The Joy of Giving
Gettysburg Presbyterian Church
David C. Wright
II Cor. 9:6-8
November 7, 2010

         A Baptist preacher was preaching with great energy to his country congregation.  “Now let the church walk!” he said.
         “AMEN!” shouted Deacon Jones, “Let it walk!”
         The preacher continued, “Let the church run!”
         “AMEN!” responded Deacon Jones, “Let it run!”
         Now the preacher was really getting wound up. “Let the church fly!” he shouted.
         “AMEN, preacher, let it fly!” shouted Deacon Jones.
         “Now it’s going to take a lot of money to let it fly, brother,” intoned the preacher.
         “Let it walk, then,” said Deacon Jones, “Let it walk!”
          We’ve come to Stewardship Sunday here at GPC, and to some degree, your response to the call to stewardship will determine whether we fly, walk, or limp in 2011!  Our theme for this year’s focus on stewardship has been, “The Joy of Giving.”  I’ve picked a passage that I think resonates with that theme.  It’s found in II Cor. 9.  In his second letter to the Corinthians, Paul devotes all of chapters 8 and 9 to an offering he is collecting for poor Christians who live in Jerusalem.  These Jerusalem Christians have been under persecution and have also been devastated by a long famine in that region.  So, Paul is asking all the Greek churches to support them in their time of need.  It was an important cause, as I believe giving to this church is an important cause.  Your giving here supports hungry people in Haiti, new missionaries in Honduras, existing missionaries like the Okellos, our five mission trips, and provides a fair salary for our staff.  In these few verses from chapter 9, Paul gives three excellent pieces of advice for Christians as they make giving commitments, which we will be doing next Sunday.
         6  The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
         7  Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
         8  And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. (II Cor. 9:6-8)
         First, Paul talks about thoughtful giving.  He says, “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion…”  Some churches use a “hard sell” approach to giving.  They attempt to manipulate their church members into giving more by use of guilt or fear.  We don’t do that here at GPC, and Paul doesn’t either!  Instead, Paul encourages thoughtful giving.  If you’ve been following our recipe for joyful giving in the bulletins, you may recall the first three ingredients of the recipe:  reflection, examination, and commitment.  They are invitations to thoughtful giving.  We reflect on all that the Lord has given us: our families, warm homes, our work, caring friends, a car, plenty of food, and our church home.  And we reflect on what God is doing through this church to help others.  Then we examine the financial resources that God has entrusted to us.  The biblical standard for giving is the tithe or 10% of what we receive.  Examine how you’re doing in proportionate giving.  What percentage of your income are you giving this year?  Is God leading you to raise it another percent or two next year?  Or maybe even more?
          Bonnie and I have a couple friends who have been financially blessed.  We knew that they were generous people, but I recently found out that they believe God has called them to give 50% of their income to God’s work!  And they do!  And they are very joyful people.  They love seeing what God can do through the funds that they give away.  So, what do you think God is calling you to do in your giving in 2011?  Pray about it.  Talk about it with your family. Then make your commitment.  That’s thoughtful giving.
          Paul also encourages cheerful giving.  He says we should not give “reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (II Cor. 6:7)  Cheerful giving.  I remember one year when I was a kid and Christmas was coming.  I got pretty obsessed with the possible gifts I might be getting.  I looked at catalogues and pointed out things I wanted, wrote letters to Santa, and dropped hints to my parents and grandparents.  In the midst of all that, my mom reminded me that Jesus said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  “Right,” I thought.  “But Jesus wasn’t hoping to get a motorized erector set for Christmas!”
          But a funny thing happened to me that year.  I got gifts for my mom and dad and for my brother and sister.  And strangely, I found a real sense of joy as I watched them open and really appreciate the gifts I had picked out and bought, or made for them.  Hmmm.  Maybe Jesus was right after all.  “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”  (And I got the erector set, too!)
          Some of you have had the same experience when you’ve given gifts to others, or when you’ve given your time or shared your talents with someone, say, on a mission trip.  I know I have felt absolutely overwhelmed with joy on several mission projects, when it was clear that the work we had done was making a significant difference in the lives of those we were serving.  Sometimes people have even told us that we were the answer to their prayers.  Now that’s a humbling as well as a joyful experience- to be the answer to someone’s prayer!
          So, Paul advises us to learn to give with cheerfulness, rather than grudgingly.  When we give with cheerfulness, we are anticipating the good things God will do with our gift, and anticipating the sense of joy we may well experience.
          Finally, give with confidence.  Paul writes, “And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.”   (II Cor. 9:8)  A mother was preparing pancakes for her two young boys, Kevin and Ryan.  The boys began to argue over who would get the first pancake.  The mother saw this as an opportunity to teach an important moral lesson.  She said, “If Jesus were sitting here, he would say, ‘Let my brother have the first pancake.  I can wait.’”  “OK,” said Kevin, turning to his younger brother, “You be Jesus!” 
          These boys were wrestling with an issue that keeps some of us from being generous- the fear that there won’t be enough left for us if we give more.  We’re living in a time of deep economic uncertainty, and anxiety seems to permeate our society.  We saw some of that in the election campaigns over the last few months.  Some of us are afraid to risk making a generous commitment right now.  That’s certainly understandable, but Paul has a word for you.  It is God who has given you everything you have- “every blessing in abundance!” he says.  And Paul reminds us that God will continue to provide us with “enough of everything” so we can continue to bless others with our giving.  It is your giving that allows Phyllis to minister to our children, Lou and Libby to work with our youth, Becky & Dave to lead our wonderful music program, and all of us to provide meals, groceries, and utility help to people in our community who are truly in need.  We bless others through our giving.
          Now, I don’t think God wants us to be reckless.  We are to be good stewards or managers of all God has entrusted to us.  But God does call us to be generous, confident that God will provide for our needs when we are.  So Paul gives us good advice here.  Give thoughtfully.  Give cheerfully.  Give with confidence. 
Scottish Presbyterians established the Christian church in the African country of Ghana over a hundred years ago, and today many of the worship services there still resemble formal Scottish Presbyterian services.  Recently, however, an African innovation has crept into worship.

Return to the Sermons Menu