“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work” (2 Corinthians 9:7-8 NIV).
This passage reminds us that our internal motivations are important to God, especially in the area of financial giving. You see, there are many different motives that may lead someone to support a ministry or individual. For example, some may give out of a sense of obligation. Others may be pressured or manipulated into giving. Some may give to flaunt their generosity while others may give in an attempt to gain God’s favor.
Unfortunately, these internal motivations do not fit the parameters given to us here in the latter portion of 2 Corinthians chapter eight. We can look to the examples of five Biblical personalities (three negative and two positive) to illustrate the difference.
First we have the experience of a couple named Ananias and Sapphira in the New Testament book of Acts. Acts 5:1-2 tells us. “…there was a man named Ananias (with his wife Sapphira) who sold some property and brought only part of the money, claiming it was the full price. (His wife had agreed to this deception)” (TLB). So these individuals were pretending to “give it all to Jesus” while deliberately holding back from Him at the same time.
We also have the example of a man named Simon in the book of Acts. Simon was someone who offered to pay the Apostles for access to the spiritual power they possessed. That offer prompted the following response from the Apostle Peter: “…May your money be destroyed with you for thinking God’s gift can be bought! You can have no part in this, for your heart is not right with God” (Acts 8:20-21 NLT).
On a more positive note, we have the Biblical examples of Zacchaeus (a man who decided to put God ahead of his money in Luke 19:1-10), and the poor widow of Mark 12:41-44. Her sacrificial offering drew praise from Jesus when He said, “Truly this widow has given a greater gift than any other contribution. All the others gave a little out of their great abundance, but this poor woman has given God everything she has” (Voice).
So attitudes are important and as one commentator observes, “The cheerful giver is the one who derives joy from obeying the Lord and imitating the Giver of all things by his own obedience… Only the givers are happy people. The miser is so-called because he is miserable.” (1)
(1) Coffman, James Burton. “Commentary on 2 Corinthians 9:10”. “Coffman Commentaries on the Old and New Testament”. https://www.studylight.org/commentaries/bcc/2-corinthians-9.html. Abilene Christian University Press, Abilene, Texas, USA. 1983-1999.