“Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Corinthians 9:7
What a beautiful thing it is to give.
In the house of God, giving should not be something we do because we feel pressured to do it. It should come from the heart. Paul says that each person should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, because God loves a cheerful giver.
I love that.
God looks at the heart behind the gift.
Everything we have has come from God. Paul asked,
“What do you have that you did not receive?”
1 Corinthians 4:7
David understood this when he was preparing for the building of the temple. He said,
“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able thus to offer willingly? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.” 1 Chronicles 29:14
That is such a powerful way to look at giving.
We are not giving God something that originally belonged to us. We are giving back to him from what he has first placed in our hands.
David went on to say,
“I know, my God, that you test the heart and have pleasure in uprightness. As for me, in the uprightness of my heart I have freely offered all these things.” 1 Chronicles 29:17
“I have freely offered.”
That is the heart of cheerful giving.
We give because God has been good to us.
We give because God has provided for us.
We give because we are grateful.
We give because we love him.
And ultimately, we give because God first gave to us.
The greatest example of giving is Jesus.
“For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son…”
John 3:16
God’s love was expressed through giving.
Paul says,
“You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” 2 Corinthians 8:9
Before we gave anything to God, God gave himself for us.
We do not give to make God love us. We give because we have already experienced his love.
When we look at Jesus, we see that love gives.
Jesus said,
“Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.”
John 15:13
So when we give, we are responding to the generosity of God.
Sometimes we need to stop and remember what God has done for us.
David said,
“Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.”
Psalm 103:2
There is something powerful about remembering.
Remember where God found you.
Remember what he brought you through.
Remember the prayers he answered.
Remember the doors he opened.
Remember the times he provided when you did not know where the provision would come from.
Remember the times he protected you without you even knowing what he protected you from.
When we remember the goodness of God, thanksgiving rises in our hearts.
The psalmist asked,
“What shall I render to the Lord for all his benefits to me?” Psalm 116:12
After all God has done for us, we begin to ask, “Lord, what can I give to you?”
Our giving can become an expression of thanksgiving.
Every offering can simply say, “Lord, thank you.”
Paul says,
“God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.” 2 Corinthians 9:8
Notice that God’s provision is not simply so that we can have more for ourselves. He gives so that we can abound in every good work. God blesses us so that we can become a blessing.
This is why giving is part of the work of God.
Paul describes believers as,
“God’s fellow workers.”
1 Corinthians 3:9
God allows us to participate in what he is doing. When we give to the work of God, we are helping the gospel move forward.
Someone can hear the gospel.
Someone can receive prayer.
Someone can be taught the word of God.
Someone can find a church family.
Someone who is discouraged can be strengthened.
Someone who is hungry can be fed.
Someone who is struggling can receive help.
Someone who feels alone can discover that they are not alone.
We may not always see the connection between our giving and what God does with it, but that does not mean there is no connection.
Giving is like sowing seed.
When a farmer puts seed into the ground, he does not see the harvest immediately. But he knows that the seed has gone somewhere. There is a future attached to it.
Our giving can be like that.
We release something from our hand because we believe God can use it for something greater than what we can see at that moment.
But we should never treat giving as a way of buying something from God.
We do not give £100 so that God owes us £1,000.
We do not give to manipulate God.
We give because we love God.
We give because we are grateful.
We give because we want to see his work continue.
We give because we want to bless others.
And we give because we recognise that everything we have came from him in the first place.
The early church gives us another beautiful picture.
Acts says,
“All who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.” Acts 2:44-45
This was not simply about collecting an offering. It was about people caring for one another.
Acts later says,
“There was not a needy person among them.” Acts 4:34
That is what a family does.
If one person has enough and another person is struggling, we help one another.
Paul says,
“Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfil the law of Christ.” Galatians 6:2
So giving is not only what happens when an offering is taken in church.
Sometimes giving is buying someone food.
Sometimes it is helping someone with a bill.
Sometimes it is giving your time.
Sometimes it is giving practical help.
Sometimes it is opening your home.
Sometimes it is quietly helping someone who cannot give anything back to you.
Love gives.
John says, “If anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”
1 John 3:17
This is why the church should be a place where we can both give and receive.
If somebody is going through a difficult time, they should not be ashamed to say so.
If food is short, speak.
If the bills are pressing, speak.
If there is a genuine need, speak.
We are a family.
There will be times when one person is able to give and another person needs to receive. And there will be other times when the situation is reversed.
That is part of being the body of Christ.
Paul says,
“Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others.”
Philippians 2:4
The Macedonian churches also show us something beautiful about generosity.
Paul says,
“Their abundance of joy and their deep poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.”
2 Corinthians 8:2
They had very little, yet they were generous.
Then Paul says,
“For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord.” 2 Corinthians 8:3
And then he tells us where it began:
“They gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.”
2 Corinthians 8:5
That is where giving begins.
We give ourselves to the Lord first. When our hearts belong to him, our possessions no longer control us.
Jesus said,
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Matthew 6:21
Our giving therefore becomes an expression of where our heart is.
Jesus also said,
“It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Acts 20:35
There is a joy in knowing that something God has placed in your hand can become a blessing in somebody else’s life.
The Macedonian believers gave willingly out of what they had, and their generosity became an example to the church.
So when we give, we should not always be thinking about what is leaving our hands.
We should also think about what God can do with it.
The lesson is not that giving guarantees a particular outcome we can see or measure.
The lesson is that nothing willingly surrendered to God is insignificant.
God sees the heart.
God sees the sacrifice.
God sees the generosity.
God sees what other people do not see.
So when you give, give because you love the Lord.
Give because you are grateful.
Give because you want to participate in his work.
Give because you want to see people reached.
Give because you want to help your brothers and sisters.
Give because God has been generous to you.
And give cheerfully.
Remember that God gave first.
Jesus gave himself for us.
The Macedonian believers gave willingly.
The early church shared with those who had need.
All of these passages bring us back to the same truth.
God can take what we place in his hands and use it for his purposes.
So do not despise what God has placed in your hands.
You may not be able to do everything.
But you can do something.
You may not be able to meet every need.
But you can help somebody who is in front of you.
You may not be able to finance everything God is doing.
But you can participate.
And when we all bring what God has placed in our hands, the work moves forward, people are helped, needs are met and the gospel advances.
Above everything else, God is glorified.
Father, thank you that everything we have comes from you.
Thank you that you gave your Son for us when we had nothing to give in return.
Give us generous hearts.
Teach us to give without reluctance and without compulsion.
Help us to remember your goodness.
Help us to see the needs of others.
Help us to recognise that what may look small in our hands can still be useful in yours.
Like the Macedonian believers, help us to give willingly and joyfully.
Make this church a family where there is generosity, care, sacrifice and love.
Let there be no needy person among us.
Let our giving help the gospel advance, let lives be changed and let Christ be glorified.
And may we discover the joy of becoming more like the one who gave everything for us.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
