God Loves a Cheerful Giver

 

It's in that moment where the pastor walks back on stage and the Worship Leader strums his final chord.  It's in that two-minute routine where the congregation tunes out and the pastor awkwardly carries out his weekly duties and says a few lines about it. It's time to pass the plate and obligatorily say a few lines about Biblical Generosity.

 

"God loves a cheerful giver", the pastor might say before calling the ushers to come forward.

God certainly does love a joyful, loving, self-sacrificing, and cheerful giver. But not because He needs your money. God doesn't need your money - but God wants you to experience the terrifically- thrilling, life-changing joy of being generous.

I attended a TOG a couple of weeks ago, short for Taste of Generosity - it's a 2-hour take on Generous Giving's Journey of Generosity - an opportunity to learn, reflect, and discuss biblical generosity without any agenda or strings attached. Nobody passes the plate afterwards.

 

It was a room full of other people like me, there to just learn about the gift of giving. Did you know giving (possessions) is mentioned more than 2,000 times in scripture. Three times as often as love! God obviously wants us to learn about it - and not in a two-minute guilt-trip before the sermon.

 

One of the exercises we worked on at the TOG was a scripture reflection focused on 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. It's here where Paul lays out promises and commands for giving:

 Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 7 Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. 

9 As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” 

10 Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 

12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. 13 Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, others will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. 14 And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. 15 Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

2 Corinthians 9:6-15 

 

As The Word often does, it spoke to each person in the room differently - and it is inspiring to hear how God uniquely works in each of us.

 

The thing that exploded off the page for me was that giving is a vehicle by which God himself is glorified. The method is so simply put in verse 11. God gives first, we give, and God is glorified.

 

Giving is the natural reaction and a byproduct of our gratitude when we understand that God owns it all and gives to us abundantly. We want Him to be glorified when we're grateful for what He's already given to us.

 

I'm so thankful for the opportunity to reflect on God's generosity and the gift He gave us to be generous. Not with an agenda in mind, but in understanding what He wants for us.