For I know your eagerness to help, and I have been boasting about it to the Macedonians, telling them that since last year you in Achaia were ready to give; and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action. (9:2)
10 And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. 11 Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. 12 For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
13 Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. 14 At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, 15 as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”
So the Christians in the Corinthian church had money, and according to 9:2 (verse listed first), they had made plans to send some of that money to the poorer churches who needed it a year previously...but then they got busy and forgot. So, Paul is writing to them, reminding them that the need is still great.
There are four principles to giving found in this piece of text. Let's see if we can draw them out...
And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so...for if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.
#1 -- Your willingness to give enthusiastically is more important than the amount.
It's great that they gave, but Paul seems to be most pleased that they jumped on board with the idea of giving first, and that they had a strong desire to do so! If there's anything the Bible continually repeats, it's that the amount isn't what matters. God loves a cheerful giver (9:7), not the one who gives most. God nor I want to receive anything that is given out of guilt or with reluctance, so why should I give to others that way as well? Instead, we give cheerfully and sacrificially according to what we do have.
Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.
#2 -- Strive to fulfill your financial commitments.
Finish it. If we take on a financial commitment, or borrow money from someone, or say that we are going to give a certain amount to a certain recipient, we need to strive to finish it! I remember attending a concert in college, and the singer gave us the opportunity to sponsor a child through a particular organization. Well, I jumped on board; my heart strings were pulled---a month later, I quit. That is exactly what we don't want to do. Being (for lack of a better term) a missionary kid as a child, I can remember what it was like when people did not fulfill their commitments. It left our family unable to pay bills! Our financial commitments are a big deal to the people on the other end, no matter what the commitment.
I like this word 'strive' here, because it reminds us to 'exert oneself vigorously; to try hard'. Fulfilling our financial commitments takes work and effort. We need to put some elbow grease into the fulfillment of our financial commitments. That's being a good steward of our money and being Christ-like. It's not fun, but it's right.
To whom do you owe money, either on paper or by mouth? Let's strive to be finishers of those commitments. A weight will be lifted when we do!
Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.
#3 -- If you give to others when they are in need, they will, in turn, help you when you are in need.
I learned this as a kid, when people would help send me on missions trips...and now I truly enjoy getting to do the same for other people. Then I saw this again when my mom was sick and people brought us food (really, really good food and lots of it)...and now I like to take meals to people when it's helpful. And I'm sure you can think of a time when something was given to you, and because it meant so much, you vowed to do the same thing someday for someone else. We already know this principle, but sometimes we forget it. Perhaps the specific people in India that you support won't be able to pay you back literally someday, but you will be taken care of in one way or another. God makes sure of it! He cares for the people in India (that's why He sent you), and He cares for you (that's why He'll send someone when you need it).
The goal is equality, 15 as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”
#4 -- In the body of Christ, we take care of one another.
Our hearts, which love and serve Christ, should regulate our hands. As we walk shoulder to shoulder with the other believers, our surplus matching their deficit and their deficit matching their surplus, everyone has what they need. This doesn't mean the rich work hard and give away everything while the poor take it easy as the others are sweating it out. This is a partnership -- with everyone doing their part so that all have what they need. If someone is carrying a burden and you can help lift it, do it.
Who can you help today? A single mom? A grieving family? A recovering addict? A widowed shut-in? An orphan? They are part of this body. You don't have to do everything, but you can do something. Let's be do-ers and givers, and cheerful ones at that! We are part of God's great design when we do!
Molly Monroe
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