Our motive in giving is vitally important. Our motive in giving must come from the heart, and the motive in the heart must please God. The finest passage on right giving in the Bible is found in 2 Cor. 9:6-11. In this section, Paul describes 4 kinds of givers – Bad Givers, Sad Givers, Mad Givers, and Glad Givers.
- Bad givers give sparingly or nothing. Such givers give out of selfishness if they give at all. Such giving is not acceptable to God – 2 Cor. 9:6.
- Sad givers give grudgingly. Such giving is done “grudgingly,” not freely, and is also not acceptable to God – 2 Cor. 9:7a.
- Mad givers give “of necessity.” Such giving is not acceptable with God, for the giver does not give because he desires to give but he gives only because he feels he has to give – 2 Cor. 9:7b.
- Glad givers. Such giving is highly acceptable and praised of the Lord, because such givers give from their heart – a heart freed from sin and selfishness and a heart in love with Jesus Christ and the gospel. Jokingly I have often said “God loves a cheerful or hilarious giver, but He will take from a “tight wad.” Not really. No gift is acceptable to God unless the giver is motivated by love for God and man and is able freely to give with great joy and thanksgiving, all the time praying that he can give more and more.
Illustration: Adrian Rogers used to say, “In the event you can give freely and joyously at church, you ought to go home and “giggle” all night long.” Often we hear the words, “give until it hurts.” Wrong. God’s way of giving is to give until it does not hurt but brings great joy to the heart and positive glory to the God who give to us that we might give to Him and others.
What blessings flow into the lives of the “Glad or Hilarious Givers?” Paul answers in 2 Cor. 9:8, “God is able to make all grace abound to you that you having all sufficiency in all things may abound unto every good work.” Then Paul spells out the blessing in even greater detail in 2 Cor. 9:11, “You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
Caution: God does not promise to make us rich materially if we are a glad giver, but He does promise to give us what we need when we need it. Such is the promise of Phil. 4:19, “My God shall supply all your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” This promise is only for glad givers, as were the Philippian Christians.