Imagine opening a birthday present, and the giver says, “I didn’t want to buy that for you, but my husband said I had to.”
Ouch. We want to hand it back and wash our hands of it.
Or we win the prize in a contest, and when we stop by to pick it up, we are given the runaround before we’re grudgingly allowed our gift.
Then there’s the timeshare version of giving a gift. You’ve won! Free gift! Just spend an afternoon under heavy pressure to buy into our timeshare, and you can take this knife set home with you.
Do that a time or two, and you realize the gift is no gift. It’s a hard-earned repayment for suffering under extreme duress.
How must God feel when we grouse each time the offering plate is passed?
How must he be wounded when we can barely let go of our check?
How deeply must our knife thrust when we say, “God, if you do this, I’ll give you a little bit of that.”
Ouch, ouch!
2 Corinthians 9:7 says:
“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
If our niece comes to us joyfully, offering us a wildflower with no expectations other than that we accept it, that’s better than a gold bracelet with a frown and a whine.
Let’s give unto God with a smile, and let’s mean it. When we give to him cheerfully, he’s motivated to love us in return.
Our cheerful gifts to God are the best ones he can receive from us.
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