By Interim Sr. Minister Rev. Joe Zarro
“The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not regretfully or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” – 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
I have a special disdain for prosperity gospel preachers, the kind that tell you that if you give the church “seed money” you will be rewarded with blessings, and God will pay you back dollar for dollar and then some. A bunch of grifters and conmen, who live lives of luxury bragging that it is God’s blessing to do so. It’s a special kind of heresy and theft from the people of God that gets under my skin. But like all good conmen, they start with a kernel of truth – that giving to others, giving to your church, and in general being generous truly enriches your life. The problem is that they take a spiritual truth – it is in giving that we receive – and make it a financial transaction. God is not transactional – you don’t get immediately rewarded for good behavior and Lord knows evil goes unpunished for far too long.
But Paul is not a prosperity grifter in this famous scripture. He’s not saying God will make you rich if you give to the church in Jerusalem. He’s saying that when you practice generosity, you are building up a life of spiritual abundance and blessing. If you are generous, you get to live a generous life, and work toward a generous world. And that’s far more valuable than the money you give away. But he’s also clear that it must be freely given and according to your heart – it doesn’t work if it’s under compulsion and obligation. The benefits are spiritual, so the spirit of giving is important.
Never forget that Jesus gathered his disciples and told them that the widow putting two small coins in the Temple Treasury gave more than all the rich men giving for show. She gave all she had, she did it out of love, and did it when she thought nobody was looking. The quality of the gift is more important than the quantity.
And it’s relational, not transactional. This Sunday, on Consecration Sunday, you can pledge more than ever to the church. You could stretch yourself to support the church in this time of transition – then go on to have the worst year of your life. You could skip this year and win the lottery. It’s not 1-1. But there is a relationship between your giving and your heart, your relationship to God, and your relationship to the church. God doesn’t pay you back dollar for dollar, or good deed for good deed. But you get something better than money and divine favors. You get true blessings – peace of mind, a mindset of abundance, love in your heart, happiness not dependent on the seasons of this life.
So this Consecration Sunday I hope you “make up your mind” in love and cheer, not guilt and compulsion, and give generously to our church during this time of transition. I won’t promise you immediate rewards (beyond just feeling good about it), but I will echo the encouragement of Paul that through generosity you are sowing bountifully for your soul.
Yours in Christ,
Rev. Joe