“Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
At least once a year (sometimes much more, depending upon your church), you are going to walk into your church and hear the pastor attempt to convince you to give more money to the work of the church. And, if your pastor is like most, he’ll more than likely refer to this month’s Scripture passage (among others) in his endeavors. Nothing wrong with this, but if that’s the only time you examine these verses, you will have missed the vast majority of the reason God chose to put them in His Word to us!
You see, the principles above can apply to money, but they are intended to go much farther than that. The verses aren’t intended to be primarily about money, but about our hearts (which is the bottom line for most of what the Bible teaches us, is you dare look!). Yes, God’s challenge to us each is to give, but if all we give is money, or if we dismiss this verse because we think that’s all it talks about, we will have missed one of God’s most important lessons!
The most important thing to take from God’s Word above is this: Generosity is one of the key distinguishing marks of a Christian, and it should characterize all of our behavior. Whether it is with our dollars, our time, our compliments, our gifts & abilities or our forgiveness (to name a few), each and every one should be characterized by generosity.
Why? Because God, through His Son Jesus Christ, has been incredibly generous with us, His children. Simply put, we should be generous in everything because God is generous in everything! Do you have to give just like someone else? Absolutely not!
Give like...give what...only you can give – you’ll be surprised at the results! You’ll discover that since such generosity honors and points people towards Him, it will invariably create within us a spirit of joy…I guarantee it!
