2 Corinthians Chapter 9: verses 6-8 - January 2010
“Now this I say, he who sows sparingly, shall also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully. Let each one do just as he has purposed in his heart; not grudgingly or under compulsion; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, that always having all-sufficiency in everything, you may have abundance for every good deed”
This morning we continue on our New Year theme of spiritual growth. Of course there are many different ways in which we grow spiritually and many indicators of where we have grown, or need to grow. Trusting in God’s name is one aspect; ‘For our heart rejoices in Him, because we trust in His Holy Name’ (Psalm 33:21). We can also grow in trusting in God’s word; ‘I shall have an answer for him who reproaches me, for I trust in Thy Word’ (Psalm 119:42). We have to be able to trust God for every circumstance and every situation, and in every area of our life.
There are endless spiritual benefits we will enjoy as we are able to trust God. We have ‘Joy’ (Psalm 5:11), ‘Deliverance’ (Psalm 22:4-5), God’s ‘Goodness’ (Psalm 31:19), God’s ‘Loving-kindness’ (Psalm 32:10), His ‘Blessedness’ (Psalm 40:4) and His ‘Guidance’ (Proverbs 3:5-6).
Generations change and so do the names popular culture attaches to them. There were the ‘Baby Boomers’ and ‘Generation X’. Now we have a generation in which some people are trying to stay perpetually young, where adults are trying everything to remain as young people. A ‘kidult’, also known as an ‘adultescent’ is a middle-aged person who participates in youth culture and activities which are traditionally intended or reserved for children; in other words someone who has matured physically, but perhaps not emotionally or psychologically. I’m sure we could all think of people we know who fit that description, grown up in a physical sense but in other important aspects, have stayed the same! Present day society ascribes certain qualities to ‘kidults’; for example they are often still staying at home with their parents, they hop from job to job, sometimes relationship to relationship and generally lack positive direction in their lives. Financially they rely on their parents and remain uncommitted about issues such as marriage (sometime, but not now please!).
Of course much of these theories about human development have their basis in Darwinian principles but the bible has much to say on how children and young people ought to develop in their relationships with their parents, others, and of course God. Take for example living with your parents and getting married - the Bible gives clear guidance; Genesis 2: 24 ‘For this cause a man shall leave his father and his mother and shall cleave to his wife, and they shall become one flesh’. As Christians we need to grow up physically and emotionally, but more importantly, must positively ‘grow up’ in our spiritual life.
2 Corinthians 9: 6-8 describes the ‘grown up’ attitude we should attain in trusting God with our finances, and especially in our giving to Him and the work of His church. If you like, the level of spiritual financial maturity we should attain. Our giving to God should be ‘cheerful’, because more than anything, that’s what God wants. The original Greek word here is ‘Hilaros’, from which we get the English word hilarious, meaning extremely funny or comical. However God does not want our giving to be funny, humorous, frivolous or immature – indeed, He wants us to take this matter very seriously. A ‘cheerful’ giver is one who gives willingly, joyously and promptly, without holding back. The cheerful giver does not give out of a sense of duty, but by recognising and rejoicing in what God has done for him or her. When giving is ‘Hilaros’ it will also be generous. God is not primarily occupied with the amount of our giving (although the bible sets out a scriptural rule in Leviticus 27:30-33) but the heart motive that lies behind it – the ‘Hilaros Heart’. For Christians, invariably the heart of any matter lies at the matter, or condition of the heart.
Equally, God does not want us to be legalistic about our giving, bur humble (Luke 18: 9-14). The truth is that everything we have belonged to God in the first place; our gift does not make God any richer; rather it enriches us spiritually and causes us to grow in our love of Him and our trust in Him. We ought to trust God and choose to give back to Him what He has provided for us in the first place.
Principles for giving are found in 1 Corinthians 16:2. The first principle is Priority – ‘on the first day’; the next principle is ‘Regularity’ – ‘of every week’; giving is also to be Systematic – ‘let each one of you put aside and save’; finally giving is to be Proportionate – ‘as he may prosper’. Failure or unwillingness to give of what God has given is no light matter. The one who does not honour God with what he/she has been given actually robs God. (Malachi 3:8) “Will a man rob God? Yet you are robbing me! But you say, ‘ how have we robbed thee?’ In tithes and offerings”. God is not impoverished by our withholding, but not honouring Him in this way actually blocks the abundant provision that God wants to bless His people with if they will only put Him first. (Malachi 3;10; Luke 6:38; Philippians 4;19)
The truth is that, according to Scripture, the elders or leaders, nor the church, have any right to our money. God Himself does not need our money. But God does want His people to ‘grow up’ in their Christian walk, to grow up through sowing what He has already provided, back into His Kingdom work. Above all he wants us to grow not in trusting man, riches, our own righteousness, but in Him. Psalm 118, verses 8 and 9 remind us, ‘It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man; it is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in princes’.
Let us therefore be a cheerful giver!