Date: October 19, 2022 | Number: Vol. 5, No. 23 | Series: Youth for Jesus
“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2Cor 9:7-8NIV)
Giving, without doubt, is one of the most controversial practices of the Christian faith. And that is because of the way preachers often abuse and steal from people through it. But the fact that there are many abuses of the practice of giving does not mean that it should be altogether nullified or that there is no proper and acceptable way to handle it before God.
As we see in our opening bible text, God expects every one of His children to be a giver. That is why Paul says, “Each man should give…” So, if you are a child of God, don’t be left out in the grace and practice of giving. That is because it is the will of God for you. God has given to us the indescribable gift of His Son and is also daily freely giving us all things (Rom 8:32). And if we are truly grateful for what He has done and is still doing for us, we too should be giving to Him and to all the people He wants us to give to.
But then, even though God wants us all to be actively giving for His cause, there are things He also wants us to keep in mind when giving. Otherwise, there will be no reward for our giving. Remember that though Cain gave to God, He did not accept his offering. So, it is not every kind of giving that is acceptable to God. And if we give in a way that is not acceptable to Him, our giving will be rejected, wasted and not rewarded. Only God Himself, then, knows how many are daily or weekly wasting the so-called tithes, offerings, seeds and so forth they claim to be giving to Him.
Well, if you don’t want to waste whatever you are giving to God or to His people, pay attention to what Paul says in our opening bible text. And what does he say? First, he says when giving, give as you decide in your heart to give. That means no one is to determine for you what to give to God but you. Otherwise, that may affect your willingness and generosity in giving. And once these are affected, you can lose your reward for giving.
What, then, are we to say about assemblies where targets are given to brethren or to their pastors of what to give to God? They are missing it, regardless of how big or influential they may be in the eyes of the world and regardless of what results they may seem to be getting by acting in this fashion. And a day will come when all the people they have misled to waste their giving will see the truth. But it may have become too late then to change anything.
Am I, then, saying that anyone that gives to God in response to a target set for him by some church leader will surely miss his reward? No! If the person’s heart is right in giving to God, he will still have his reward. But once we set targets for people in matters of giving, the tendencies are high that they may not be giving willingly but reluctantly.
Now that takes us to the second thing Paul says to us in our opening text about giving. He says when giving, we are to give wholeheartedly and cheerfully, not reluctantly or under compulsion. That means you must give to God and to His people only because you want to give to them and not because someone is forcing, threatening or manipulating you to do so. If you do not want to give, don’t give, whatever your reasons may be for not wanting to give. God will certainly get His will done whether you give or not.
However, if you must give, then give cheerfully and willingly, not because you want to please or satisfy anyone but because you want to please God. That is because, as Paul further says, God loves a cheerful and not moody or reluctant giver. It does not matter what you are giving to Him, whether it is praise, worship, facility or time, God will cherish it, only if you give it cheerfully. But even if you bring all your wealth to Him, as long as you are not cheerful or happy or excited about giving it, it won’t win His heart. Therefore, you won’t have any reward for it.
You can now see why many give and don’t get to receive from God for their giving. They are not giving in line with His will. And if you want to separate yourself from such fruitless giving, start giving as you purpose in your heart and cheerfully too. Then, He who sees your heart will reward you in His own way and at His own time. He may not give you money in return for money or facility in return for facility. But He will surely reward you according to His grace and mercy, not just here on earth but also when His Son returns.