Day 390 · Year 2 · Life with God
A cheerful giver
Paul does not pressure generosity. He invites it.
Today's passage
2 Corinthians 9:7-8
7Each one should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not out of regret or compulsion. For God loves a cheerful giver.
8And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things, at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.
Berean Standard Bible · public domain
Reflection
Paul says each person should give what they have decided in their heart, not under compulsion. The Christian is not bullied into generosity; they are freed into it. And God promises grace to abound — not so you can be rich, but so you can 'abound in every good work.' Generosity, in the New Testament, is not a tax; it is participation in how God himself is. Today, give something small, joyfully, on purpose. You will find that generosity tends to set the giver free.
From the great tradition · paraphrased
Basil the Great · Cappadocians & Alexandrians · 4th c. · Cappadocia
Basil the Great built hospitals and fed the poor on the conviction that wealth is given to be shared, and that the Christian's pocketbook is a real test of the Christian's heart.
Paraphrase only. Scripture, not any teacher, is the authority.
Think it through
- How does Paul say to give, and how not to give?
- What does God promise to do in response, and why?
- What is one small, on-purpose act of generosity you can do this week?
A prayer to pray
Ask God to free you from grasping. Choose one specific way to give generously this week and ask him for cheerfulness in it.