I recently heard someone say that she wanted to be a “hilarious giver”—meaning, she wanted to take Paul’s call for believers to be “cheerful givers” to the extreme and give extravagantly for the gospel.
The word Paul actually uses is hilaros, and we get our English word hilarious from that word. Paul probably didn’t mean that we should get the giggles when the offering plate goes by, but the word does communicate a person who just loves to give.
I think, deep down, that’s a spirit we all want. Nobody wants to be greedy, stingy, and closed-fisted. But our inertia carries us there every time. So Paul shows us in 2 Corinthians 9 how God equips us to be generous, hilarious givers.
Paul says, “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God” (2 Corinthians 9:11 ESV).
There are two reasons God enriches us financially. First, God gives us material blessings so that we can invest in his kingdom.
God doesn’t begrudge what he has given us. But with his blessing comes an assignment. With great power comes great responsibility (yes, that’s a quote from Spiderman, but it’s still true). Here’s the biblical version: To whom much is given, much is required.
There are basically two ways to look at your resources that reveal a lot about your maturity. One way is where you think, “My life belongs to me. I should give some of my stuff to God.” Your giving becomes like a tax. That kind of thinking is very immature, and it shows you have barely begun the process of discipleship.
The mature Christian says, “Father, it all belongs to you. I’m not the owner; I’m the steward. My gifts and talents and time and resources were given to me for your kingdom.”
When that change occurs, you’ll stop asking, “How much do I have to give?” and you’ll start asking, “What am I not giving and why?” Lots of dimensions of spiritual maturity occur gradually; in my experience, I’ve seen this change happen all at once.
Greater financial capacity should lead not only to an increase in our standard of living but in our standard of giving as well.
You may say, “Well, I’m not really that wealthy yet.” But then I have to ask you, “Based on what you’re doing with what God has given you so far, if you were God, would you give you more money?”
Everybody gives their first and their best to something. What does yours go to? Your lifestyle? Your savings? Give your first and your best to God.
Second, God gives us material blessings so that our giving produces thanksgiving to God. Paul said that “this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God” (2 Corinthians 9:12).
I recently received a letter from one of the prisoners we minister to at the Summit. This man has served 14 years of an 80-year sentence for murder and multiple counts of robbery. He wrote to me to tell me how the ministry of the Summit has changed his life and gave me what may be the greatest compliment I’ve ever received: “Your preaching is like Tupac’s rapping—raw, uncut truth, only with the Bible open in front of you.” (I couldn’t even make that up.)
He also wrote, “I am including a $5 money order to donate to the ministries of The Summit Church. I know it’s not much, but it’s 10 percent of everything that I have. I feel like a member of your church, even though technically I’m not allowed. Your messages and ministries have transformed my life, and I want to be a part of what’s going on.”
That is thanksgiving to God! And it’s the joy we give to at The Summit Church. True sacrifice is giving up what you love for something you love even more—the gospel of Jesus Christ.
I used to teach people that if you want to know how much to give, “Give until it hurts.” Then I heard Rick Warren say, “If you are only giving until it hurts, you’ve never found the joy in giving God wants you to have. Don’t give until it hurts. Give until it feels good!”
Give until the joy of what you are giving to replaces the pain of what you are giving up.
For more, be sure to listen to the entire message here.
