Cheerful Giving

Scripture

He {God} gives you something you can then give away…so that you can be generous in every way, producing with us great praise to God.

~2 Corinthians 9:12-14, MSG

Quote

God is a generous giver and His desire for us is that we be like Him.

~Ya’akov


We had an offering each night at VBS and I enjoyed seeing the kids put money in the offering plate. I thought to myself, this is a beautiful picture of “cheerful giving.” I said, “Lord, this indeed is cheerful giving and I wish the adults could catch on.” Perhaps you are thinking: where did these children get the money to give. They got it from parents and teachers. Our kindergarten teacher brought a bag of change each night to make sure that every child had an offering. Our grand daughter Chloe gave very generously because she got money from both June and myself. Very few children generate income but they can give what is given to them. It is really no different with adults. We can give only what God has given to us. The only reason we can be generous is that He is generous.

Have you ever known a stingy child. They asks for something and you buy it for them and once it is in their hands, they refuse to share it with anyone, even you. I’ve had it happen more than once. How ungrateful can you be! Someone gives you a generous gift and you refuse to share the gift with the person who gave it to you. Of course, as an adult, I have never really needed what I have given to a child but I do enjoy putting them to the test to see if they will share. Irony of ironies, my mother was tight; more of a miser than a generous giver yet she taught everyone of her children to give. I grew up in a totally different culture. A coke and a candy bar was a big deal in my day. It was an unpardonable sin for us to have a piece of candy and eat it in front of another child who had no candy. She practically brain washed all seven of us: if you don’t have enough to share–then you do without yourself.

Why am I telling you all of this? Because you have to teach children to give. I’m going to say something that will sound harsh but it is true. If you teach children to be selfish and look out for number one, you may succeed and when you get old and need their help, they will respond with insensitivity and selfishness. They will put you in a home and forget about you. If you teach children to love money more than people, they may do just exactly that at your expense. I have seen this happen more than once. Make up your mind to be generous. Be a contributor, not a parasite.

I love these cool mornings. I know the vegetables in the garden don’t grow as well but it sure is pleasant to me. Looking forward to a wonderful Sabbath. Of course, my favorite part of the Sabbath is worship. Today will actually be our first day to get back into our routine. I hope you have a great day and thanks again for reading the blog.

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