The Blessed Life

I must confess. I did it backwards. I read the follow-up book, Beyond Blessed, before reading Robert Morris’ original 2002 classic, The Blessed Life ($9.36 for the Kindle edition on Amazon). In the beginning, I had no intention of writing a review of the original but once I read the book, I realized it would be a serious mistake to neglect writing a review and executive summary of such an insightful and valuable resource.

What’s It All About?

In a nutshell, the book is the most comprehensive, persuasive, and thoughtful book I have ever read concerning the biblical principles of giving. Morris explains his motive for writing this way:

I’m not proclaiming the truth about tithing because God needs money; I’m delivering these truths for your sake. God doesn’t need you to give—you need to be blessed. . . My heart breaks because much of the body of Christ is living under a curse as a direct result of stealing from God. 

Like my dear friend and mentor Owen Carr, Morris does not consider paying your tithes “giving.” He considers tithing a matter of debt. It is paying a bill. Morris insists that tithing is the foundational way we put God first in our finances.

Tithing is where we remove the curse. Tithing is what brings the blessing on the balance of our finances. Tithing is what causes God to rebuke the devourer and open the windows of heaven. It is the foundation on which our giving is built. 

The Right Motive Is Giving, Not Getting

 According to Morris, “God doesn’t want us to catch the vision of getting. He wants us to catch the vision of giving.”  Therefore, if we truly become generous “givers” like our Heavenly Father, we bless others, build God’s kingdom, and will be personally blessed as a by-product of our obedient, God-directed generosity.

Guiding Principles

Morris describes the “hyper-prosperity message”of the 1980s as a satanic distortion of the biblical principles of giving. During the 80s, the excess and exploitation practiced by some ministers brought disgrace to Christianity and fueled a great deal of mistrust about any Christian teaching concerning finances. Therefore, I truly appreciate what Morris says God told him to do. In a chapter titled “Do the Right Thing,” he lists three very important financial principles that Morris says he personally practices. He calls these “the foundation stones of living the blessed life.”

1. Get out of debt.
2. Never manipulate others (to give).
3. Give as God leads you to give.

You Can’t Reap If You Don’t You Sow

When it comes to giving generous offerings, the book is replete with testimonies, personal examples, teaching, and biblical principles. In a discussion of 2 Corinthians 9:10-11, Morris writes,

Notice that it doesn’t say, “God supplies seed to the keeper.” He supplies seed to sowers—those who will scatter. . . I hate to say this, but some precious people whom God wants to bless will never have money because they won’t get their hearts right. 

The I-O Principle (Instant Obedience)

Morris rightly advises that we should do whatever the Lord tells us to do – and that we should do so immediately. He calls this the principle of “Instant Obedience.” He explains if we wait and delay, “Satan . . . (will) come up with all kinds of good reasons not to do what God has told you to do.”

We Are Born Takers: We Are Born-again Givers

In the final chapter of the book, Morris summarizes his inspirational and information-packed book this way:

Giving when the Lord leads, helping people know the love and goodness of God, keeping the focus on God rather than on things, being generous, and allowing God to do a work in our hearts are the keys to making our journey on earth an adventure of joy and purpose. These are the keys to the blessed life.