God Loves a Cheerful Giver
“Remember this: The person who plants a little will have a small harvest, but the person who plants a lot will have a big harvest. Each of you should give as you have decided in your heart to give. You should not be sad when you give, and you should not give because you feel forced to give. God loves the person who gives happily.” – 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
Have you ever felt forced or pressured in giving money to a church, a charity, or a person? If you have then you may not want to give any money to these resources since it would not be considered a godly action. God wants a person to use the money He provides to them with godly intentions and not out of an evil intention like out of obligation but with a grateful and cheerful heart. The most important thing in giving to God is our attitude. Is our heart filled with joy or filled with unhappiness when we give?
How would it make you feel if someone you cared about said, “I guess if I have to, I will help you out by giving you some of my money.” It would make me feel awful if I heard my friend say that. It would sound to me like they really do not want to help me and would be doing it out of an evil intention. When we feel the same way about giving to God, He will not accept our gift. He wants people not to give out of obligation, feeling forced or pressured, but to give with a willing and grateful heart – especially if a person really needs it because they lost their job and need the financial help.
There are great benefits to giving with a grateful heart. The money we give is used to help others in the body of Christ. Our generosity can provide food, shelter and clothes to those who need it. Also, it is used to help churches pay for Bibles, Bible studies, electricity, and air conditioning. When money is given for God’s kingdom, it helps to build it up and produces more disciples in a lost world that we live in.
Prayer of the day:
Dear heavenly Father,
You are the giver of everything. Please put the desire in our hearts to be a cheerful giver. We want to give back what You have given to us. You are our God who helps us when we are struggling with the desire to be selfish. Please provide us with joy when we give since it has the power to change Your kingdom and others in a lost world. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen!
