Devotional - Saturday, August 14th

Generosity Encouraged



2 Corinthians 9: 6-15


6 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 scattered abroad 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 made rich 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, people 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!


There are two kinds of giving noted in this passage. The first is giving out of obligation. The second is giving out of love. No matter what we give- our finances, our time, our friendship- God wants us to give willingly, out of love. When I think of all the gifts I have been given by God, I realize these gifts are given freely. Jesus gave the greatest gift, salvation, freely. God gave His Son, freely. God gave me gift of a loving family and wonderful friends, and the gift of living in this country, with all its wealth and benefits. The question is what should I do with these gifts, and how do I share them. The easy thing is financial sharing. Take a look at what you have, and write a cheque. Easy…..


The tough stuff is giving of yourself, putting others first. It is a challenge in our wealthy society to not feel some sense of entitlement. We think we deserve to be treated a certain way; we think we deserve to have a nice home, to eat well, to have top health-care, to have good education. We complain when any of this is lacking. The reality is we are just lucky. The first step to being a cheerful giver is to step out of the sense of entitlement, and enter into a sense of gratitude. When I become grateful for family, it is easier to give to them. When I am grateful for my friends, it is easier to give my time. When I am grateful for my life situation, it is easier to open my cheque book. The amazing thing is that truly the more we give the more we receive. When we give our time to help a friend, the satisfaction we get often feels like we benefitted more than the friend. Simply taking time to engage in conversation can have huge rewards.


The big issue though is how we see God. The burden of this text is to help us see God and feel God as a Giver and not a Taker. He is a Giver on both sides of our giving—on the back side, enabling our giving with his blessing, and the front side, rewarding our giving with even more blessing.


Colleen Milton