Proverbs 19:17 (NKJV) He who has pity on the poor lends to the Lord, And He will pay back what he has given.It is never God’s will for anyone to be in lack. There was no lack in the Garden of Eden, no lack for the Israelites in the wilderness, and certainly no lack in the Promised Land.
Truly, we are lending to the Lord when we give to the poor because God’s heart is for them. We must be able to see that we are stewards of God’s money and “good Samaritans” that God has placed on the earth. He would want us to do what Jesus would have done if He was still on earth today.
2 Corinthians 9:7 (NKJV) So, let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver.
The Greek word for “cheerful” in this Scripture equates to hilarious. Therefore, we should be excited and “hilarious” about the opportunity to give! Giving helps us to experience God and His faithfulness; it is also an avenue that God has given us to partner with Him in ministry. We should be thankful that He has chosen to entrust us with abundance so that we can excel in every good work and increase the fruit of our righteousness. It is an act of righteousness whenever we choose to give to a good cause, whether it is to bless the poor, support missionaries or any other worthy cause that God has placed in our path.
We should also excel in the area of giving when we talk about being an imitator of Christ. Because Christ has given us His life in exchange for our souls, giving is very much a part of God’s nature. Therefore, we should be cheerful whenever we are given an opportunity to give because it helps us to express the nature of God in us.
We have faith in God as citizens of His kingdom, but most importantly, we need to have corresponding work to show forth our faith in Him. It is true that we are saved by grace through faith and not by works, but we are definitely saved to do good works with the finances that He has entrusted to us! We need not be fearful of lack, as we shall reap every time we sow because God will grant us grace so that we will abound in the work of righteousness.
Therefore, let us be good stewards of God’s money regardless of how much He has given us. May we strive to hear the affirmation “Well done, my good and faithful servant!”
Sermon Series: Faithful Stewards
捐得乐意的人
箴言19:17怜悯贫穷的，就是借给耶和华。他的善行，耶和华必偿还。
上帝从来不愿意任何人受缺乏。伊甸园中没有缺乏，在旷野中的以色列人不缺乏，应许之地就更没有缺乏。
的确，当我们施惠给穷乏人时，我们是在借钱给上帝，因为上帝顾念他们。我们必须能够看到我们是上帝的钱财的管家和上帝放在地上的“好撒玛利亚人”。如果耶稣今天仍然在世上，祂会希望我们做耶稣会做的。
哥林多后书 9：7各人要随本心所酌定的。不要作难，不要勉强，因为捐得乐意的人，是神所喜爱的。
这段经文中的“乐意”希腊语中的对应的词是“欢闹的”。因此，我们应该为有给予的机会而感到兴奋和“欢欣”！给予能帮助我们体验神和祂的信实；这也是上帝为了让我们与他一起同工而赐的途径。我们应该感恩祂将丰盛交付在我们手中，使得我们能在每样善工上做得出色，并增加我们公义的果子。每当我们选择给正当的事由以馈赠，无论是祝福穷人，供养传教士还是支持上帝摆在我们道路上的任何其他配得的事业，这都是公义的举动。
当论及成为基督的模仿者时，我们也应该在奉献/施惠方面表现出色。因为基督已经赐给我们祂的生命来换取我们的灵魂，所以捐献是上帝本质的重要部分。因此，只要有机会捐献，我们就当欣然付出，因为这有助于我们把我们里面的上帝的本质表露出来。
作为天国的公民我们相信上帝，但最重要的是，我们通过相应的行为来表明我们对上帝的信心。的确，我们凭着信心靠着恩典而得救，而不是靠着行为，但是我们得救肯定是为了行善，利用祂所托付给我们的钱财！我们不必担心缺乏，因为我们每次播种都会收获，因为上帝会赐予我们恩典，以便我们在义工中丰丰富富。
因此，无论上帝交付给我们的钱财是多是少，让我们成为祂的好管家。愿我们不懈努力只为了听一声：“做得好，我的善良忠实的仆人！”
讲章系列：忠心的管家