Christian Giving or Tight Fisted

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Giving is not a sacrifice purely and simply; it is a “sowing” and will be followed by a “reaping”. You reap what you sow, v. 6. No man ever loses by being generous. The harvest reaped will be proportionate to the seed sown. Sow sparingly, reap sparingly. Sow abundantly, reap abundantly. Giving is not just a contribution; it is an investment.


Of course, giving must not have selfish ends in view. The motive must be right. The spirit of giving is more important than the gift, v. 7. Giving must spring out of a deliberate choice, “according as he purposeth in his heart”. There must be neither constraint nor complaint, “not grudgingly”. Everyone must be entirely free to decide what to give, “not … of necessity”. Giving must be with cheerfulness. God loves the happy giver, as characterised by a spirit of real enjoyment in his giving which sweeps away all restraint.

Not only does God love a cheerful giver, but He is able in His grace to see that there shall always be the means to give, vv. 8, 9. God can give a man both the substance to give and the spirit in which to give it. The desire to be generous and the means to be generous both come from God. All our resources, great or small, come from God ultimately, 1 Chron. 29:14, and God can increase those resources. Where the generous spirit exists, God will provide the means whereby it can be expressed. The result is that the Christian will have an “all sufficiency in all things”, and the man with the bountiful heart will find that God always supplies him with something to bestow.

Furthermore, as we give to God, He meets our needs, v. 10 (compare Phil. 4:11, 12, 19). But He does more than that. He multiplies our resources. Because He multiplies the seed sown, giving is not self-impoverishment, but self-enrichment. Giving brings opportunities for thanksgiving to God, 2 Cor. 9:12, 13, 15. It inspires prayer, draws out praises from those who receive, and rouses them to earnest longing for those who manifest such grace. Christian giving therefore becomes a thanksgiving, a systematic act of gratitude to the God who so loved the world that He gave His gift beyond words, v. 15.




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