Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows with blessing will also reap with blessing. Each one must 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 every grace abound to you, so that in everything at every time having every sufficiency, you may have an abundance for every good deed; as it is written, “He scattered abroad, He gave to the needy, His righteousness stands forever.” 2 Corinthians 9:6-9 LSB
Our former pastor’s last sermon was titled, “A grumpy Christian is an oxymoron.” Well, I agree with that. I also agree that a selfish Christian is also an oxymoron. These things contradict what it is to be a Christian. I have found myself using the term true salvation lately. Why? Well, because there is also false salvation.
The Bible tells us in many Scripture passages not to be deceived. The devil likes to tell us we can do these little obligatory things like going to church when it’s convenient and dropping a little in the offering plate and all is well. But this is a lie, don’t let the devil lie to you.
You often see me quoting Matthew 22:37-39. These are the verses where they were trying to trick Jesus into saying that one of the Ten Commandments was more important than the other nine. Jesus didn’t fall for that. He summed up all of the commandments by saying that we should love the Lord with all our heart, all our soul and all our mind. He also said we should love our neighbors as we love ourselves.
If we love the Lord with all our heart, we will want to please Him. We will be eager to go to church. We will thirst and hunger for His word. We will want to serve Him. We will want to give tithes and offerings. We won’t do these things grudgingly or out of a sense of obligation. We will do these things because we love Him.
If we love others as we love ourselves, we will want to help someone in need. We will be a little lenient when they mess up. We will speak nicely to them. That’s if we truly love them as we love ourselves. Most of us love ourselves a great deal. Do you love others that way?
When we are in that ooey-gooey, doe-eyed kind of love with someone, we want to do good things for them. We don’t mind spending a little extra money on them. Do you love God enough to give gladly? Are you a cheerful giver?
I don’t just mean with your money, but also with your time and your talents. Our Scripture passes says he who sows sparingly will reap sparingly. It also says by giving, you will have all you need and maybe even an abundance above and beyond your needs.
We shouldn’t give for what we can get in return, we should give cheerfully out of love for the Lord and love for others. We should serve cheerfully as well. It all goes back to what’s in your heart. If you are looking out for yourself, you may tend to be a little stingier with your money and your time.
If you give out of love, you will give gladly.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying you will become rich by giving money to your local church. I’m saying you will have your needs met.
If you have anything, you have it because God has blessed you with it. God owns and controls everything. He doesn’t need your money or even your time to get things done. When we give, we are just returning a portion of what He has so richly blessed us with back to Him.
James 1:17 tells us every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shifting shadow. Cheerfully giving back a portion of what He has given through your money and time shows appreciation for all He has done for you.
Decide in your heart what you can give of your money and your time and give it cheerfully because God loves a cheerful giver.
Have a great day!