Giving

2 Corinthians 8:11-15  - Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means.  For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.  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. Then there will be equality,  as it is written: "He who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little."

This is not the first time Paul has told us the importance of giving.  He told us in Acts 20:35, “In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: 'It is more blessed to give than to receive.'” And let me sneak in the beginning of this chapter too…verses 2-5,  "Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.”

Paul is reminding us here how important it is to give…as Christ gave to us.  God is so amazing…as if the gift of his son on the cross was not enough for us….he continues to bless us every day with life and breath…and for many of us…he adds bonuses like houses and cars...and nice salaries.  We may never figure out just why he has given all that he has to us…and why we still see so many people suffering in pure poverty.  The IFAD Rural Poverty report reported that in 2011… 1.4 billion people in developing countries live on $1.25 a day or less.  UNICEF reported in 2010 that at least 22,000 children die each day due to conditions of poverty.  That is so hard to imagine for me….I wake up….eat three squares a day….and 22,000 children are dying of starvation…every day?????

Paul says the answer is so simple…we share….we share what God blessed us with.  God has met all our needs…and maybe his plans for some of our overabundance is to share it with others. This is how the first church did it….they pooled their resources and helped out those in their community. Our hearts should be eager to give…God’s love should transform our way of life…to want to give …to find practical ways to share everything we have with others.  Paul even quotes scripture from exodus 16:18, “And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.”

Father…forgive me for my lack of generosity…. You have given me so much…and I give so little in return.  Help me to transform my attitude toward the resources you have provided for me and find more ways to share with others. Stretch my heart this morning to see the needs of others…..before I lavish myself with new things I really don’t need.  Forgive me for thinking that a new top…or shoes…or car….is more important that saving a starving child somewhere in our enormous world. Open my eyes to the needs around me…and speak clearly to me how can carry your compassion and love to others by sharing the rich wealth that you have blessed me with. Amen.