成績單

I remember reading the legend that European crusaders were baptized before they went off to war, but they lifted their swords above the water as they were being baptized. They were not dedicating their swords to God. I am not sure if that legend is true, but I often wonder if the average believer holds his wallet above the water when he is baptized—refusing to dedicate that to God.

Beloved, if that is your view on the subject of giving, you have missed the point of giving. We do not give to God because we have to; we give because we get to. There is great joy in investing some of our paycheck—which represents our blood, sweat and tears—in something beyond our own lives.

As we set sail today into 2 Corinthians 8, the apostle Paul brings up this subject of financial giving. You might remember that for several years, Paul had been collecting relief money for the needy believers in Jerusalem (Romans 15:26). Back in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4, we learned that the Corinthians knew about this special offering and had signed on for a sizable contribution.

By the way, why would Paul want Gentile churches to give to a primarily Jewish congregation in Jerusalem? Well, not only because the believers in Jerusalem were suffering from a famine and from persecution, but because it would be a way to build unity between the Gentile and Jewish believers.

Somebody once said that if you tie two chickens together by their legs and throw them over a clothesline, you might have union, but you do not have unity. Throughout Paul’s ministry he wanted the union of Gentiles and Jews in the church to share a unity of heart and mission.

Now from clues given to us in Paul’s two letters to the Corinthians, it seems the believers in Corinth initially committed to this special offering with excitement. But somewhere along the way, their enthusiasm began to fade. They had not collected anywhere near the amount they had talked about, and it looked like they would not be ready when the time came to send their financial support to Jerusalem.

Paul knew they would be embarrassed in the end, so in these opening verses, he prods them into action by telling them what other churches are doing:

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. (verses 1-2)

Paul writes in verse 4 that the Macedonian churches were “begging . . . earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief [offering].”

Well, that is a little embarrassing to the Corinthian church, isn’t it? Paul effectively says, “Come on, brothers and sisters, get on the team, and join the other churches in helping the church in Jerusalem.” And he is not suggesting dropping in a few extra coins. Paul says in verse 7 he wants them to “excel in this act of grace”—just like they have excelled in other things.

Even though Paul pointed to the Macedonian churches as good examples, he never wanted anybody to think that other believers set the standard for giving. Only one person did that—and that was Jesus Christ Himself. Paul illustrates the generosity of Jesus in verse 9:

You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.

When it comes to giving, nobody can outgive our Savior!

Paul is talking about what Christ gave up when He left the glories of heaven to live on this earth as a man. He reminds the believers that compared to the unimaginable riches of heaven, living on earth for Christ was like entering a life of poverty. Frankly, we will never be able to imagine how much Christ actually gave up until we get to heaven and see everything He left behind for our sake.

When Paul says that Christ became poor so that we might become rich, that does not mean He came to make us rich in terms of our possessions. Jesus had something far richer in mind than a big house and nice clothes. Jesus left heaven for earth so that we can leave earth for heaven. He gave up His life so that we can have eternal life. He gave up His royal glory so that we can one day rule as royalty with Him.

The rest of chapter 8 and the first five verses of chapter 9 give details about collecting this offering in time for Paul’s arrival. Paul did not want his friends confused or embarrassed over not being ready.

But here is how he wanted them to give to this special relief offering. He writes in chapter 9, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (verse 7).

A “cheerful giver” is not someone who pastes a smile on his face while inwardly frowning. This Greek word for “cheerful” is hilaros, from which we get our English word hilarious. God loves hilarious givers, though not because they start laughing when the offering plate comes by. The word speaks of an inward joyfulness that loves to give.

Why does God love a giver like that? Because that is the kind of giver He is. When He gave His Son to die for us, He was not filled with regret; He was filled with love and joy. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son” (John 3:16). When Jesus, God the Son, was heading toward the cross, He was not bitter or angry. The Bible says that “for the joy that was set before him, [he] endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). God wants us to be a giver like Him.

And how does God give to us today? Is He saying, “Here, enjoy this blessing but not too much—it cost me a lot of hard work to give it to you!” Hardly! God gives with joyful delight to His children. Paul writes to the Ephesians that God lavishes the riches of His grace upon us (Ephesians 1:7-8).

Here in 2 Corinthians 9:9, Paul underscores this truth by quoting Psalm 112:9: “[God] has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.”

That brings us to a final point in this passage on the subject of giving: When we give like God does, we gain far more than we give away. Paul writes in verse 11, “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”

Now, we have to understand this correctly. As we just learned, Paul is not talking about earthly wealth here. There are plenty of preachers today who want you to give, but they effectively seek to motivate you by materialism and greed. They promise that if you give to God, God will give you more stuff; He will give you a promotion at work or that dream vacation. He might give you such things, but not because you bargained with Him.

The clue lies in these words in verse 11: “enriched in every way to be generous in every way.” Beloved, we are spiritually enriched so that we can turn around and act like God toward our needy world; we get to imitate the heart of God by our own generous lives and hearts. We lavish our support on others, because God lavishes His grace on us.

So, let us do this; let us baptize our wallets, dedicating what God has given us so that we might be a blessing to someone else.