You cannot out-give God: On the gift that keeps on giving and other clichés

Recently, many people who had never heard about Lakewood Church or the Osteens were introduced to them by a video clip in which Victoria Osteen talks about how obedience, worship, and doing good are not for God, but ourselves. God likes it when we are good to ourselves.
A lot of people voiced their opinions about what she said. But Victoria’s comments, although worded poorly, do have a slight hint of truth to them. Namely, what God has prescribed for the world’s good is also for our best as his human creatures. Not only that, but Jesus often mentions rewards, above and beyond plain old human thriving, as a motivation to seek the kingdom of God (e.g. Mark 10:29-31). God is so invested in human thriving and happiness that out of love he gave his only-begotten Son to take on our human nature, join us to himself, and defeat sin, death, and the devil on our behalf. The gospel is certainly about a God who seeks our happiness and is willing to undergo extreme measures to secure it the right way, rooted in him, instead of all the distorted ways sin whispers into our ears.
Where Osteen and several other people on television err is by implying that the results of God’s efforts to head up all things in Christ call for certain prosperity for his true believers today. In other words, you will know you are saved because you will be happy with good health, rich wealth, and ease of life. Such a message sounds more like the fool in Jesus’ parable than someone who is rich toward God (Luke 12:13-21). At its worst, this distorted message convinces people who are physically sick that God has judged them. It tells people who are fiscally poor that their faith is too small (but God may increase it if they send more of their money to the television preacher). It twists what God intended as a righteous motivation for perseverance in him into idolatry under a pious veneer. Instead of understanding that God will always take care of his people, despite hardships they face, this idolatry says to give for one reason only—so you will receive. Sometimes I even hear the phrase “you can’t out-give God” used in this way.
In a sense it is true that we cannot out-give God, for he overflows with life, love, and creativity. One of the foundational aspects of his character is love, and love requires relationships. God created us as a gift. God sent his Son, himself, to us as a gift. God has promised eternal life and a place in his kingdom to us as gifts. Thus, there is no way we could ever out-give God.
God’s giving also never stops. We are his people who enjoy his love and his covenant, and we have inherited an identity as God’s people. Our history has been handed down in the Scriptures in which we read about God’s people constantly receiving from him only for him to give them even more. Dozens of Old Testament passages recount this history vividly, both from God’s perspective and the people’s perspective (e.g. Neh chapter 9). No matter how one views it, we as God’s people will never out-give God. He remains faithful. He remains gracious. He remains loving, because that is who he is.
When it comes to what motivates our behavior, whether it is how we invest our time, money, emotions, or love, we cannot presume God is obligated to repay us with ease in this life. Maybe he will, and Jesus says that to whom much is given much is required, but there is no promise that he will give us much. Just ask the ancients whose forward-looking faith gave them more hope in their futures than their fleeting lives on earth (Heb chapter 11). Likewise, our motivation to follow Christ comes from receiving his grace, confessing our sins, being cleansed with his righteousness, filled with his Spirit, and grateful for being part of his mission of proclaiming the good news of God’s kingdom to our communities near and far. Such discipleship will reap rewards, but they may look quite different than fat bank accounts, adoring applause, and smug postures that we are people "in the know." Certainly something has gone wrong if we think our behavior only matters to our fellow Christians, our social media watchers, or even our pastors, but not our Savior.
Instead, we must have a different perspective, rooted in Christ himself who is the main source of our joy, contentment, and motivation for godly living. If we lay our foundation anywhere else, we will end up disappointed no matter how much money we give to the people we see on television or how often we enter a church building. The greatest gift God ever gave is himself, so let us enjoy him together.