2 Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposes in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loves a cheerful giver.… Paul here supports his appeal for liberality by a quotation from Old Testament Scripture. The words are almost literally those of the Septuagint Version of the Book of Proverbs. If the most powerful and practical motive to benevolence and especially to almsgiving is that which comes from the incarnation and from the cross of Christ, still all revelation enjoins and commends a virtue which is always beneficial to the giver, even when the advantage to the recipient is questionable. I. GOD HIMSELF IS A CHEERFUL GIVER. There is no grudging in his benevolence. If he shows mercy, he delights in mercy. If he gives, he gives with open hand and smiling face. II. CHEERFULNESS IN THE GIVER ENHANCES TO THE RECIPIENT THE VALUE OF THE GIFT. "One may give with his hand and pull it back with his looks." Some benevolent characters give with such a grace that those who receive at their hands think more of the giver than of the gift. Even a trifle in such case is more welcome than a handsome donation from an unsympathizing and uninterested donor. A foreign scholar waited upon a theological professor in London, who was a man well known for his exquisite grace and suavity of manner, to lay before him his position as one of peculiar destitution. That he was assisted, and assisted generously, is certain; but as he left the house he was heard to break forth into the exclamation, "Oh, the modus, the modus, the modus! i.e. the manner of the giver in the bestowal of his liberality. III. CHEERFULNESS IN THE GIVER REACTS UPON HIS OWN SPIRITUAL NATURE. He who gives coldly, ungraciously, and grudgingly, is none the better for the act. But the ready, liberal, and cheerful giver is a happier and a more truly Christian man, because of the spirit in which he has discharged a duty and rendered a service. IV. THERE IS A SPECIAL RECOMPENSE ASSURED TO THE CHEERFUL GIVER. The Lord loveth him." The Lord sees his own character reflected in that of his servant; he witnesses in the generous and unselfish spirit the fruit of the redemption wrought by his Son, and of the fertilizing operation of his own gracious, free, and beneficent Spirit. - T. Parallel Verses KJV: Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver. |
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