How generous are you? Are you willing to give what you have to help someone else? Will you give from your abundance or from your lack? How much are you willing to sacrifice to help someone in need? Are you willing to follow the example Jesus gave us?
We like to think of ourselves as being generous. And we are…to a degree. There is one odd observation I have made over my life. The poorer someone is, the more likely they are to share. Isn’t that odd? We might think it should be the opposite.
Paul was encouraging the Corinthian church to share their blessings with the church in Jerusalem. They were going through a famine, and they were poor. In the first century there was a large disparity among classes. The top five to ten percent were rich and controlled virtually every aspect of life. There was no more than ten percent who were merchant and may be what we call a middle class. The remaining eighty to eighty-five percent were poor. They lived meal to meal, and often only had meat a couple times per month.
Most of us cannot identify with being that poor. But it was they were the ones Paul was asking to help their brothers and sisters out by contributing an offering for assistance. We often hear people grumble about churches asking for donations. Many of those grumbling have more than they need. Jesus said we cannot serve both God and money (Luke 16:13). Yet, when we are stingy, failing to share what God has blessed us with others, we have chosen to serve money over God.
We have a choice to make with the blessings God has poured out on us. We can hold them tight, serve them rather than having them serve us. Or we can choose to follow God’s heart and use what he has blessed us with to bless others. It is a change of heart. One we all need to ask God to make within us.
I pray we all ask God to make a change in our heart. I pray we choose to share God’s blessings with others. I pray each one of us is willing to give to the church and thereby give to help others. Have a heart like God’s. Share God’s blessings. Give to help others.
2 Corinthians 8:7 Now as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in utmost eagerness, and in our love for you—so we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking.
Marty Pressey 