TWO WAY GIVING

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In Christ, Mark

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The scriptures. May God bless the reading of His holy word.

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

2 Corinthians 8:13-15

This ends this reading from God's holy word. Thanks be to God.

Have you ever been associated with someone who was one-way when it came to giving?

You know this kind of person, right? The one who always wants other people to give to them but never gives anything to others themselves. I’ve been associated with more than a few in my life and like to view them as consumers of people and what they have, consumers because they develop an appetite for charity with others with no intention of ever returning the generosity.

As we see in today’s verses from our continuing study of 2 Corinthians, chapter 8, we find the Apostle Paul addressing what giving should look like between churches but there is a broader application of this principle when it comes to how we should give to one another and especially God. Let’s look again at Paul’s words here:

Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”  2 Corinthians 8:13-15

You will recall that the matter at the heart of this chapter was the collection Paul took up from all the Christian churches he had planted during his missionary journeys for the support of the Jerusalem church. The Apostle had singled out the Macedonian believers for their blessed generosity as they had given up and above what would have been expected and did so eagerly and gladly. Paul extended his compliments to the Corinthian Christians as well because they were first to give out of a deep desire to help their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem. He encouraged the church in Corinth to continue giving as they had done in the year before.

But note that Paul didn’t advocate for one-way giving. He didn’t want the Corinthian believers to think that they wouldn’t one day be helped the same way in kind if there was a need for it. No, Paul expected that the Jerusalem church would be just as quick to help the Christians in Corinth once they were able to financially do so. This was an equitable and cooperative approach which would link and strengthen the bond between all Christian churches in the world at that time.

In first century AD, Paul’s goal was equality in charity and we should see this in the way Christian churches interact with one another today, the way people interact with one another, and most importantly, how people interact with their God. Sadly, I believe we need to do a lot of work in this area. If you don’t believe that, then just take the time to consider the following questions:

1. How many Christian churches connect with other churches around them and truly connect ecumenically, caring for and supporting one another regardless of denomination affiliation?

2. How many people are only interested in receiving giving from others but never feel compelled to give back to the person who helped them or anyone else for that matter?

3. How many times does God give and give and give to His people only to never receive anything in return?

Friends, these are questions that should convict us and challenge us to improve the way we approach giving whether within the church, or in giving to one another or God. The good news is that we can make conscientious decisions to change our giving attitude and those changes start with us allowing God to dictate how we give. For in the end translation, what we have or what we might receive from others is really from God’s provided resources, right? We should allow Him to show us how to use the things He provides to His glory and honor.

Amen.

In Christ,

Mark

PS: Feel free to leave a comment and please share this with anyone you feel might be blessed by it.
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