2 Corinthians 8: Generous Giving

"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. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints..." 2 Corinthians 8:1-4

If you were to ask me what I wanted to read in my Bible this morning, probably the last thing I would say is generous giving. Nevertheless, the Lord is sovereign, and that's what my Bible plan led me to this morning. And since I have time to write a devotional this morning, that's what you get to read about to.

Generous giving. Hhhhmmm. Sounds like a convicting topic, don't you think? Yet, if we seek to be faithful to our Lord Jesus Christ, we must look at all of scripture and obey all of his commands. Thus, we turn our attention this morning at generous giving. Let us observe three points from the text above, which is just a small portion of the entirety of a chapter that speaks on this topic.

First, generous giving overflows from joy in Christ. Note what Paul is saying here: he is writing to the Corinthian church about the Macedonian church's giving. We find here that Macedonia was under a "severe text of affliction." Yet, Paul states, they had an "abundance of joy." This can only come from Christ. Yet, because of that joy, they "overflowed in a wealth of generosity." The point here is this: if we aren't finding our ultimate joy in Christ, we will never be led to give generously.

Secondly, generous giving at times happens during extreme poverty. Paul quite literally says here that the Macedonians were in "extreme poverty." But let us note here what poverty does: It makes us realize where our true hope lies. Honestly, I've personally never been "extremely poor" (unless you count being a college student as that), but I can imagine that one who is poor must ask himself what he truly hopes in. Note that it is often men who are poor in the Bible who cling to Christ. Those who are rich trust in their possessions to save them, but those who don't have any possessions must cling to another master: God. For the Macedonians, their poverty made them realize that they must cling to Christ, and thus offer everything they had to him, though not much. Surely the same should be said of you, even in a time of poverty.

Thirdly, generous giving is motivated by partnership in ministry. Paul says that the Macedonians gave even as they were "begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints." The Macedonians longed to partake in Paul's ministry. Note here that they didn't just put their money in the offering plate and move on. Rather, they sought to help "relieve the saints." They desired to do the work of the Lord, and in this instance, they contributed to that with their money. I think this is extremely applicable to us. We mustn't give to the church merely to obey a command, but to partake in the work of the Lord.

One final note here from Paul's words in verse 8. He makes it clear that he says all of this "not as a command." Though I would argue that it is the Christian's duty to give, here we are talking about generous giving, that is, extra giving beyond our normal means. Note here that though this is not a command, this is a category in scripture, and thus it must be a category in our minds as well. We must earnestly desire to partake in the work of the ministry through our financial giving, for the glory of God alone, that is, out of the generosity of our hearts.