Faithful And Generous Giving

II Corinthians 8:1-9, 13-15

The world is often divided into two groups of people.  Some of these are the rich and the poor, the old and the young, the thin and the not very thin.  And there are the generous and the not very generous, or the stingy.  The generous will give to help others, sometimes even when they don’t have much to begin with.  The less generous, or stingy folks want to hang on to what they have, even if they have more than enough.  Our New Testament Scripture this week comes from a portion of St. Paul’s letter to the Corinthians.  Here we read how Paul encouraged this congregation to be generous, and help other believers in need.  Let’s see what the Lord can teach us today.

During the years that Paul was a missionary throughout Greece, one thing that he wanted to do was to take up an offering in the churches that he established to help the Christians in Judea.  The Christians in Judea, in and around Jerusalem, were the first believers to come to faith in the Lord Jesus.  Why were they so particularly poor, more so than churches in other areas, like north in Damascus or Antioch, or the churches in Asia Minor or in Greece?  For one thing, practically all of the believers in Judea came from a Jewish background, a lot whose families were Orthodox or were Pharisees.  When they accepted Jesus as the Messiah many of them were then disowned by their families (many of these families being Pharisees), and expelled from their homes.  Their employers often fired them, so they lost their ability to support themselves.  Also, not that long before this letter, there had been a severe famine in the area (Acts 11:27-30).  In addition, there had been two earthquakes in the area.  One occurred during the reign of Emperor Caligula (AD 37-41).  The other was during the reign of Emperor Claudius (AD 41-54).  Due to all of these circumstances the Christians in Judea were in desperate need.

As Paul traveled throughout Greece establishing churches, he urged each congregation to remember the poor, not only among their own community, but also in other churches, particularly in Judea.  When Paul first came to Corinth and established the church, he challenged them to start a collection, as the churches in Macedonia, including those in Philippi and Thessalonica, were also taking collections.  Macedonia was a poorer area than that of Corinth, due to political and military problems there, but they were giving generously.  In contrast, Corinth was quite prosperous due to the thriving port and being a major commercial area.  Paul commended the churches in Macedonia for giving to the impoverished believers in Judea, even though they were poor, as well.  He encouraged Corinth to do equally as well.

How about our giving today in the 21st century?  Are we hanging on to whatever we have as we worry about the dismal economy in so many parts of the world?  Are we afraid to give, thinking things will get worse, and we won’t have enough for ourselves and our families?  Or are we just selfish, thinking we have rightfully earned our money, and want to spend it on things we would enjoy?  That shouldn’t be the case for followers of the Lord Jesus. When we are wholeheartedly committed to the Lord, His priorities become ours.

Some might say that they barely have enough for their own needs, how can they give to others.  The members of the Macedonian churches could have said that, but they knew that with the Lord, there is always enough to share.  The point of giving is not so much the amount we give, but why and how we give.  God does not want gifts given grudgingly.  He wants us to give out of dedication to Jesus, love for fellow believers, the joy of helping those in need, and that it is the good and right thing to do.

As children of the Most High, our finances do not depend on the world’s economy, but on the economy of God.  The unsaved world panics when the economy is bad, when the prices of food, gasoline, and healthcare go up and up and the bank accounts get thinner and thinner.  That should not be us, though.  We must show the world that we are people of faith, not of fear.  If we are faithful givers to those in need we will find out that God is a faithful provider.  No one excels more in giving than the Lord!

Living A Blessed Life

Psalm 112

When one sets out in life, most people hope that they will be successful, that they will be blessed.  This usually includes hopes that they will be prosperous with a good bank account, that they will be successful in their job and in their marriage, have plenty of good friends, and go through life healthy.  What does the Bible say about the man or woman who is blessed by the Lord, and how can one be in such a desirable position?  Our psalm for today speaks of the person that the Lord blesses.  Let’s take a look into our Scripture.

Psalm 112 opens with a word of praise to Yahweh, and then immediately declares what one must do if they desire to be blessed by Him (vs. 1).  To be one that is blessed by the Lord one must delight in His commandments.  As the psalmist continues, he states that there are many blessings available to us such as honor, prosperity, security, and freedom from fear (vs. 2-9) if we fear the Lord and delight in obeying His commands.  If one continually disobeys what the Bible says, if one tries to say that a command of God really means something different, or that it doesn’t apply for today, or if they just choose to ignore God’s Word, then they can’t really expect to be blessed by Him.  Mankind’s desire for prosperity and blessings can only come through obedience to the commands of God.

As we continue in our psalm we read that a good person, one who enjoys the Lord’s blessing, will be a generous person (vs. 5).  They freely lend to help those in need, and do so graciously, not begrudgingly, or making the other one feel bad about their need.  Sometimes wealthier people abuse others in their desire to accumulate wealth.  Developing a habit of generosity can help in eliminating that.  The fear of losing all of one’s money can be a snare.  If we are generous with what we have we show that we are putting our trust in the Lord and not in our bank and financial accounts.  The blessings the Lord bestows on His obedient children make it possible for us to give to others.  Though the unsaved may prosper, their prosperity is fleeting and will not last forever.  The blessings that obedient believers receive from the Lord will last forever because they are anchored in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Another blessing that the Lord bestows upon believers who are living their life closely aligned to His Word is that we can live our lives without fear, panic, and apprehension (vs. 7-8).  There are so many fearful things happening in the world today, that we see people all over in a state of worry and fear.  They fear the bad economy and the security of their jobs.  They are afraid of wars and conflicts in various parts of the world and whether they will escalate even worse.  People fear about their health and that of their loved ones, about how their children are doing.  They also fear the deteriorating social and political climate.  However, those who fear the Lord, and who trust in Him do not need to be afraid of evil tidings.  The fear of God can lead to a fearless life.  To “fear God” means to respect and revere Him as the Almighty Lord.  When we trust God to take care of us, our other fears will subside.  A believer should not be afraid when bad news comes.  If we are, how are we any different from the unsaved?  They become filled with alarm and fear.  We have proven God’s faithfulness and we have a living hope.  Evil tidings should not put us in fear.  We know the Lord will undertake for us.

As our psalmist closes this psalm, we read that the Lord will exalt the horn of those who He has blessed, those who obey Him and give generously to the poor (vs. 9).   When the Scriptures talk about exalting someone’s “horn” they are using a figure of speech.  The horns on an animal, such as a rhinoceros, a ram, or a bull can be a symbol of their strength and power.  One does not want to be on the receiving end of any of their horns!  Typically we steer clear of them.  When God “exalts our horn”, it indicates that He is blessing us, giving us strength and prosperity.  In contrast to the righteous man, the wicked man leads a worthless existence without the blessings of the Lord (vs. 10).

After reading through this psalm, seeing the blessings the Lord will give those who obey and follow Him, or the final end of those who have turned away from God and are going their own way, which do you want for your life?  I would certainly choose a life of blessings and honor, a life without fear.  That is the reward for those who have Jesus as their Savior, and who delight in His commandments.