God Loves A Cheerful Giver
We have a habit of selecting Bible verses or even part of Bible verses to use for our purposes. Today is a good example of that. How many times have you heard the phrase “God loves a cheerful giver”? How many times have you used it? The phrase is true enough, but if you read the first part of the sentence it comes with conditions.
The complete sentence is “Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Consider without sadness. If what you give is going to cause sadness or grief or sorrow, then it is not done in a cheerful manner. If what you give is done out of compulsion coercion or force, again, it is not done in a cheerful manner. If what you are giving is done so grudgingly then the gift is not truly a gift from within your heart, you still hold on to it. In this case you forfeit the blessing from God even if the gift is given. But if the gift is freely given and in the virtue of cheerfulness you do receive the blessing of God.
When you give, what is in your heart? Is it grudge because you feel you must give? Is it a sadness because you feel you must give? Today, think of the last time you gave a gift to someone and really felt blessed for what you did. Ask yourself, why do I not feel that way every time.
May the Lord bless you in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen