Giving – Compelled by Love

Does love motivate your giving?

Giving blesses the giver as well as the receiver when done without compulsion or the need for recognition. In 2 Corinthians 8, the Apostle Paul used the Macedonians as an example. The Amplified Bible reads, “…during an ordeal of severe distress, their abundant joy and their deep poverty together overflowed in the wealth of their lavish generosity. For I testify that according to their ability, and beyond their ability, they gave voluntarily, begging us insistently for the privilege of participating in the service for the support of the saints in Jerusalem. Not only did they give materially as we had hoped, but first they gave themselves to the Lord and to us as His representatives by the will of God, disregarding their personal interests and giving as much as they possibly could.” (2 Corinthians 8:1-5)

Did you catch that? In love, they gave themselves first to the Lord. Then, they surrendered everything to Him in an act of complete trust. They truly believed 2 Corinthians 9:8, which in the Amplified says: “…God is able to make all grace (every favor and earthly blessing) come in abundance to you, so that you may always (under all circumstances, regardless of the need) have complete sufficiency in everything (being completely self-sufficient in Him), and have an abundance for every good work and act of charity.”

We, too, can joyfully meet the needs of others by trusting God to meet our every need. He provides so that we’ll always have something to share with others, and if your giving is constrained by credit card debt, Christian Credit Counselors can help. They’ll create a debt management plan specifically for you. For more information, visit online at crown.org/ccc.