2 Corinthians 8:12

2 Corinthians 8:12 – For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.

           Have you ever been in a church or a meeting where have been coerced into giving? You are listening to the speaker and they are doing an excellent job presenting the Word of God, but then they move into the area of Offerings. All of a sudden it feels like you are in a sales seminar and this person is the top seller. There are scriptures used to back their point and all of a sudden you are giving out of guilt as opposed to desire. This is wrong. In this scenario people end up giving out of what they need to survive.

           We are told not to give out of our necessity and also that we are to give what we have decided in our hearts beforehand to give, not out of compulsion, because God Loves a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7). Anytime I am in a meeting where someone is trying to convince me to give, I just put my wallet away. If they can’t trust God and have to rely on compulsion to make a living, then they need to look at their own heart on the matter.

I tithe because God tells me in His Word to tithe, and I give what I can above that as I feel led. In the Word we see that we are to give to those less fortunate than us. Most of the time it will be out of our abundance, but there are some times when God tells you to give out of your necessity. When He does this, though, you can know that He will provide for your other needs. Don’t let man tell you to give what you need to pay your bills; that man hasn’t promised to provide for you, only God can do that.

In reality it is not amount of the gift, or even that you gave anything at all. What God looks at is the willingness behind it. God does not need your money, nor does He even want it if all you are doing is giving because you feel you have to. Proverbs says that “a generous man will himself be blessed.” God wants you to be generous and Love giving. That is what will be rewarded. He wants to know that you value Him more than money.

           If you only have a dollar to give, give that dollar; if you have more, give more. God will bless you based on your heart. If your heart is in it, then He will be also.

Luke 6:37-38

Luke 6:37-38 – “Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured out into your lap. For with the measure you use it will be measured back to you.”

Over the years I have heard the second part of this passage used in regards to the giving of tithes and offerings. People love to say, “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over.” They want to get us excited about giving, which is good, but we don’t want to forget the importance of the rest of this passage.

“Do not judge and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive and you will be forgiven.” This goes with the end just as much as the “give” part. It all goes together and we need to understand what it means for us. First, “Do not judge and you will not be judged.” So if you do judge someone else you will be judged yourself, to the same extent that you used in judging that person. The same thing goes with condemnation. If you condemn another because of their actions, you too will be condemned based on what you do.

Now if we take a step back to verses 27-31 of this chapter we have a better understanding why it is so important to Love our enemies and do good to those who hurt us. We must walk in Love toward all people because the moment we judge or condemn someone, the same happens to us. And it will be done in the same measure we used.

Next we come to forgiveness. Unforgiveness hurts you way more than it hurts the one who hurt you. If you hold a grudge against someone, even if they “deserve” it, you need to let it go. If you don’t you cannot be forgiven. Again, in the same way you forgive, you will be forgiven. In the Lord ’s Prayer Jesus teaches us to pray, “forgive us our sins, as we have forgiven those who have sinned against us.” Take notice which comes first.

In all these things we must understand that in whatever measure we use, it will be measured back to us. When we understand this we can use it to our advantage and control much of what happens to us in our lives. We need to let go of the hurt and walk in Love toward others and give to those who are in need, otherwise it will be to our detriment.