My son invited me to ice cream day at his school. (What will they think of next?) He really wanted me to come so he tried to sell me on the idea. He said, with tons of excitement, “Mommy, if you come, you get to watch me eat ice cream.” I thought, “Kid, I own the ice cream.” I smiled and said, “I get to watch you eat?” Then, he tried to sweeten the deal. (Bad pun intended) “Actually, if you come, I’ll let you have a lick of my ice cream” he said (again with tons of excitement). I thought, “Kid, I already own ALL of the ice cream. I could eat the whole thing if I wanted to.” But I said, “Wow” and just smiled because I honestly had no idea how to respond to that type of marketing strategy.
Offering me a lick of ice cream sounds ridiculous, right? But, we do the same thing. God owns, created, and bought everything and gives to us because He loves us. We, in turn, are supposed to give with a ‘cheerful heart’. So we cheerfully give a ridiculously small amount of our resources whether it is money, time or effort. Yep, we just gave God a lick of our adult world ice cream that He already bought and we’re pretty excited about it.
“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” – 2 Corinthians 9:6-7
Sometimes, it’s not our lack of a cheerful heart; it’s our lack of really wanting to give. God doesn’t need your stuff and time. He wants you to trust Him with your stuff and time. Pray that God would show you an opportunity to give.
By: Lyndsay Crews