Giving is the act of being motivated by love to release earthly goods and spiritual things to God as a gesture of devotion, for the fulfilment of His will on earth and to others in order to empower them. Giving is the essence of life.
WHEN WE STOP GIVING WE STOP LIVING.
Giving is an act of grace. There are countless reasons why we are not willing to give or cannot do so. The grace of giving overrules these reasons.
The apostle Paul told the Corinthians to be inspired by the Macedonians who had an amazing grace of giving.
1 Moreover, brethren, we do you to wit of the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia;
2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;
4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
2 Corinthians 8:1-5
Their propensity to give could not be attributed to their human will but the grace of God.
GIVING IS A GRACE
Paul exhorted the Corinthians to be inspired by the grace of God bestowed on the churches of Macedonia. He considered their giving spirit as an act of divine endowment.
The kind of giving the Macedonians did was not a natural disposition but an act of the grace of God bestowed upon them.
Preachers have the grace to preach while givers have the grace to give. Those who have the grace to give do it in ways and at levels ordinary people don’t.
The apostle Paul added giving to the list of spiritual gifts in Romans 12.
6 Having then gifts differing according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith;
7 Or ministry, let us wait on our ministering: or he that teacheth, on teaching;
8 Or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity; he that ruleth, with diligence; he that sheweth mercy, with cheerfulness.
Romans 12:6-8
It is a wonder to observe individuals and congregations who have the gift of giving do so with joy and simplicity. Such people see giving as the role they are called to play in the Body of Christ. They consider it a privilege to give.
THE ACT OF GRACE
The Macedonians had the supernatural capacity to give.
- Poverty was an incentive for giving.
The Macedonian believers gave liberally in spite of their deep poverty. The term “deep poverty” in the Greek literally means “their poverty down to the death of it”. They were poor to the point of death and yet gave to others. They did not use poverty as an excuse not to give. Poverty can be a catalyst for giving if one has the right spirit.
2 How that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded unto the riches of their liberality.
- Giving was not limited to the ability to do so.
We often exempt ourselves from giving by saying we can’t give what we don’t have. The truth of the matter is that nobody has nothing to give. The Macedonians gave beyond their power or ability. This means they gave beyond their convenience.
3 For to their power, I bear record, yea, and beyond their power they were willing of themselves;
- Giving was done with a passion.
The Macedonians pleaded with the apostle Paul to receive their gifts for the believers in Jerusalem. Their attitude was not lukewarm. Unfortunately, today’s believers usually need long exhortations and sometimes rebuke from preachers before they give.
4 Praying us with much intreaty that we would receive the gift, and take upon us the fellowship of the ministering to the saints.
- Giving our lives to God and others must precede giving material things.
The Macedonians gave themselves to God and the apostles first and followed that with their resources. The apostle Paul admonished the Romans to present their bodies to God as living sacrifices, which were holy and acceptable.
5 And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God.
1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.
Romans 12:1
This point is vital if we are to give in the Spirit and not in the flesh. Giving is a holistic endeavour. We should not isolate giving spiritual things and our lives to God from giving material things to Him for His work.
CONCLUSION
- Response To God’s Grace:
It is important to discover why the Macedonians gave to God, the apostle Paul and the believers in the manner in which they did.
The Philippians responded to the apostle Paul’s demands because they had a sense of gratitude towards God. They were thankful to God that they were beneficiaries of the Gospel of grace. The apostle sent the Gospel to them at the expense of other parts of the world.
6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
7 After they were come to Mysia, they assayed to go into Bithynia: but the Spirit suffered them not.
8 And they passing by Mysia came down to Troas.
9 And a vision appeared to Paul in the night; There stood a man of Macedonia, and prayed him, saying, Come over into Macedonia, and help us.
10 And after he had seen the vision, immediately we endeavoured to go into Macedonia, assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.
Acts 16:6-10
The Macedonian believers must have remembered that they were the beneficiaries of God’s grace at the expense of others. We are likewise, beneficiaries of God’s generosity.