"Each as he purposes in his heart, not out of regret, or of compulsion, indeed a cheerful giver loves God."1
Have you ever heard the expression God loves a cheerful giver? most have and out of twenty Bible translations it says so but I believe if we look at it closer, we see this; those who love God give cheerfully. Now is there a difference? well is God's love dependent upon me giving? Is Grace earned? what about salvation? Does God love me because I follow His commandments or do I follow His commandment because I love God? Does he love me because I give? it is much deeper, His love is based upon Grace and through the works of Jesus and faith in Him we become justified in his sight, adopted into his family. Do I give for God to love me or do I give because I love God?
The foundation of the new covenant is of Grace through faith, unmerited favor, unconditional love. It is a matter of the heart. God wants our hearts First and the principle of giving is to appeal to our hearts not some duty, sacrifice, or burden. Where our treasure is, this is reflective of where our heart is. So those who love God give cheerfully. It is a matter of the heart and the Bible gives us some ways to help us avoid the schemes of the enemy, to help us give cheerfully; one is that giving should be purposed in my heart, not out of regret, or compulsion.
Give cheerfully, purposed from the heart. "Each as he purposes in his heart..." This word for purpose is proaireó meaning I propose, purpose; I propose to myself; (from pro, before and haireó, I choose). I choose before another thing, God is First. God wants our hearts, so naturally he asks, where is your treasure? If I choose Him before myself, this points to the state of my heart, if I choose myself my heart points to my treasure, if I choose him my treasure points to Him, where my heart is. If I chose money over others, it too is reflective of my heart. I give the first fruits to God by loving Him and by following His commandment of loving others.
We see this concept of first born and first fruits with Abel and Cain, the scriptures say Abel gave from the first born of his flock, while Cain from the fruits. Notice it was a matter of "first", Abel gave the first born, spotless lambs, but Cain gave just fruits, not first fruits. God gave us His first born, Jesus became the first born of God, a spotless Lamb of God, first fruits of a new creation. If God would give of that which he loved so much, His first born, should not we give of our first?
This word for purpose also means propose. Propose means to set forth to ones self as purpose formed; hence, to purpose; to intend.2 We are to be good stewards of our finances. So there is the matter of 120 billion in the US that is given to faith based organization each year, where does it go?we are to be divinely persuaded, a matter of trust, do I trust God and do I hold the organizations accountable for what they do with the money? When we think of this as a proposal, like a business proposal, it is a "buying in" exchanging a sacrifice for that I value. Many teach giving as if it is a burden, duty, or as if we should be pressed into giving. Others do not understand scriptures as to giving, thus their reluctance to give. Before I choose to give I propose in my heart, that it is something God wants and I intend to do it.
Give cheerfully, not out of regret. This word for regret is lýpē – properly, distress, vexation; (figuratively) physical or emotional pain; heavy, heart-sorrow (grief) that brings a person down. Think of the rich young ruler as he walked away sad, he could not purpose in his heart to give away all to follow Christ. He loved money more. Could you, if Christ asked right now? but we must, we can not serve money and God at the same time. While most are not rich we struggle to give all of ourselves to Christ. The word regret means a heavy, heart-sorrow (grief) that brings a person down. It is a worldly type of sorrow, it is the regret that should not be in repentance, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."4
Give cheerfully, not out of compulsion. This word for compulsion is anágkē, properly necessity, imposed either by the external condition of things, or by the law of duty. This "pressing" in we have experienced, as some sales people do this, they try to "press" you into buying or sacrificing what you value before you have purposed it in your heart to sacrifice or not. The Greek word describes compulsion as an arm bent upward, as if taking a burden, thus the expression bend or twist my arm. Right before Jesus praised the widow for giving abundantly all she had, he said to beware of the Pharisees who devoured widows homes. The Pharisees gave abundantly out of their wealth, they did so all could see, putting a burden on others, pressing others to give as much as they did. They took the love of giving away and made it into a duty, putting heavy burdens on the people. But Jesus "paid" all on the cross, our giving is not the amount we give but that we give from the First of the heart, because we love God. Indeed a cheerful giver loves God. It is to be an intimate thing between us and God.
"But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."7 I believe tithing and giving is different, but both are a matter of the heart, of what we seek first, it is a matter of putting His kingdom First or ours. We reap into the Law of the Spirit or into the Law of Sin and death. We reap what we sow, whether unto life or death, and this applies to our finances. We can ask ourselves this question how do I view tithing? Have I been taught to think of it as a duty, a burden, sacrificial? When I hear sermons about tithing do I feel like I am being pressed? Is tithing the last thing I do? Do I purpose to give first? Where is my treasure? Do I love Him so much I give to him from the first, cheerfully? Malachi spoke to the people that God had cursed their blessing because the offering was not pure. Our hearts.
From the giving of our first God blesses the rest. It is the principle of putting God First. God promises us that he will provide if we put him First, "so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."5 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” We reap what we sow. When we provide seed to the sower God promises to increase our seed, this is so we can provide more seed so that the harvest increases. We must but test Him in this type of giving. Of course the lesson of Job stands out, God purges and disciplines those He loves, for the purpose of God, He rewards and takes away as he wills. Christians are known for the lack of love of those hard pressed, and this is reflective in how we treat others in regards to money, and such shows our love of money.
The love of money is the root of all evil. Money is not evil, but the love of it is, as we can not serve God and money. So what does this love of money look like? God commands us to love others, so if we try to justify our mistreatment of others regarding money based on other principles, like lack of commitment etc... I would say we love money over people and God. The love of money will cause men to do many evil things, thus the love of money is reflective in how we treats others. Capitalism only works within the constraints of morality and business monopolies can be bad because of this. Our hearts condemn us in this matter, and the scriptures are clear to the understanding of such.
"But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?"6 The way of the world is clear, you are treated based upon what you have or what you can give or even your potential to give. Business as ministry or ministry as business fails here, as it is conditional on you being a member, giving, or paying for a "service." Lack of commitment we say is on their part... "The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each as he purposes in his heart, not out of regret, or of compulsion, indeed a cheerful giver loves God." A Cheerful Giver Loves God.
Have you ever heard the expression God loves a cheerful giver? most have and out of twenty Bible translations it says so but I believe if we look at it closer, we see this; those who love God give cheerfully. Now is there a difference? well is God's love dependent upon me giving? Is Grace earned? what about salvation? Does God love me because I follow His commandments or do I follow His commandment because I love God? Does he love me because I give? it is much deeper, His love is based upon Grace and through the works of Jesus and faith in Him we become justified in his sight, adopted into his family. Do I give for God to love me or do I give because I love God?
The foundation of the new covenant is of Grace through faith, unmerited favor, unconditional love. It is a matter of the heart. God wants our hearts First and the principle of giving is to appeal to our hearts not some duty, sacrifice, or burden. Where our treasure is, this is reflective of where our heart is. So those who love God give cheerfully. It is a matter of the heart and the Bible gives us some ways to help us avoid the schemes of the enemy, to help us give cheerfully; one is that giving should be purposed in my heart, not out of regret, or compulsion.
Give cheerfully, purposed from the heart. "Each as he purposes in his heart..." This word for purpose is proaireó meaning I propose, purpose; I propose to myself; (from pro, before and haireó, I choose). I choose before another thing, God is First. God wants our hearts, so naturally he asks, where is your treasure? If I choose Him before myself, this points to the state of my heart, if I choose myself my heart points to my treasure, if I choose him my treasure points to Him, where my heart is. If I chose money over others, it too is reflective of my heart. I give the first fruits to God by loving Him and by following His commandment of loving others.
We see this concept of first born and first fruits with Abel and Cain, the scriptures say Abel gave from the first born of his flock, while Cain from the fruits. Notice it was a matter of "first", Abel gave the first born, spotless lambs, but Cain gave just fruits, not first fruits. God gave us His first born, Jesus became the first born of God, a spotless Lamb of God, first fruits of a new creation. If God would give of that which he loved so much, His first born, should not we give of our first?
This word for purpose also means propose. Propose means to set forth to ones self as purpose formed; hence, to purpose; to intend.2 We are to be good stewards of our finances. So there is the matter of 120 billion in the US that is given to faith based organization each year, where does it go?we are to be divinely persuaded, a matter of trust, do I trust God and do I hold the organizations accountable for what they do with the money? When we think of this as a proposal, like a business proposal, it is a "buying in" exchanging a sacrifice for that I value. Many teach giving as if it is a burden, duty, or as if we should be pressed into giving. Others do not understand scriptures as to giving, thus their reluctance to give. Before I choose to give I propose in my heart, that it is something God wants and I intend to do it.
Give cheerfully, not out of regret. This word for regret is lýpē – properly, distress, vexation; (figuratively) physical or emotional pain; heavy, heart-sorrow (grief) that brings a person down. Think of the rich young ruler as he walked away sad, he could not purpose in his heart to give away all to follow Christ. He loved money more. Could you, if Christ asked right now? but we must, we can not serve money and God at the same time. While most are not rich we struggle to give all of ourselves to Christ. The word regret means a heavy, heart-sorrow (grief) that brings a person down. It is a worldly type of sorrow, it is the regret that should not be in repentance, "Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret, but worldly sorrow brings death."4
Give cheerfully, not out of compulsion. This word for compulsion is anágkē, properly necessity, imposed either by the external condition of things, or by the law of duty. This "pressing" in we have experienced, as some sales people do this, they try to "press" you into buying or sacrificing what you value before you have purposed it in your heart to sacrifice or not. The Greek word describes compulsion as an arm bent upward, as if taking a burden, thus the expression bend or twist my arm. Right before Jesus praised the widow for giving abundantly all she had, he said to beware of the Pharisees who devoured widows homes. The Pharisees gave abundantly out of their wealth, they did so all could see, putting a burden on others, pressing others to give as much as they did. They took the love of giving away and made it into a duty, putting heavy burdens on the people. But Jesus "paid" all on the cross, our giving is not the amount we give but that we give from the First of the heart, because we love God. Indeed a cheerful giver loves God. It is to be an intimate thing between us and God.
"But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."7 I believe tithing and giving is different, but both are a matter of the heart, of what we seek first, it is a matter of putting His kingdom First or ours. We reap into the Law of the Spirit or into the Law of Sin and death. We reap what we sow, whether unto life or death, and this applies to our finances. We can ask ourselves this question how do I view tithing? Have I been taught to think of it as a duty, a burden, sacrificial? When I hear sermons about tithing do I feel like I am being pressed? Is tithing the last thing I do? Do I purpose to give first? Where is my treasure? Do I love Him so much I give to him from the first, cheerfully? Malachi spoke to the people that God had cursed their blessing because the offering was not pure. Our hearts.
From the giving of our first God blesses the rest. It is the principle of putting God First. God promises us that he will provide if we put him First, "so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work."5 As it is written, “He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” We reap what we sow. When we provide seed to the sower God promises to increase our seed, this is so we can provide more seed so that the harvest increases. We must but test Him in this type of giving. Of course the lesson of Job stands out, God purges and disciplines those He loves, for the purpose of God, He rewards and takes away as he wills. Christians are known for the lack of love of those hard pressed, and this is reflective in how we treat others in regards to money, and such shows our love of money.
The love of money is the root of all evil. Money is not evil, but the love of it is, as we can not serve God and money. So what does this love of money look like? God commands us to love others, so if we try to justify our mistreatment of others regarding money based on other principles, like lack of commitment etc... I would say we love money over people and God. The love of money will cause men to do many evil things, thus the love of money is reflective in how we treats others. Capitalism only works within the constraints of morality and business monopolies can be bad because of this. Our hearts condemn us in this matter, and the scriptures are clear to the understanding of such.
"But whoever has the world's goods, and sees his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?"6 The way of the world is clear, you are treated based upon what you have or what you can give or even your potential to give. Business as ministry or ministry as business fails here, as it is conditional on you being a member, giving, or paying for a "service." Lack of commitment we say is on their part... "The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each as he purposes in his heart, not out of regret, or of compulsion, indeed a cheerful giver loves God." A Cheerful Giver Loves God.