This Week # 15 (12-14-03)

Giving (Part 2)

The Christmas holidays are very difficult times for many people. Tragic events do not avoid holidays, and sometimes, I think, the holidays of themselves increase the suffering of some because they are interspersed with the joy and gaiety of others.
Some people have difficulty with this time of year not because tragedy has invaded their lives, but because they have never learned the principle of giving rightly. The Truth is, right giving engenders cheerfulness, and an understanding that the result of right giving means an abundance surpassing the overflow we spoke of last week (see Luke 6:38).
2 Corinthians 9:6-9 helps us to comprehend this matter of right giving. If we can get our minds around a concept of obedience out of llove rather than obedience out of command we begin to discover the blessing of the “bountiful.” Utilizing the simple agrarian principle that the harvest is proportional to the amount of seed sown, Paul shows us how to give rightly and gain sufficiency, even abundance (the surpassing overflow) in everything given.
I don’t have to be generous at Christmas. My children, my wife, my grandchildren, even most of my friends will continue to llove me whether I give rightly or sparingly. They will not measure the price of the gifts above my willingness to give. But my cheerfulness and the return on my investment will be measured to me dependent on my attitude of generosity or grudging obligation.
Little will change the despondency which accompanies the season for those who have suffered great loss, but learning to live so that the grace of God abounds toward one in a multitude of ways will precipitate an understanding that God has a unique llove for a heart that is enthusiastically excited about the pleasure of giving.

© Weaver 2003