2 Corinthians 8:1-3(NLT) 1Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia. 2They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity. 3For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more. And they did it of their own free will.
This week we have been looking at various aspects of giving, including the one hundred fold return spoken of in Mark 10:29-30. I believe the best way to view this number is in terms of the abundance God wants to return to us when we give. We have a covenant with the Father through our relationship with Jesus. When we give, it puts this covenant into motion. This makes it impossible for the devil to stop the blessing of giving from coming to me. The one hundred-fold return is the minimum that God will bless us with; however, we do not have to keep an accounting for him. He will certainly take care of us.
Today I want to begin looking at two chapters in Paul’s second letter to the Corinthian church. In these two chapters, Paul outlines some guidelines for giving that will help us make sure we are in line with the Word of God. Before we look at those guidelines, I want to point out something about the people to whom Paul is writing. They are normal people just like you and me.
We have all heard wonderful stories about people who have given large sums of money, or cars or some other very valuable thing. In these stories, the givers are blessed with something that meets a great need. We have also heard stories from the other side of the spectrum. These are stories of people who were in abject poverty and gave the last of their food or money and God moved mightily to meet their needs. Most of us do not fall into either category.
For the most part, people tend to be normal folks working normal jobs. They cannot give thousands of dollars in an offering. They cannot give away their car or house. God rarely asks for something like that. They are also not impoverished. They may be tight in their finances, but they usually make ends meet in the end. They are giving to the Lord through their local church. They pay tithes and give offerings. They may support foreign missions or give to the poor in some way. It is great to know that God will bless the big giver or that God will take care of the desperate giver, but what about the rest of us. These two chapters are written to the rest of us. Let us take a closer look.
I chose the New Living Translation to quote today’s scripture from because it gives a more contemporary picture. It describes the church in Macedonia as being tested. It also calls them poor. I believe we are in a testing time financially. Most families find it difficult to do all that things that a family must do. They have food, but it is a challenge to have enough of the kind of food they would like to have. They have to juggle between the utilities and clothes. Taxes and insurances make life that much more difficult. In the sense that there is not an overabundance in the hands of most normal people today, one might say they are poor.
We see something in this church that, to me, argues against their being impoverished. They have joy and generosity. They do not have a lot to give but they are giving. Many Christian families in America today could say the same thing. They are poor, though not in the way we usually mean it. They continue to give, they have the joy of the Lord and they have a generous spirit.
How should such people give? I believe we can see some things in this church that will also help us. In verse three, these people did two things concerning their giving that we should incorporate in ours as well. First, it says they gave what they could afford and then they gave more.
I believe giving, as a covenant act and as a faith act, is something in which we need to grow. When we first begin to live a lifestyle of giving, it seems that we could not possibly give very much and survive. What I have discovered is that the more I give the more my faith and capacity is enlarged. As I practice giving, I see God move in new ways in my life. The thing is I must start where I am, not where I will be later on.
By this I mean, begin with the first part of what Paul said the Macedonians did.. Give what you can afford to give not what you cannot afford to give. Many people hear about giving and its benefits, they get excited and then get into trouble. They try to give beyond their capacity to believe. In my years as a pastor, I have known many people who tried to do too much too soon, got discouraged and quit. Some even got offended and had bad things to say about our ministry or church.
When we are talking about giving here, we are not talking about the tithe. That is ten percent of our income. I believe we should all start with that. In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul is talking about a special offering for the church in Jerusalem This is the kind of giving I am talking about now. If you are starting out in this kind of giving, be realistic. If you can give ten dollars do not try to give a hundred dollars. If you can give one hundred do not try to give five hundred. Look at what you have and give what you can afford.
It says, however, that the Macedonian church did more than what they could afford. I believe we can grow to the place where we can give more than when we start. Our faith to receive grows as we give. Our confidence that God will take care of us grows as well. I have often given more than it was easy for me to give, and those are the times I have seen the greatest blessing. That is a relative thing, however. When we are beginning to give, any amount may seem like more than we can give.
Here is what I advise in giving. If you can give ten dollars, do that and add a dollar or two to the ten. If ten is comfortable twelve might be a little bit of a stretch, but it will not break you. In this way, we are continually growing in our ability to give without becoming discouraged or offended. The process grows as our capacity grows.
If you can give one hundred dollars, it might be a good idea to make the amount one hundred and ten or twenty dollars. Whatever you can do that takes your giving out of the comfort zone without putting you at risk is healthy. Soon you will find that consistent extra giving will be normal for you. You will also be able to stretch farther should a need arise that requires it. Your confidence in God’s provision will grow until you will be fearless in your giving. At that point, the fun really begins.
The next thing verse three tells us is that they did what they did willingly. We will look at other aspects of this thought later, but today, just remember. No one has the right to make you give. Those in ministry can ask you to give, but they cannot make you. If you are going to give, do it willingly. If you cannot do what you are asked to do willingly, do not do it. Your giving will not be a blessing to the one to whom you give. It will also not be a blessing to you. I would rather have 10 dollars given willingly than 1000 dollars given begrudgingly.
More on these chapters tomorrow.
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