Tight wallets are sometimes a gift of God.  They cause us to evaluate what is truly important, and they give us opportunities to see His miraculous provision and thoughtfulness.  They also cause us to grown in faith, especially when God asks us to give rather than horde or be fearful of lack.

It’s hard to blog on this topic because giving is something I’m not particularly good at.  In passages from 2 Cor. 8 and 9, I was struck by phrases such as “extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity” and “Jesus …was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich”.  I don’t tend to view poverty as a time for rich generosity, and I and don’t want to be poor in any way, even if it helps others be rich.  I’m too selfish for that and like my own comfort.  I also liked, “For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.”  Too often I feel I can’t give because I don’t have enough, forgetting that God expects us to give what we have, not what others may have in comparison.  2 Cor. 9 reminds us that if we sow sparingly, we will reap sparingly, and conversely, if we sow generously, we will reap generously.  We can’t lose out! God is the one who supplies seed to sow.  The more we give, the more He gives us, so that we can give even more.  He is trustworthy.  Will I believe Him and act?

 Joy Oaks