The Joy of Giving

When Paul wrote his second letter to the Corinthians, he wanted to encourage them to send a gift for the relief of the poor in Jerusalem. As an example, he told them about the Macedonian church and the generosity they had shown. Paul tells the Corinthians that these godly people gave freely, despite great affliction and the extreme poverty of their own circumstances. Paul said they not only gave according to their means but “beyond their means.” Clearly, their generous gift was provided at the cost of great personal sacrifice. Yet, there was no reticence on the part of the Macedonians. In fact, Paul says they were “begging earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints.” (2 Corinthians 8:4).

The Macedonians weren’t just a good example for the Corinthians, they make an excellent example for you and me as well. In their giving, they experienced “abundant joy,” despite the extreme sacrifice involved. Has God ever challenged you to give something that, by any logical measure, you simply couldn’t afford to do without? When God challenges you to give like the Macedonians—beyond your means—that’s a whole different level of giving. This is giving that gets God’s attention!

It almost stretches the bounds of credibility in our materialistic age to suggest that giving away what you need for yourself could ever have a positive outcome. Yet, for the follower of Christ, it is absolute truth. We have no greater example than Christ Himself. As Paul says later in this chapter, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9). Not only did Jesus become poor for our sake, His sacrifice was offered with great joy: “Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2).

Great sacrifice made Christianity possible in the first place, and great sacrifice continues to make it possible to proclaim the gospel and minister in Jesus’ Name to poor and hurting people. Again, this kind of giving gets God’s attention, and His response to it will likely astonish you. And without doubt, when you obey God in this realm, it produces joy on a supernatural level—joy in the hearts of those touched by your giving, and, like the Macedonians, you’ll experience the “abundant joy” that only a “wealth of generosity” can impart.