2 Corinthians 8.12 12 For if the willingness is there,
the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one
does not have. NIV
I have always equated giving in terms of the American
way: bigger is better. We Americans tend to think if we give more it means we
are more. We tend to think that if we’re told one coat of paint ought to do it, then we’ll do two; or if 8d nails will get the job done, let’s use 16d. It’s as
American as apple pie. Bigger to us is always better.
I see it in my own life, and I see it in the lives of
others: bigger is better. But that’s not what the Bible teaches and it’s not
what the Apostle was trying to get the Corinthians to understand. Paul said, “For
if the willingness is there…” Willingness is a function of the heart of a
person – they give because they’re willing to give. And Paul said the gift is
blessed or accepted because the heart was in it, not because it was a big gift.
Currently I’m raising funds to get to Africa. Currently I’m
blown away by the kindness and generosity of people who’ve given because their
heart was in it. They’ve taken an interest in my missions trip and they’ve
given generously. Some have given, extravagantly, a gift of $20. I’m blessed
when they do only because I know their heart’s in it.
I want to give. I want to give more. But I think the Lord
is telling me, Paul, it’s not the size of
the gift that matters, it’s that you give. I want to impress God like the
people did in Luke’s Gospel: As Jesus
looked up, he saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He
also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “Truly I tell you,”
he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people
gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she
had to live on.” (Luke 21.1-4) The rich thought they were impressing God by
their piles of cash. What got God’s attention was a poor woman giving all she
had: two cents.
Size matters when it comes to matters of the heart. The
heart reveals whether the gift is acceptable or not. My response is to be to
give joyfully AND willingly. That is what God cares about. It’s not the size of
the gift even though my ego howls when I can’t give as much as I want to. It’s
the size of the heart that matters to God.
Father, You know. You know my heart and my seemingly unrelenting
desire to impress (You and others) and show myself to be the big shot giving
out of big resources. Help me to truly embrace giving the way it supposed to
be: freely, joyfully, and willingly. May my heart be fully present in every
gift I give; and increase my heart to give properly: with all of my heart not even looking at the amount. One woman’s
two cents meant a lot to You and You know because You looked. Thank You God for
growing my heart today – amen.
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