Principles of giving

Here in this passage, we see two key principles of giving.

Paul says,

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. (2 Corinthians 9:6)

This is true in all aspects of life. If, for example, you sow sparingly into your marriage, you will also reap sparingly.

That is, if you put little time or effort into your marriage, you will reap little benefit from it. In fact, your marriage will most likely wither and die.

If on the other hand, you sow generously into your marriage, you will reap great blessing from it.

The same can be said of raising your kids. If you sow sparingly in the lives of your kids, you will find that when they grow up, they’ll want little to do with you.

But if you sow generously into their lives, you will find that you have a great relationship with them after they have grown up.

But the key point here is with giving of your money.

A lot of people think, “Well, tithing isn’t for the New Testament church, so why should I give anything to the church.”

But if we sow sparingly into the church, what does that mean?

It probably means your pastor will have to take other jobs to support himself and his family leaving less time for ministering to the church.

It means your church will have less resources to touch your community. And it means that your church has less resources to minister to you and your family.

If you sow generously into your church, however, you will find that your church can be a great blessing to you, your family, and your community.

So if you’re complaining that your pastor or your church isn’t doing enough, a big question you need to ask yourself is this: am I sowing generously into the church so that they can do more?

Paul then goes on to say,

Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7)

Our giving should never be done with an attitude of, “Well, I guess I have to give.”

It should never be done with the pain of pulling teeth or with the feeling of a gun pointed at your head.

It should be done with a heart of joy and generosity.

It should be done with a heart of, “I just wanted to thank you God for all you’ve done for me. You have given me an indescribable gift in your Son. Now I want to give something back to you.”

And when we give with that attitude, that is acceptable to God, whether we give a large amount or small.

The poor widow in Luke 21:1-3, had very little to give. But because she gave from her heart, Jesus was more pleased with her gift than with any of the large gifts that the richer folks had given.

So how about you? With what kind of attitude are you giving? And are you sowing generously, or sparingly?