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!
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