Footsteps #191

^“You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” NLT (2Cor.9:7)

What does this mean? Does He not love those who are not cheerful givers? Well, of course He does. God loves the whole world, John 3:16. And God has an even deeper, more personal love for His own people, John 13:1. But in addition to all that, He has a special love for the cheerful giver. What, then, is a cheerful giver? The Greek word for “cheerful” is the word hilaron. We’ve carried that Greek word directly into English as hilarious. Unfortunately, since the days of King James our English word hilarious has metamorphosed a bit and doesn’t have the same connotation it used to have. The Greek term implies giving with abandon, giving with reckless pleasure. Sadly, a lot of people are far from that ideal. They think that when they give something away, they lose it and it is gone for good. For some it is like being an organ donor before they even die. But a cheerful giver never looks back, never mourns the loss, never stews about what they might have bought with the money. Do not let this concept of God’s special love float by without really contemplating its depth. It is hard to imagine a more precious promise than to be the personal object of God’s love. All the world’s acclaim, honour, and rewards given to all philanthropists put together does not come close to this privilege of being loved by God. Yet that is what He promises the cheerful giver.

 Vs12-15 contains four exceptional benefits of generous giving, at least three of which we wouldn’t normally think about. The first, though, is obvious: It supplies the needs of God’s people. (v12) But the needs are too great. We can hardly scratch the surface of the needs around us. If that is the only reason we give, we will soon become discouraged and quit because it will seem that we are not making any difference. One great way to avoid that discouragement is to look at needs one at a time.  The other three benefits tomorrow.