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For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.

2 Corinthians 8:5

For Meditation

Every week, people line up at ticket counters all over the world to buy lottery tickets. Our governments tell us that it goes to finance development projects like roads, education and health, but I see it as a crafty way of stealing money from the poor. Unfortunately, many impoverish themselves under the illusion of winning the jackpot and becoming rich overnight. Neither the government nor the one who stakes has the interest of the other at heart. No one stakes the lottery for the love of their country. Neither does any government pay out the prize money out of love for the winner. They are both driven by greed and deception.

Isn’t it so sad that giving in the Church has become like lottery for some people? Our Pastors tell us to, “Give, and it will be given to you” (Luke 6:38). This scripture that speaks in context to our attitudes concerning judgment, condemnation and forgiveness, has been used to appeal for giving in the Church. Though it is applicable, God should never be presented as a lottery agent, for He is not. He does not need our money. Everything belongs to Him (1Chron. 29:14), and He can do whatever He wants without us. He asks us to give because He loves us, and He wants to involve us in His plan in order to bless us (Phil. 4:17). He wants us to give out of love for Him. His promise is not based on chance. Neither is it only monetary. His promises are “Yes” in Christ, and through Him we say, “Amen” (2 Cor. 1:20). Obedience is what He requires. It is a heart’s decision driven by love. We miss the point when we give because we want to become millionaires overnight.

 Take Abraham for example. God asked him to sacrifice his only son to Him (Gen.22:2). Abraham obeyed without a question. In the ensuing drama, God showed that He is the Provider, and that all He requires is obedience (13-14). What was the secret of Abraham’s obedience? He knew God and revered Him (12), so even though the message was hard to believe, he obeyed in absolute trust (Heb.11:19). His obedience did not begin from there; it began when God first called him out of his comfort zone (Gen. 12:1). Abraham learned to sacrifice himself to God first before he could sacrifice his son to Him (cf. Phil. 2:7).

That is the key to giving. It starts with knowing God as sovereign and sacrificing one’s life to Him. When we really give ourselves to Christ, there is nothing we cannot give to Him. That’s the example of the Macedonian church (2 Cor. 8:5).

God always asks us to give Him what we love most. That’s difficult if we have not already given ourselves to Him as living sacrifice. It is only when we learn to give ourselves to Him, that we can hold things lightly, and willingly give to Him. That is giving that God delights in (12).