2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Great passage for me to read today...great reminder! Generosity is not just about giving money to somebody. Generosity is a way of life. Generosity is an outlook. Generosity is a worldview. Read verse 8 again. That describes the heart of the matter...if you find true contentment in God...if you believe and live out the fact that God is sufficient enough to meet all your needs (And so much more!!!)...it frees you t live generously. When you know in your heart that God is enough, then you don't develop that sinful obsession with material wealth that so many of us have. When you trust that God will provide everything you need, then you don't hold to the things of this world that so many have convinced themselves are "essential." Understanding that God is enough, frees us to serve...it frees us to follow the greatest commandment by loving God and others more than ourselves...it frees us to focus on pouring out good works in this broken world because we are no longer deceived into believing that the things of this world can meet our needs (They can't if you haven't figured that out yet!).

If it is not enough to know that we can be generous because of God's sufficiency to meet our needs, verse 9 drives home another reason that we should live generously...the nature of God. Look at that beautiful verse! God distributes freely (no strings attached)...God gives to the poor...God exudes righteousness. Paul gives us a window into the heart of God...Paul shows us part of what drives God and what is a major part of His nature - generosity and care for others. It seems clear to me that anyone who considers themselves a follower of God should strive to embody this character as well. If God gives generously to those in need without any expectations of reciprocation...shouldn't we? If God is righteous in everything He does...shouldn't we work towards a lifestyle of righteousness (And by "righteousness" I do not mean self-righteousness, or acting like your better than everyone else, I mean right relationships with God and others)?

Finally, the last portion of the verse from verse 10 really jumped out at me today. It says, "And increase the harvest of you righteousness." There are many church leaders out there in the world who like to make promises to people...promises that say, "If you give money t the church...you will we be rewarded with greater financial gain." That is not what I read when I look at scriptures that deal with generosity and giving in the Bible. Will you be richly blessed through generosity? Yes. Does it mean that you will be richer in terms of worldly wealth? Absolutely not. Mandy and I give a significant portion of our money to the church and humanitarian organizations each year, and guess what? We don't miraculously have more money than we started with at the end of the year! Part of faithful giving is making a sacrifice. Part of a lifestyle of generosity is living within the financial means of that generosity. We do not give because we expect God to give us more money back in return. We give because we know that God is good...we know that God will provide...we know that God's nature is generous...and because it helps to keep our focus on what really matters - God and others. Paul makes no bones about the reality of giving...he does not say that God will pay you back ten times in financial gains...Paul says that God will increase the harvest of righteousness in your life. And I don't want to sound insincere here, but that is the gift that really matters! We are promised deep spiritual gains...we are promised deeper levels of righteousness as we join God in generously pouring out love into the world...we are taking steps towards becoming more like our Father in heaven. And those things are more valuable than all the money in the world!!!