2 Corinthians 8:2 –
They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor. But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.
This is a great chapter on giving and the spirit of giving. The old law is simple, give 10%. It’s easy math and doesn’t need much thought. Then Jesus came along and in Mark 12 notes a widow who gives everything she has thereby changing the “rules”. Now Paul gives in detail the spirit of giving and how it should be done. This is something that in today’s economy we battle with on a daily basis. There are so many threads we can go off on, like the value of one’s time versus what is given financially.
Paul is crystal clear on one thing and that is the spirit of giving. Again when we look at the widow in Mark 12, Jesus notes the rich are giving out of abundance and legalistic reasons where the widow is giving of love. Don’t get me wrong you don’t have to bleed yourself dry to be joyous and many giving out of “abundance” were doing so with joy, it’s to illustrate a point of the hold money has on our persons. We can see this illustrated time and time again by Jesus and we need to let go.
Now later in this chapter Paul makes it clear we should not be giving what we don’t have. Verse 12 reminds us to give eagerly, but not over what we have. Now this becomes a little trap since it’s normal today for us to live over and above our paychecks. We tend to over consume and then have nothing left for God. If most budgets were to exclude 10% they would go into a tail spin. The key point is God does not need your money, he needs your heart. To demonstrate the ability to release the money and live off less than we make, ideally 80% (tithe 10%, save 10%, live off 80%). This way we demonstrate to God that money is not placed before Him.
Also, we look at verse 13 and make sure we are not giving too much. I read this and wonder if Paul is referring to giving to elaborate churches versus others in need. I see this in “prosperity preachers” who ask you to give till it hurts and live lavishly while you suffer. That is not the intention; one could say God’s intention is really more “socialistic” than not, where we help others live equally. But if you read closer, equality is more so that the people who are “winning” are aware and help the ones who are not, because the shoe may be on the other foot someday. Also, with “government” enforced charity, the motivation is removed to succeed since the giving is forced and not from the heart. No matter how you look at the constructs of giving we must do so and ensure our hearts are doing so in joy, and not keep making excuses on why we can’t give!