Why God Loves a Cheerful Giver

Oct 6

Discover how biblical stewardship of finances turns giving into worship, multiplying God’s grace and producing joyful generosity.

10 Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.
The Cheerful Giver
6 The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully[a] will also reap bountifully. 7 Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency[b] in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work. 9 As it is written,
“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
his righteousness endures forever.”
10 He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11 You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God. 12 For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. 13 By their approval of this service, they[c] will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others, 14 while they long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God upon you. 15 Thanks be to God for his inexpressible gift!

The Joy of Generous Giving: God’s Grace in Action

The America’s Cup is the premier sailing event in the Western Hemisphere. These high-tech carbon fiber boats cost between $8 million and $10 million each, with entry fees ranging from $2 million to $3 million. Total costs can easily exceed $100 million—Oracle Team USA spent somewhere between $250 and $300 million to defend its title. At full sail, these boats reach 55 knots, roughly 64 miles per hour on water powered by nothing but wind.

Years ago in the Caribbean, my wife and I joined a group to rent New Zealand’s America’s Cup entry boat with its crew. Sailing this incredible vessel across the open ocean at 55 to 60 miles per hour was exhilarating. I had the opportunity to take the helm of this magnificent craft, and the moment seemed perfect for capturing memories. I turned to my wife, ready to say, “Sweetheart, take a picture.” But when I turned, she was leaning off the stern with her camera aimed not at her husband but at landmarks on the shore. Her nonverbal communication seemed to say subtly, “It’s not all about you, Paul.”

In 2 Corinthians 8-9, the Apostle Paul was actually boasting about the church because the Corinthian believers were experiencing joy and God’s grace like never before. They recognized that it’s not all about them, but about God and His kingdom.

From Consumers to Producers

The church at Corinth was awakening to the beauty and glory of God, centered on this central truth: it’s not about us, but about God and His kingdom. It’s not about spectator Christianity, but about servant Christianity, which is the normative form of Christianity. It’s not about being consumers but about being producers for God’s glory. It’s about being sacrificial and participatory, in line with God’s heart for others and the planet.

Christianity isn’t something we merely attend but something we are and something we do. Being a Christian isn’t just a noun but a verb, meaning to be a Christ follower. When we open this section of 2 Corinthians, we find a church that has become much healthier since Paul addressed the issues in his first letter. Now the Apostle Paul was bragging on them, affirming them, exhorting them because they had become generous with their resources as an act of worship, as an act of caring about the things God cares about.

To understand the context, in chapters eight and nine, Paul wrote of receiving an offering from the Corinthians for the church at Jerusalem. Great poverty had come to Jerusalem for a time due to a severe famine that ravaged the region. Scripture references this famine in other places. This prompted Paul to receive an offering, which is why he also wrote in Romans 15:25-26:

“At present, however, I am going to Jerusalem, bringing aid to the saints. For Macedonia and Achaia have been pleased to make some contribution for the poor among the saints at Jerusalem.”

Churches in far-off places were giving to the needs in Jerusalem as they grew in health. Earlier in 2 Corinthians 8:1-2, Paul wrote:

“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.”

The people giving were not rich. They had their own trials and poverty, but they sacrificially and joyfully gave for the church in Jerusalem, which was the flagship church of Christianity at that time.

The Principle of Sowing and Reaping

While Paul addressed the need for the Corinthian church to give, he also knew that God wanted to bless the Corinthians with understanding how God works when we give. Second Corinthians 9:6 declares, “The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.”

Think about what God, the Creator of the heavens and the earth, is saying. Consider what that one verse means.

Growing up, summers meant working on a cousin’s farm, which raised cows, corn, and hay. You learn a lot about hard work on a farm, but there are also simple lessons to be learned. If you plant one kernel of corn, you don’t expect to get one kernel in return. The kernel develops into a stalk that produces multiple ears of corn, and each ear typically yields around 750 kernels.

If sowing is like giving, then giving doesn’t produce a one-to-one result. Giving produces a bountiful result. It’s not a one-to-one ratio but one-to-many. It’s something multiplicative, something exponential that gets opened up. God teaches that giving in the kingdom is not addition, but multiplication. We reap more than we sow.

God teaches through His servant Paul that the spirit in which we give also matters. We are taught to do so cheerfully. Verse seven states, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

You would think it would be sufficient just to give generously, but that’s not what God’s teaching is. God instructs us to give cheerfully as well. He loves a cheerful giver, not a reluctant giver—one who is generous in celebrating the impact God is making among people. Everyone should give the amount they’ve decided in their own heart, not out of guilt or external pressure.

Even the Old Testament reveals the spirit in which we’re to give. Deuteronomy 15:10 instructs, “You shall give to him freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him, because for this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in all that you undertake.”

Two Ways to Fail at Giving

Give Generously, But Not Joyfully: When we do this, we’re giving in the wrong way.
Give Joyfully But Not Generously: This misses the mark. God wants us to give at the intersection of both generosity and joy.

“I have found that cheerful givers love God and love Him more deeply each time they give. To me, one of the few experiences comparable to the joy of leading someone to Christ is the joy of making wise and generous choices with my money and possessions. Both are supreme acts of worship. Both are exhilarating. Both are what we are or were made for.” Randy Alcorn, author

When we see this pattern of sowing and reaping in Scripture, we recognize it’s not isolated to the context of giving. It’s a principle we find throughout the Bible. Galatians 6:7 warns, “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap.”

Whenever God warns us not to be deceived, we are vulnerable to deception. When you’re deceived, you don’t know you’re deceived because you are deceived.

Have you ever heard somebody say something like, “If I win the lottery, I’ll give half to the church”? That’s upside-down thinking in light of what Scripture teaches. It’s like saying, “If I harvest fruit, then I’ll start planting seeds.” God says the inverse is true.

The Motivation for Giving

If you consider what you have the opportunity to give in light of what you have received through God’s grace, giving shouldn’t be that hard. This is why Paul made this statement in 2 Corinthians 8:9: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor, so that you by His poverty might become rich.”

He wasn’t referring to earthly riches but speaking of spiritual riches—the joy and liberty that a follower of Jesus knows in his or her heart, the bountiful blessings of being a child in the kingdom. It’s not like we haven’t benefited from the giving of someone else because Jesus Christ gave His life for you.

What more motivation do we need as followers of Jesus? Scripture is very clear that we don’t give grudgingly. We do it willfully. We do it cheerfully. And we enjoy the promises God has made to us. Second Corinthians 9:8 declares, “And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”

Grace and Giving

“Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully[a] will also reap bountifully.” 2 Corinthians 9:6

Verse six tells us something really important as believers. We all know that we’re saved by grace through faith in Jesus Christ, not through any merit of our own. Let’s be very clear, you’re not saved by giving generously. But once you’re a child of the King, once you’ve come to know Christ, there are benefits in the kingdom.

This truth appears throughout the Sermon on the Mount, the epistles, and all of Scripture. Giving is one of the ways it stirs and activates the activity of God’s grace in the life of a believer. Remember, grace has many expressions—the empowerment of God, the momentum of God, the inner strength of the Lord.

We also notice in Scripture that oftentimes God’s favor is manifested through the favor of people. We see this in Abraham’s life and in the lives of many others. This is one of the ways God’s grace is stirred—His favor, His momentum in the life of a believer.

Giving initiates expressions of God’s grace in our lives. God’s grace is often stirred up by virtue of our joining God in what He’s doing on the planet. One way we do that is by being generous.

If giving will allow me to abound in the work I will do, I will gladly and willingly and cheerfully honor God by being generous. Giving puts me in a position to have God’s help in my life in a unique way because giving is one of the ways God initiates the movement of His grace in your life. Not the only way, but one of the ways.

Giving Involves Faith

Giving always involves faith. The Corinthians, remember, were not giving out of an abundance of love. They didn’t have a lot. But Paul knew that God would bless them as they moved in faith, and He would bless them with expressions of His grace.

One way to explain this is by comparing it to our tithes. Malachi 3:10 instructs, “Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house, and thereby put me to the test, says the Lord of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.”

A tithe means a tenth. The understanding was that when God blessed the farmer with a yield, he or she would bring the first 10 percent to the storehouse to honor God. This was sometimes referred to as firstfruits—10 percent of a person’s income.

We may not bring crops, but when we make money in our jobs or businesses, as God blesses us with resources, we honor Him with the tenth, with the tithe. In the New Testament, we’re taught in Matthew 6:33, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness,” and God declares in Christ that all these other things will take care of themselves. He will meet all your needs.

As we invest in God’s kingdom, He takes care of our daily needs. The principle is consistent in both the Old Testament and New Testament: we give to God first. Our tithe is for God. Jesus even expressed this expectation in the Gospels when He referenced tithing in a conversation with the Pharisees. Matthew 23:23 notes, “These you ought to have done.” So it is right to honor God in this way. Our tithes are for God, and it’s a responsibility we have to fulfill to God.

God provides the rest. It takes faith to do this. But Scripture teaches that the Apostle Paul was asking the Corinthian church and other churches to trust God by faith.

Looking back at 2 Corinthians 8:3, Paul affirmed churches that had given sacrificially. Notice the phrase that appears in different translations: churches gave “beyond their power” or “beyond their means.” As they were giving in faith, God met their needs. God honored His promise that He would meet their needs.

The Results of Generous Giving

This faithful giving resulted in the worship of God, in adoring God, in greater exaltation, and giving glory to God because He is faithful and true. It resulted in the church living on mission outside of themselves as they cared for the propagation of the gospel in Jerusalem. It resulted in deepening their community together.

Second Corinthians 9:12-13 explains: “For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God.” Why? Because the church was witnessing that God is faithful to what He says He will do. They were rejoicing, glorifying God. Enter His gates with thanksgiving. They were enjoying God because they recognized, “God, You’re faithful to what You say You will do.”

The verse continues, “By their approval of this service, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ.” What’s the root system of all this? The gospel of Christ. What God did in sending His Son so that our sins would be forgiven, nailed to a tree, so that we bear them no more. Out of the new life we have, the overflow—as God’s been generous to us, now we’re generous to the saints for the glory of God.

Here is the amazing thing right here in these verses: God will give you what you need to continue to be generous. He bestows all kinds of gifts on people who give.

The Convergence of Gifts

When you were growing up, did your dad ever tell you something more than once because he wanted it to sink in? That’s what happens from the spiritual father, the Apostle Paul, in verses eight, 10, and 11. He says the same thing three times in three different ways. What he’s driving at is that God will give you what you need to continue to be generous. He bestows all kinds of gifts on people who give.

Here are the three convergences:

Verse 8: “God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.”
Verse 10: “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness.”
Verse 11: “You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.”

God blesses generous givers. God is able to make all grace abound toward you. God has the ability to lavish all kinds of grace on you. God is able to meet all your needs. As we are personally connected to the God who is able to lavish us with everything we need, we rejoice in the beauty and glory of who He is.

Why Would God Do This?

Why would God do this? First, to bring glory to His name so that we fall all the more in love with Him in our relationship with Him. “God, You are good. No one is like You, God.”

But here’s what’s also noticeable: God gives generous people more so they can continue to be generous. And it’s in the text. This isn’t prosperity gospel—it’s just teaching the text.

God gives generous churches more so that they continue to be more for the kingdom of God.

The Apostle Paul concluded this section with verse 15: “Thanks be to God for His inexpressible gift.” In other words, what God does in Christ goes beyond words. But what was he referring to? He was praising God for His work of turning us into generous givers.

He was bragging on the Corinthian church, and he recognized that just as God’s grace overflows to us in Jesus Christ, good works now overflow out of us, out of relationship with Christ. He was praising God for the gift of a generous Savior who gave His life on the cross and took our sin there so that we could be forgiven and reconciled to a loving God who gave Himself for you.

The intersection of generosity and joy produces worship, deepens community, and advances God’s kingdom. When we give cheerfully and generously, we position ourselves to experience God’s grace in unique ways. We join God in what He’s doing on the planet, and He blesses us so we can continue blessing others.

This isn’t about earning salvation or manipulating God but about responding to His grace with grateful generosity. It’s about recognizing that everything we have comes from Him and joyfully returning a portion for His purposes. It’s about discovering that in the economy of God’s kingdom, we truly cannot out-give God.

As we give, we experience the truth that it’s not all about us—it’s about God and His kingdom. And in that discovery, we find the joy and fulfillment that comes from living generously for His glory.

TL;DR