Week 48 2 Corinthians 9
I was thinking about charitable giving so went back and re-read 2 Corinthians 9:8-14.
To try to clarify the paragraph for myself I worked it over a bit.
I deleted a couple of things. Changed some of the wording. Did some reformatting. Revised & personalized it. But I tried hard to retain what I figured Paul actually meant. Here’s what I got (the MHJ Version):
God will generously provide all of my needs
That means that:
• I’ll have everything that I need
• I’ll have plenty left over to share with others
• God will produce a great harvest of generosity in me
Since I’ll always have what I need I can always be generous
Two good things will result if I give:
• people in-need will have some of their needs met
• people will thank the Lord (Paul also says they’ll give glory to God)
Being generous means I’m being obedient to the Lord
The people I give to will (hopefully) pray for me.
So after my revising exercise I come away with an obvious reminder that if I give to someone who needs help he’ll be in less need.
I get a reassuring reminder that giving won’t leave me bankrupt.
I see that there’s also a religious side to charity – helped-people will thank the Lord.
And there’s this idea that I’ll be “harvesting righteousness” by giving – which sounds like a good thing for me (even if I’m not sure specifically what it is).
Note: quotes from 2 Corinthians 9:10 13 (NIV)