“Remember this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.”
Because of a famine in Jerusalem, churches from various areas pledged to send love offerings to the church there. In our text, Paul urged the Corinthians to make good on their promise to take part in sending this offering. At first, they had been all for it, but as time passed their zeal for giving had flagged somewhat. Paul is reminding them in 2 Corinthians 9:5 to give and to give generously because of the reciprocal nature of giving. He used an agricultural metaphor to illustrate his point. If one plants a lot of seed, he or she can expect an abundant crop. If one plants sparingly, his or her crop will not be abundant. This is a principle that applies not just to crops but to all areas of life. As to the matter of giving money, we have discovered that we do not miss what we give. In fact the more we give, the more we prosper. The Bible is full of admonitions to be generous with what God has given us. This principle applies, not just to giving to the church, but to being a giving person in all of life. The principle also applies to more than giving money. (But this is not an excuse not to give money, as some see it. Just saying...) It applies to our attitudes. If we give out grumpiness, we will receive grumpiness in return. I remember that when our daughters were much younger, we visited Disney World. Now there was a real jolly world, except for one character. As we walked along the street, we encountered “Grumpy.” He really lived up to his name. (That’s when I decided that Grumpy is a Baptist…. Come on, it’s a joke – sort of. lol) Give out grumpiness and you get grumpiness back in spades. This can also be true of love, or joy, etc. etc. etc. Remember 2 Corinthians 9:5 when the collection plate comes around in church. Better yet, remember it when you go out into daily life and mingle with people. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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