HOW TO GIVE
II Cor. 8:11 Now you should
carry this project through to completion just as enthusiastically as you began
it. Give whatever you can according to
what you have. NLT
The church at Corinth
had made a commitment to financially help the church in Jerusalem. They saw the need and responded to it. The Apostle Paul held them accountable for
their commitment.
There are a few things
to note here that should serve as a warning to us. First, we can get caught up in our emotions
and make promises that we may find it hard to keep later on or we may even be
unwilling to keep. We need to be careful
when it comes to making promises, especially to the Lord.
The Lord does not take
lightly our promises. When we make a
promise to Him or before Him, He expects us to keep them and He will hold us
accountable for it. Our words are our
honor and when we fail to keep them, it tarnishes our integrity before both God
and man. Promises made that are not kept
make us untrustworthy and reflect on our standing with God. When we promise something as a child of God,
we bring dishonor to the Lord's name when we don't deliver.
And, when we stand
behind our promises, we should do it enthusiastically. The Lord blesses a cheerful giver, not a
begrudgingly one. He desires that
whatever we give, we give from the heart and not from duty. Also, we should never feel compelled to give
what we don't have to give. The Lord
does not expect us to give beyond our ability to give. Be assured, if the Lord asks us to give
something, He will provide so that we can give, whether it's finances, time,
talents, or something else.
Giving should not be
done legalistically, but from the heart of love for the Lord. God does not need your money; He needs your
heart to be right when you give.
No comments:
Post a Comment