2 Corinthians 9:7–8: “So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound toward you, that you, always having all sufficiency in all things, may have an abundance for every good work.”

June 5th, 2022 by Pastor Ed in devotional

Paul takes on the delicate subject of giving money to the work of the Lord. This phrase in English, “as he purposes,” is a single Greek term that only appears here in the Bible. It means a premeditated, predetermined plan of action that is voluntarily done from the heart, not impulsively. Paul backs this up by insisting that giving should not be forced. This is his indictment against pressured giving. Giving should be quietly decided or determined within ourselves, between God and us.

God loves a happy, cheerful, hilarious giver. Attitude is important. There is a sense in which we should “give away” our excess material possessions to the poor, expecting nothing from them in return. However, God is a debtor to no one, and “One who is gracious to a poor man lends to the Lord, and He will repay him for his good deed” (Prov. 19:17, NASB). Paul says the same thing in these verses: “always having all sufficiency in all things.” The Greek word translated “sufficiency” is also translated in other places as “contentment.”

Perhaps the greatest gift from God after salvation is given here with regard to material things—contentment. As many have noted, the best things in life are not things. Religious hucksters are partly right when they say that if we give generously to God, He is generous to us in return. However the biggest problem is that the hucksters imply that God prospers us so that we may indulge ourselves. Of course this could not be farther from the truth. Paul is saying that God is generous to us so that we may be able to give generously to others, not to spend it on ourselves.

“LORD, thank You for Your gracious care and blessing on our life. Show us how we can best serve others today with what You have given.”