“Remember that the person who plants few seeds will have a small crop; the one who plants many seeds will have a large crop” (2 Corinthians 9:6 GNB).
The late Kenneth S. Wuest was a New Testament scholar who served on the faculty of Moody Bible Institute for much of his life. Mr. Wuest is perhaps best known for producing a work entitled The New Testament: An Expanded Translation. In the words of the publisher, “…this translation uses as many English words as are necessary to bring out the richness, force, and clarity of the Greek Text.” (1)
Wuest’s rendering of 2 Corinthians 9:6 draws our attention to an important nuance that should influence our view of this passage: “…he who sows sparingly shall also reap sparingly, and he who sows in a beneficent, generous spirit, with a view to the blessing of the recipient, shall also reap blessings given in a beneficent, generous manner” (emphasis added).
This translation uncovers an important motivation for financial giving: an opportunity to bless the recipient. This distinction is one that can aid us in evaluating various fundraising appeals. For instance, it is not uncommon for religious organizations to refer to 2 Corinthians 9:6 in attempting to raise financial support. However, we should view such fundraising requests with suspicion if they imply that God is somehow compelled to provide the giver with a multiplied financial return on his or her gift.
One teacher illustrated the issue with that approach by way of a humorous anecdote…
“…a friend of mine replied to a letter in which he was told, ‘You can’t out give God. We have figured it out, therefore, if you and everybody else who hears our program sends $67 to us, we’ll have all the money we want and God will give it back to you five times over.’
He wrote back and said, ‘I believe that. I believe you can’t out give God. But I tell you what: You give me the $67 and God will give it back to you five times over. Then you get the bigger amount!’ For some reason they took him off the mailing list!” (2)
Unfortunately, this financial solicitation was clearly designed to entice potential supporters with the prospect of a greater financial return rather than stimulate a heartfelt desire to support God’s work. Instead, Jesus taught us to adopt a far more appropriate mindset: “…when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly” (Matthew 6:3-4).
(1) The New Testament: An Expanded Translation Kenneth S. Wuest Copyright © 1961 by Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Co.
(2) Excerpted with permission from Giving Joyfully © 1980, 1955 by Ray Stedman Ministries. All rights reserved. Visit www.RayStedman.org for the complete library of Ray Stedman material. Please direct any questions to webmaster@RayStedman.org