Reasons To Give
We are all blessed in many ways beyond our comprehension. Even though we have lousy days, go through tough times, and face more than our share of challenges, we all receive countless blessings. The tendency is for people to tell you more about what is going wrong in their lives rather than what is going right. When we really think about life in general, we have much to be thankful for: we live in nice homes, we have friends and good support systems, and have the freedom to make our own choices. As a whole, life is not only good; it can be great.
One of our greatest opportunities to bring additional joy, blessing, and abundance to our lives happens when we are generous and give to others. Today’s epistle lesson from 2 Corinthians 9:6-11, talks about four reasons to give abundantly. Hopefully, by taking St. Paul’s advice we will live more complete, joyous, and blessed lives.
First Reason to Give Abundantly – Law of the Harvest
There are certain principles for giving and they are similar to the Laws of Nature. You know what I’m talking about: things like what goes up must come down, don’t spit into the wind, and don’t take any wooden nickels. As you can see, I was not a science major in college. The main principle for giving is called The Law of the Harvest. It is found throughout the bible and in its basic form states that you reap what you sow. St. Paul illustrates this fundamental Christian concept using farming terms saying, “he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” The Law of the Harvest makes economic sense and even though I’m not a farmer there are a few points that I want to explain. First, the cost of planting seed is virtually immaterial compared to the bountiful harvest. No planter will begrudge planting seed because casting insufficient seed will only cheat the sower. Likewise our gifts to others are immaterial in relation to the benefits we reap from God. Second, our rewards for giving abundantly are not entirely material. I want to make this point because some unscrupulous pastors encourage congregations to give based on greed. They claim that the more people give, the more material riches they will receive. St. Paul and our church do not subscribe to this shrewd investment strategy that is both non-biblical and sinful. Selfish giving simply leads to spiritual poverty. Instead, our motivation must come from within our hearts and for our love for others. When our giving is done in the Spirit we will receive bountiful blessings. The Greek word for sowing bountifully (eulogias) has a double meaning. The word actually means blessing, so that one who sows bountifully will also reap blessings from God. On the other hand those who sow sparingly will forfeit their blessing.
The Law of the Harvest implies that our sowing is something that is ongoing. Productive farmers must continually plant crops to reap harvests. They cannot maintain unproductive fields for too long. They must continually plant seed and cultivate crops to reap harvests at the end of each season. The same is true with us. We must be continually generous to receive future blessings. Giving is something that is to be done on a regular basis. Unlike the man in the Parable of the Rich Fool, we are to actively sow the fields given to us instead of relaxing, enjoying our abundance by eating, drinking, and making merry.
Second Reason to Give Abundantly – God Loves A Cheerful Giver
St. Paul writes that giving is a conscious decision. Christian giving is the result of careful thought and we are to decide our hearts on how much to give. Christian giving is a spontaneous response to God who has given us everything. From Deuteronomy we read, “Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you all in your work and in everything you put your hand to.” This scripture along with Proverbs 22:8, “for God loves a cheerful giver,” demonstrate that the giver’s attitude is crucial. Only God knows and understands our hearts and He rejoices when we imitate His unselfish, cheerful giving to others. The amount of our gift is not important; rather our giving is judged by our motivation’s purity. God delights in blessing His people with gifts and blessings when they give cheerfully, unselfishly, and generously.
We are told to be cheerful givers rather than stingy givers. Let’s look at these words more closely. The Greek word for grudgingly (lupe) means sorrow, grief or pain. Giving is not to be made with an attitude of regret, remorse, sorrow, or reluctance for what was given. Instead, giving should be happy, joyous, and cheerful. It is no accident that St. Paul uses the Greek word hilaros (from which we derive the English word hilarious) when describing cheerful givers. Cheerful givers are the recipients of God’s love because they do it with heartfelt joy.
Third Reason to Give Abundantly – God Will Be Generous To You
Christians believe that God will continually provide for their needs because there is no limit to God’s mercy, blessing, and abundance. Most people, however, have a finite view of the universe and limit their giving because they are skeptical that God will replace what they have given away. In fact, this feeling was prevalent in ancient times. Ancient Romans and Greeks did not give money to paupers because they could see no future economic benefit. The only thing that a poor person could offer them back was a word of praise that couldn’t be spent, traded, or sold. Fortunately, people today are more generous, although giving is often limited to strategic causes and charities. People are also conservative in their giving and generally only give a percentage of their abundance because they think that if they give too much their money will run out. In reality, everyone has some measure of abundance to give to others. There is never a time when we have nothing to give. Self-sufficiency and contentment (from the Greek word (autarkeia)) are our Christian goals for living. By living modest, self-sufficient, content lives we can reduce our dependence on material goods and live in such a way that our possessions and lifestyle does not infringe on our ability to give to others. How many of us know “seemly wealthy” people that are financially strapped and overextended due to their excessive spending which prohibits them to give to others?
Christian giving recognizes the limitless resources of God to provide for His people. Before we can determine how much we should give, we must first recognize that God’s giving and graciousness has no limits and everything we possess is the product of His blessing. Giving abundantly also depends on how much we trust God. Faithful Christians trust God to help them replenish what they have given away. Ultimately, God is the grand sower. He provides, scatters, and multiplies our gifts to all people. He assures us that the more we give, the more He will replenish our resources to share. It is interesting to point out that money is neither considered to be good or bad, but is actually seen as a commodity by God to be used in the service of others.
Just as God freely gave to us, we are expected to imitate His example. When we are generous to others we are told that God will be generous to us. We are to give unconditionally, not expecting any return from people. Hopefully, by sharing our abundance with others we can enter into fellowship with them and realize our interdependence with all people. Our giving to all people is witness to the world that we are true to our faith and Creator. Finally, by not giving to others we limit our spiritual blessing. Tight-fisted hands not only deprive others of receiving things from us, they more important keep us from receiving greater blessings from God.
Fourth Reason to Give Abundantly – God Will Bless You
The highest form of our existence is glorifying God. We glorify Him through our actions, worship, and imitating his loving behavior. Becoming a cheerful giver glorifies our Master and our generosity produces thanksgiving to God. When we give unselfishly, God will “enrich us in every way for great generosity.” Ironically, people who hoard their possessions and show contempt for the poor stunt their spiritual growth, limit their access to God, and deprive themselves spiritual blessings. A hymn from the Artoclasia Service (Blessing of the Five Loaves) sums this point up greatly as we sing, “Wealthy people have become impoverished and have hungered, but they that seek the Lord, shall not lack any good thing.” My friends let us receive God’s blessing by seeking the comfort, nourishment, blessing that comes from abundantly giving. Finally, let us remember that our treasure is really God’s seed given to us to help transform this world for the glory of God.
Conclusion:
As I close I want to summarize that today’s epistle gives us four good reasons to give: We reap what we sow and ultimately we will be rewarded bountifully for our generosity. Second, our giving must come through a conscious decision where we cheerfully give to God and people in need. God looks at our motivation for giving and rewards those who give with a pure, loving heart. When we give to others, God will replenish our resources so we will be able to continue our giving in the future. Finally, our Lord blesses compassionate, people who generously share and give their abundance. Ultimately, everyone has something to give and the size of our gift or wealth is not the issue. The fundamental point with giving is our attitude; God blesses those who spontaneously and cheerfully give from their heart. Just as God is generous to us, we are called to be imitate his example so that we can reap the future blessing in His Kingdom that knows no limits. Amen.
