“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7, ESV)
Each person has a different financial situation. In many parts of the world people have very little in the way of financial resources. It is important for all of us to remember that God loves the cheerful giver. God is more interested in the attitude we have about our giving than in the amount we give. All that we have has been given to us by God. Are we joyfully allowing him to use it to bless those around us? Are people welcome in your home? Do you share what you do have without being self-conscious that others may have more or less than you do? Are you willing to share what you have without being concerned about receiving a “thank you” in return? Do you consider the eternal ramifications of your giving?
My goal is to be a grace giver, empowered by the Holy Spirit. Grace-giving is the result of a God-given and God-driven desire to give following three basic principles: he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully, what is reasonable to give to a particular project considering your current life circumstances, and how much can be given to this project cheerfully? The Bible tells us that when we sow bountifully, we will reap bountifully (see 2 Corinthians 9:6). God gives us the choice of sowing sparingly or bountifully. In Luke 21:1–4 we read about the poor widow who “out of her poverty put in all she had to live on” as a freewill offering into the temple treasury, which amounted to two small copper coins. This was all that she had and yet she sowed it bountifully. Hers was a gift of sacrifice; nevertheless, she gave it generously and sacrificially. This was low-profile giving at its best! The value of what we give to God’s work is not determined by its amount, but by the spirit in which we give it. God will surely bless whatever we give to him with a heart of gratitude, generosity, and expectancy that he will use it to further his kingdom. When it comes to giving, I often use the acronym GIVE to remind myself of the important principles that need to guide my giving:
G Grace-giving is the result of my God-given, God-driven desire to give.
I I desire to give because my giving is a major gateway for God to work in my life.
V Victory over self; my desire to invest in the imperishable trumps my desire to invest in the perishable.
E Eyes are fixed on the unseen and eternal rewards.
Giving is the major gateway by which God gets involved in the life of the believer. We will increasingly see “the finger of God” at work in our circumstances and otherwise when we practice giving our treasure to the interests of God’s kingdom.
In what ways would your converterlating become more effective if I were to make the study of God’s Word more important in your life?
Converterlators invest their treasure in the interests of God’s kingdom.