his article “You Can Live the Abundant Life!” He wrote: “Paul wrote to the Thessalonians to ‘rejoice evermore’ (I Thes. 5:16). This is one of the only two verses in the Bible that contains two words, making it hard to forget. Yet it is a command from God to all those begotten of His Spirit. It is why a thousand years earlier, the Psalmist approached each day by saying, “This is the day which the Lord has made; we will rejoice and be glad in it” (Psa. 118:24). In the very next verse, he asked God to ‘send now prosperity.’

“These are not vague, nebulous scriptures. They are clear, direct and plain—and vital instruction for you and me. John added, ‘truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with His Son Jesus Christ...that your joy may be full’ (I John 1:3-4).

“Your joy can be full, beyond your wildest dreams, if you walk and fellowship with God and Christ as a constant way of life that overarches your every word and deed.

“Yes, you can live the rich, radiant, full, happy, joyful, abundant life. All you must do is be willing to leave the old way of life behind—go to the source—and begin!”

Read the rest of You Can Live the Abundant Life! Regardless of your current level of giving, if you immerse yourself in God’s abundant way of life, you will receive incredible blessings.

This article contains information from The Associated Press.