Generosity • 2 Corinthians 8:1-9
By Becky Brown
Our lessons in this unit entitled “Character Counts” have taken us through these qualities of spiritual maturity: personal character, godliness, humility and contentment. Next week, we will include integrity. Today’s lesson provides the evidence of generosity in lives of those who walk with Jesus.
Once again, I will use my beloved granny as my illustration for this truth from scripture. She and my granddad ran an old country store. Way back last century when everybody had “poofy” hair (except me), my granny used to send me an allowance every single week. I would receive an envelope in the mail from her containing a five dollar bill.
In the first letter she sent, there would be these words in her handwriting: “Hey, baby. Here’s your money. Take out fifty cents. Give it to mom and dad for your offering envelope. Put it in the plate on Sunday morning. Take out a dollar fifty to put in your savings account for college. That leaves three dollars. Now then. You can spend that three dollars on whatever you want to spend it on but remember God is watching how you spend it and worse than that, I’m a’gonna ask you what you did with it. See, it ALL belongs to God.”
I learned very early that everything we have belongs to God first. We are simply to be good stewards of it. That means we are managers of assets that belong to someone else. This “someOne” in our lives is God. Frankly, I would rather God fuss at me than my granny.
This was not just my lesson on tithing, giving a tenth of our income to the Lord. This was my lesson on using it ALL for God’s glory. God’s desire is for us to love Him with our whole hearts, not just one beat of them.
Dave Ramsey (Mister Financial Peace) is the guru for honoring God by getting debt free and arriving at a place where we are free to share financially with others in need. Later in life, my granny told me that if I would save the same amount as I tithed that God would bless that effort as well. She had never heard of Dave Ramsey.
Paul was on his third of three missionary journeys. He was traveling through the areas where churches had been established so that he could check on them and encourage them in their spiritual growth. He was also gathering an offering to help the needy Christians back in Judea.
Corinth was a major city in ancient Greece. It was controlled by the Roman Empire. Most believe the this letter was written in 55 AD. The churches in Macedonia were filled with folks who were being severely persecuted for their faith. They had experienced deep poverty. Times were hard. The Corinthians were inspired by Paul’s letter to do their part.
Paul said some churches in Macedonia overflowed in the wealth of liberality because they gave from the abundance of joyful hearts, often out of nearly empty pockets. They gave AT their ability to give as well as BEYOND their ability to give. They asked to have the PRIVILEGE to give rather than being moved by obligation. HOW? WHY? Because they first gave themselves to the Lord. When that stage of spiritual growth is reached, giving back to the Lord springs out of the overflow of surrendered hearts.
People who WANT to give will say, “Here, we’d like to give this gift. Please don’t ‘rob’ us of this blessing by not receiving it.” Remember Moses and the building of the wilderness tabernacle? In Exodus 35:5 and 36:4-7, the Lord told Moses whoever has a willing heart needs to give. They gave so much, Moses had to ask them to stop giving! How about that willing heart giving plan? In 2 Cor. 9:7 Paul wrote that God loves heartfelt cheerful (Greek word: hilarious) givers.
One of my favorite memory verses seals our study on generosity. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” 2 Cor. 8:9.
Remember: “For God so loved the world that He GAVE…” John 3:16. God gave the ultimate gift, His Son Jesus Christ. The widow (Mark 12:44) gave ALL she had. How could we NOT give generously?
Brown leads LittleBrownLight Ministries.
