Week 47 2 Corinthians 9
Paul endorses voluntary financial contributions to my church & charities but he adds: I want it to be a willing gift, not one given under pressure.
So do I have to give to my church? I don’t think so. I might feel like giving from time-to-time. But not if I really don’t want to. (Not being forced to give fits right in with my normal tendency to a) Keep Everything I Have for Myself and b) Not Give to Other People.)
Anyway Paul talks about giving in terms of a Planter’s Principle – he says the Planter’s Principle (which is an absolute rule in agriculture) is a rule that works in charitable giving too. It goes like this:
a) if I plant a few seeds I’ll get a small crop
b) if I put a lot of seed into the ground I’ll get a big harvest.
Paul doesn’t actually say that the Planter’s Principle in the real-world agricultural sector carries over in a precise & point-by-point way to the charitable-giving dimension. But he says there’s a correspondence. With charity there’s the Part a) (I give money) and the Part b) (some kind of harvestable crop – a payback).
Paul doesn’t spell out exactly what the payback will be. But he says that the Lord won’t forget my good deeds – which sounds like something’s being put-on-hold for me.
Making charity look less like an outright financial loss & more like a long-term investment.
Note: quotes from 2 Corinthians 9:5 9 (NL T)