Why Giving Matters

Giving is not a tax on God's people, and it is not a bargain struck with heaven. It is worship — the first thing a saved man does with his substance is honour the God who gave it: “Honour the LORD with thy substance, and with the firstfruits of all thine increase:” And the word joined to it is God's own care for the giver: “So shall thy barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst out with new wine.” (Proverbs 3:9–10). We do not give to get; we give because He first gave us everything, beginning with His Son.

Under the old covenant, God ordered the tithe brought into the storehouse, “that there may be meat in mine house” (Malachi 3:10) — God's house supplied by God's people, so that the work of God and the workers of God never lacked for the people's neglect. The pattern carries into the church: when the Philippians sent Paul a gift, he refused to treat it as his own gain: “Not because I desire a gift: but I desire fruit that may abound to your account.” (Philippians 4:17). And what they sent he called “an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, wellpleasing to God” (Philippians 4:18). Giving, done God's way, rises to Him as worship, and the fruit of it abounds to the giver's account in heaven.

The Cheerful Giver

Paul lays down the rule for the church in our text: “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

First — purpose in your heart. Decide before God, in prayer, what you will give. Giving is not an impulse grabbed by an emotional moment, and it is not an amount set by another man's demand. It is purposed — settled between you and the Lord.

Second — not grudgingly. If it aches to release it, the heart is not in it. God is not honoured by a gift the giver mourns.

Third — not of necessity. Not because you were cornered, pressured, or made to feel you could buy God's favour. No man can purchase a blessing, and no gift can buy what the blood of Christ has already bought in full.

Fourth — cheerfully. God loveth a cheerful giver. From the beginning, the offering He took was the willing one: “Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering.” (Exodus 25:2). And when God's people gave willingly for His house, the record is joy, not pressure: “Then the people rejoiced, for that they offered willingly, because with perfect heart they offered willingly to the LORD: and David the king also rejoiced with great joy.” (1 Chronicles 29:9).

The Pattern of Giving

The apostle's pattern is plain: regular, universal, and proportionate — “Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” (1 Corinthians 16:2). Every one of you — not the rich only. As God hath prospered him — each according to his own measure. And it is seed, not loss: “But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6). “The liberal soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself.” (Proverbs 11:25). The Lord Jesus taught the same measure: “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.” (Luke 6:38). That is not a promise that a gift makes a man rich in this world — it is the settled law of God's kingdom, that generosity is never wasted and never outdone.

The Widow's Mite

“And Jesus sat over against the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money into the treasury: and many that were rich cast in much.” “And there came a certain poor widow, and she threw in two mites, which make a farthing.” “And he called unto him his disciples, and saith unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury:” “For all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want did cast in all that she had, even all her living.” (Mark 12:41–44). God weighs the giver, not the gift: “For if there be first a willing mind, it is accepted according to that a man hath, and not according to that he hath not.” (2 Corinthians 8:12). The smallest coin given from a willing heart outweighs a fortune given for show.

What Your Giving Does

Giving furthers the work of the gospel. A gift here goes to teaching the whole Bible verse by verse — free to every student — and to preaching Christ in the open air: preaching to the lost at any cost. It earns the giver no standing with God and purchases no favour from Him; the apostle's confidence for givers is a Father's care, not a dividend: “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19). And over every true gift stands the greatest gift of all, which no man earned and no man can repay: “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.” (2 Corinthians 9:15). The Lord Jesus Himself gave the rule its crown: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35).

So bring your offering to the Lord the way He brought His to you: freely, willingly, and with joy.