After leaving Nevada, last week, I drove home a different way. I cut down to I-40 and made my way to Flagstaff, Arizona. As far as cities go, Flagstaff is right up my alley. It is a small town with lots of greenery and mountains. I truly enjoy that city. The added bonus is that my uncle lives there. As far as people go, Uncle Mark is right up my alley. Every time I talk with him, I find myself wiser. He makes it easy to meet my goal of learning something from everyone I meet. Time does not allow me to discuss all the things I learned during my two-day stay in Flagstaff last week. But I will tell you about one thing that made me smile.

My uncle and I were discussing giving within the church. This topic is familiar to all regular church attenders; familiar but most likely not an enjoyable topic. My uncle has discovered something that has changed the way I feel about giving; and if you pay attention it will change how you feel, as well. The more I think about it, the more excited I become about it.

2 Corinthians 9:6-7 — The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

This passage is dealing with a specific offering that was being collected in the churches of Asia Minor to be sent to the church in Jerusalem. This passage teaches us concepts that are valuable for any sort of giving: whether it be a love offering — as in Corinth — or a weekly tithe, or giving to missions, or a gift to one in need.

It is the concept of cheerful giving that I learned about in Flagstaff. When I used to think about cheerful giving, I tied it together with smiling when the offering plate came by. It was like a routine that I followed: when it was time to pull out the check book and write a check for my tithe, I would be sure to smile and think happy thoughts; when the offering plate came by and I put in my check, the smile and happy thoughts returned. It is like I was acting in a play. I remember my most famous role as an actor: I was a Munchkin member of the Lollipop Guild in The Wizard of Oz. Our direction was to smile whenever we were on stage. No matter what we were doing — singing, dancing, walking — we were to smile.

My uncle presented me with an alternative thinking to what it means to give cheerfully by asking me a question: How much do I have to give in order to be cheerful? Think about that for a moment.

How much do I have to give in order to be cheerful?

Initially your answer might be a small number. But the longer you reflect on that question, you realize that true cheerful joy comes from giving more. Step away from the routine giving and ponder what it would mean to give until you are cheerful. The joy comes from giving so much that you cannot help but trust in God.

Chew on this, my friends. The more you think about it, the more you will be excited about giving cheerfully.

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This entry was posted by zac on Thursday, August 2nd, 2007 at 9:03 am and is filed under Weekly Jib Jab. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.