ARE YOU A CHEERFUL GIVER? 2Corinthians 9:7 A woman wanted to teach her daughter a moral lesson.She gave the little girl a quarter and a dollar for the church Put whichever one you want in the collection plate and keep the other for yourself she told the girl.When they were coming out of church, the mother asked her daughter which amount she had given, well said the little girl I was going to give a dollar, but just before the collection, the man in the pulpit said that we should all be cheerful givers. I knew Id be a lot cheerful if I gave the quarter, so I did. The little girl did not hear the passage that was read well.The passage started from 2Corinthians 9:6-8 He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifuly will reap bountifuly. Each one must do just as he has proposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that always having sufficiency in everything you may have an abundance for every good deed. Many people have argued that to be a cheerful giver is to give without pains but this is not the view of Mother Theresa. According to her if you give what you do not need, it is not giving. Anyone who gives what hurts, cannot at the same time be cheerful. This is the challenge in giving.Deuteronomy 15:10 says Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all you work and in everything you put your hand to do. It seems that preachers these days force believers to give to God, that makes them to grudge and murmur. In Pauls letter to Philemon 1:14, Paul said But I did not want to do anything without your consent,so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. I would prefer to tell people to give willingly and wholeheartedly to the Lord as the scriptures described it in 1 Chronicles 29:9 then give very little and cheerfully. It is better to give when it hurts than give cheerfully, but in summary, scriptures wants us to give what can hurt but give it cheerfully. We should not hear what pleases us but what is good for us. In Proverbs 11:25 scripture says A generous person will prosper, whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. For Mother Theresa The person who gives with a smile is the best giver because God loves a cheerful giver. O Lord, may I be a cheerful giver like Jesus who gave himself for us, through Christ our Lord.
Posted on: Sun, 16 Nov 2014 15:15:16 +0000