Giving Out of Sorrow

‘..So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity;

for God loves a cheerful giver.’ II Corinthians 9:7

Grudgingly in Greek means ‘sadness, grievous, or sorrow.’ Ordinarily you’d think grudgingly meant ‘with an attitude’ but it doesn’t; in fact, quite the opposite. What the scripture is saying is that you aren’t supposed to give because you’re sad about the conditions a person maybe living in and you want to give in order to do something about it. Neither are you to be so grieved about what’s going on that you give just to make yourself feel better. And more importantly, you shouldn’t give to someone or to a cause because you feel sorry for them.

I’m not saying that you aren’t supposed to help those in need; on the contrary – you are! Take the disciples who sent aid in Acts 11:27-29 for example. I’m sure they felt sorry for the people in Macedonia and Asia too; but they didn’t grudgingly give because they felt sorry for the brethren in Judea; they gave because the Holy Spirit led them to.

You’re going to have to stop giving because you feel sorry for someone. (You see what happened to me when I gave ole girl my flip flops.) I know this maybe upsetting because this is how you’ve been trained to give. But just because you were trained to do something doesn’t mean it’s right or biblical.

‘God loves a cheerful giver’ and that’s how you’re to give; even when you are sad, grieved, or feel sorry to the point that you want to do something about it. Not saying you should feel good that the person is suffering, but you can be cheerful in knowing that because you were led by the Holy Spirit in your giving, God is able to do something about the situation.

Pray this with me: Heavenly Father, will You please forgive me when I gave because I felt sorry for people? I know that way doesn’t please You because You love a cheerful giver. So when I see a person in need, help me to know if I am to give as I am led by Your Holy Spirit. In Jesus’ name.

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