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Chapter Fourteen: Blessed Through Right Giving
Chapter Fourteen: Blessed Through Right Giving
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
A Garden of Blessings
An analogy can be drawn of a garden. If we plant a tomato seed, we don't get just one tomato; a stalk
comes up and there are many tomatoes on it. When we plant a corn seed, we don't get just one ear of corn, a
corn stalk comes up and bears many ears of corn. Many apples come from one apple seed.
We don't plant a blessing seed and get one blessing; we plant a blessing seed and get many blessings. The
blessing seeds we plant today will bless us in the future. God's return will always be greater than our service
rendered. Serving God is a good investment. That is why the songwriter wrote, "It pays to serve Jesus. It pays
every day. It pays to serve Jesus every step of the way."
Ye Know
In a previous chapter, I talked about the meaning of the word "know" and how in 2 Corinthians 8:9 does
not mean to understand, but in biblical language, is an intimate term. I talked about how it confers and
denotes intimacy, like with Mary who had a baby and had not known a man or, like Abraham knew Sarah. I
also went on to talk about the fact that this verse implies that by grace we know the Lord; we've experienced
the Lord; we know what He's done. I thought it was worth repeating, to say this, I don't have to tell you about
Him. We have an intimate relationship with the graces of God. Ye know. We may act like we don't know. We
may hold our hands tight; hold on to our pocketbooks and not give, but it is not because we don't know. Ye
know. God has entered into our lives. We have been intimate with Him. Ye know the grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ. We know that for our sakes, though He was rich, He thought it not robbery to become poor so that
through His poorness, through His poverty, we might be rich. Because we know God, we ought to give right
and be blessed.
A Cheerful Heart
Not only to give it in our heart, but give it cheerfully. "Cheerfully" in Greek means hilariously. God loves a
cheerful giver. Why does God love a cheerful giver? Because He sees His own character in a cheerful giver.
The nature of God's character is cheerful. God himself is a cheerful giver. So a cheerful giver is like Jesus.
Maybe some of us need to stop being hypocritical, and stop singing, "I want to be more and more like Jesus."
We can't be like Jesus until we become cheerful givers.
Cheerful giving waters and fertilizes the seeds that we plant in our blessing garden. If we sow our garden
bountifully and purposely with a willing heart, then the water and the fertilizer will come from our
cheerfulness. Cheerfulness will cultivate our garden.
God's Promise
In addition, God gives a promise in 2 Corinthians 9:8 (KJV) that "he is able to make all graces abound
toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work." God
promises that if we give right, we will not lack for anything His grace can provide. For example, when I
testify to what my wife and I are contributing to a capital fund campaign, some might wonder how we are
able to do it. First, God promises. God promises that I will not lack for anything when I give rightly. This is a
promise from God. God also promises that I cannot get hurt by right giving. God promises that none will
suffer loss through right giving. We cannot give right and then go without. God is able. God will provide the
right giver with everything he or she needs. We know this. We may not want to hear it, but we know it.
Covetousness
What, then, is our problem? We may have a problem with covetousness. Verse 5 says to give as a matter of
bounty, not a matter of covetousness. Covetousness means to have more than enough and to desire more—
greed. Greedy for money. Covetousness is that extreme consideration for self that makes it possible not only
to neglect the needs of others, but also to hurt others to secure selfish desires. One of the Ten Commandments
is, "Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's house, thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's wife, nor his manservant,
nor his maidservant, nor his ox, nor his ass, nor any thing that is thy neighbour's" (Exodus 20:17 — KJV).
Covetousness is dangerous. Covetousness has been labeled as the preeminent idolatry. Covetousness is a
root sin, which means that all other sins grow out of covetousness. Covetousness is a consuming cancer. Once
covetousness sets in, it metastasises and begins to spread like a cancer. Covetousness is like a fatal drug. It is
impossible for us to be of Christian character when we have a spirit of covetousness.
Right Giving
Right giving is the best cure for covetousness. Right giving is the best medicine for covetousness. Right
giving is the best antidote for a bad case of the disease called covetousness. Right giving is the best
prevention for covetousness. Right giving is our best protection against covetousness. Right giving is our best
shield, best vaccine, or best inoculation against covetousness.
Preparing recently to go to Africa, I had to be inoculated. I thought I was going to get just one shot.
Freely Shared
Ultimately, I had to get about six shots because I needed some booster shots. Some of us need a booster
shot for right giving. I am glad that God provides me opportunities to get booster shots against covetousness.
We cannot be blessed fully as long as we have a speck of covetousness in us. If we have any covetousness in
us, the only way we can get rid of it is to give right.
God gives us what we have so He can give us more. In other words, God gave us what we have and He
wants to give us more. Verse 10 says that He who supplies the seed to the sower will supply and multiply our
seed for sowing and increase the harvest of our righteousness. God gave us the seed. God gave us the first
apple seed, the first tomato seed, the first blessing, the first piece of money. The only reason He gave us the
piece of money we have is so that He can give us more money. He wants to bless us. The question is how
does our garden grow?
Summary
God has enabled us to grow our own blessings through right giving. An analogy is drawn from a garden.
When we plant a tomato or corn seed, we don't get one tomato or one ear of corn. We get a stalk of tomatoes
and corn. Likewise, we don't plant a blessing seed and get one blessing. Rather, we get many blessings. The
blessing seed we plant today will bless us abundantly in the future. There is a spiritual law that applies to
sowing and reaping. If we sow a small amount, we will reap a small amount. And if we sow a large amount,
we will reap a large amount. We must give right to be blessed right. Right giving involves giving with a
willing heart, a purposeful heart, and a cheerful heart. God has promised that if we give right, because of His
"able-ness" and grace, we will lack for nothing.
Our problem, however, is covetousness. Covetousness is extremely dangerous and can be labeled as
preeminent idolatry and the root of all sin. Right giving is the best solution for covetousness. Right giving
overcomes covetousness by setting us free to give and be blessed. Right giving always results in thanksgiving
and praise, thereby giving glory to God. Indeed, God wants to bless us through our giving.