Cheerful Giving

The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. ⁷Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  2 Corinthians 9:6-7

When we give we should give as God does--willingly and generously.  When we learn to be generous with all we have we experience a deep joy that no amount of riches can match.  Paul argues that those who sow sparingly will reap sparingly--those who hold back and are not generous will not receive the benefits of being generous.  They will not experience the deep trust that takes place, they will not experience the joy of being part of something bigger than their self.  We are called to give as a way to honor and thank God, but it also gives the giver a deep fulfillment and sense of purpose.  This is why God loves a cheerful giver because the result of becoming generous is joy.

But how do we get there?  How can we convince ourselves or our spouse or anyone else to take the generosity plunge?  Rather than wait for someone to cognitively believe what Paul suggests before becoming generous, I would submit that we need to behave our way into new belief.  We must begin to act more generously to begin to believe that generosity builds trust.  We must give ourselves away first in order to understand the joy that comes.  If we wait until we believe in order to act, it will not happen.  This is why scripture so often frames giving as a command, because if it were not commanded no one would do it! But God knows what we need and knows how blessed we will be when we give.  God is the most generous giver, and when we become generous we share in a small way "the image of God."  May we behave our way into new belief.