II Cor. 9:7 ... "Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."
Christian service, like any other service, incurs expenses which must be paid. As Jesus went about His ministry of preaching, teaching and healing, He had to eat, occasionally obtain clothing to wear, and find lodging when the weather was wet or cold. He did not engage in any business which paid monetary wages, and only once did He perform a miracle to meet His expenses, (Mat. 7:27). Rather, He allowed His disciples to support Him in His work by sharing their resources to pay His expenses. Thus Lazarus and his two sisters in Bethany often opened their house to Jesus and served Him meals along with His twelve apostles, (Jno. 12:1-6). Also, in Luk. 8:2-3 there is a report that Mary Magdalene, and Joanna, Susanna and many others "provided for them out of their means." The generosity of these various people, which was based in their faith in Jesus' ministry, freed our Lord from having to take up His valuable time in working to support Himself or having to perform miracles to provide for His needs.
The principle of God's people donating from their resources to pay the worldly expenses incurred in Christian service is taught both in the model of Jesus' ministry, in the many examples of the church under apostolic direction, and in explicit commands. Of the later, we first take special notice of Jesus' order in Mt. 10:8, which is given in a context of teaching evangelism, "You received without paying, give without pay." God has given salvation to us without cost, along with the resulting privileges of sonship to Him as Father and citizenship in His eternal kingdom. Out of deep appreciation we should feel great motivation to give freely unto the work of His service. Another direct command is I Cor. 16:2, "On the first day of every week, each one of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper." Our giving is here required to be on a schedule, every Sunday, and gauged to the extent that God has prospered us. If we believe in the importance and necessity of God's church and its function, we should accept without difficulty the charge laid upon us as Christians to contribute to its expenses.
In the lead text above, we are taught about the attitude which God expects us to maintain toward this aspect of our response to Him. First, it must be our settled purpose to contribute. When one is converted to Christ, he should fix it in his mind that thenceforth, so long as he obtains any income, a portion of it will be turned over to the Lord for His service. A Christian remains in spiritual infancy when he continually has to be urged to remember the Lord as he uses the wealth the Lord blesses him to receive. Second, our giving must be ungrudging. We should not resent every dollar we turn over to the Lord and every hour we spend in His service. No one enjoys a gift when he perceives the giver has reluctantly given it, and neither does the Lord. Most of us would much rather a person keep his gift than put it into our hands with a heavy, unwilling heart. Third, our giving must not be of necessity. What does God think of the person whose attitude is, "Oh no! Here it is Sunday again, and I have to put some of Friday's paycheck in the contribution basket"? Does He feel something like we do at Christmas or a birthday when we get the distinct feeling that the gifts we are receiving are perfunctory rather than sincere expressions of love and appreciation? And fourth, our giving must be cheerful. When this writer gives something to someone he loves, it produces a great deal of joy in his heart to be able to do it. In fact, as he grows older he has discovered that he derives far more joy in giving than in receiving. If we love God who created us, Christ who saves us, and the Spirit who comforts us, we will find it indeed a cheerful experience each Lord's Day to make our contribution to the Lord's service with a degree of liberality that gradually increases.
