by Verdy

Created on: January 08, 2007   Last Updated: May 11, 2007

"Lord, bless these tithes and offerings. Bless those who give today out of a cheerful heart."
The pastor's prayer seemed to echo endlessly in my mind as I reached for my checkbook. It was strange. After teaching, admonishing and encouraging others about giving, I still had this struggle with giving. I told myself that if I don't give to God what is His, He'll take it! Or, if I do give, it will be given back to me in good measure.

It really doesn't matter what I believe about giving; I have discovered something ugly about myself. Even after all the miracles of financial and material blessings, I still don't like to give. Don't get me wrong; I do give. In fact, I give regularly and generously. With time and money, I sacrifice. I support my church, and whenever possible para-Christian organizations. Only one thing has haunted me all my Christian life. Do I give with a cheerful heart? Honestly, I only do at times. Most of the time I give out of a feeling of obligation or fear that if I don't give, I'll begin to lose that which I already possess.
There have been times when I knew God was wanting me to give the last two dollars in my pocket, so I slid it in the offering bag so no one could see the meager amount and was blessed later on. The Lord has always been faithful to His Word. Still, how to be cheerful in giving has eluded me for years.
Is it lack of faith? No. I crossed that ocean a long time ago. Lack of faith isn't the problem either. Faith is what allows me to give in the first place. And in return, God's faithfulness always supplies my need and blesses me beyond what I even expect.
So is faith the only motivation in giving? I'm discovering these days that there is a lot more to giving than duty, faith or even charity. It's cheerfulness! A cheerful heart God loves. "[Let] each one [give] just as he decides in his heart, not from sorrow [fig., reluctantly] or from necessity [fig., under compulsion], for God loves a cheerful giver" (II Corinthians 9:7).
The Lord taught me a very humbling lesson through my children one Christmas Eve. I was at a convenience store early in the day when I felt moved to buy my two daughters a surprise bag full of candy and small toys. Later that evening, I came home and presented my daughters with the gift. As expected, they were happy, surprised and excited. It felt really goodlike I was one of the top ten dads on the Lord's list of top-notch dads. At that moment, a thought welled up in my head that this is what it means to be a cheerful

• 1
• 2
• Next Page >>