FANNING THE FINANCIAL FLAME

2 CORINTHIANS 8:10-24

NASB

10 I give my opinion in this matter, for this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to do this, but also to desire to do it. 11 But now finish [a]doing it also, so that just as there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by your ability. 12 For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality — 14 at this present time your abundance being a supply for their need, so that their abundance also may become a supply for your need, that there may be equality; 15 as it is written, “HE WHO gathered MUCH DID NOT HAVE TOO MUCH, AND HE WHO gathered LITTLE HAD NO LACK.”

16 But thanks be to God who puts the same earnestness on your behalf in the heart of Titus. 17 For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest, he has gone to you of his own accord. 18 We have sent along with him the brother whose fame in the things of the gospel has spread through all the churches; 19 and not only this, but he has also been appointed by the churches to travel with us in this gracious work, which is being administered by us for the glory of the Lord Himself, and to show our readiness, 20[a]taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift; 21 for we have regard for what is honorable, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men. 22 We have sent with them our brother, whom we have often tested and found diligent in many things, but now even more diligent because of his great confidence in you. 23 As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker [a]among you; as for our brethren, they are [b]messengers of the churches, a glory to Christ. 24 Therefore [a]openly before the churches, [b]show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you.

8:11 [a]Lit the doing  8:20 [a]Lit avoiding this  8:23 [a]Lit for you  [b]Lit apostles  8:24 [a]Lit in the face of the churches  [b]Or show the proof...for boasting to them about you 

NLT

10 Here is my advice: It would be good for you to finish what you started a year ago. Last year you were the first who wanted to give, and you were the first to begin doing it. 11 Now you should finish what you started. Let the eagerness you showed in the beginning be matched now by your giving. Give in proportion to what you have. 12 Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. 13 Of course, I don’t mean your giving should make life easy for others and hard for yourselves. I only mean that there should be some equality. 14 Right now you have plenty and can help those who are in need. Later, they will have plenty and can share with you when you need it. In this way, things will be equal. 15 As the Scriptures say,

“Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over,

and those who gathered only a little had enough.”[*]

16 But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have. 17 Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you. 18 We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News. 19 He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem[*] —a service that glorifies the Lord and shows our eagerness to help.

20 We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. 21 We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable.

22 We are also sending with them another of our brothers who has proven himself many times and has shown on many occasions how eager he is. He is now even more enthusiastic because of his great confidence in you. 23 If anyone asks about Titus, say that he is my partner who works with me to help you. And the brothers with him have been sent by the churches,[*] and they bring honor to Christ. 24 So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified.

[8:15] Exod 16:18.   [8:19] See 1 Cor 16:3-4.   [8:23] Greek are apostles of the churches.  

It is virtually impossible to get through a day without hearing somebody talk about money. I venture to guess it is one of the most talked-about matters on the planet. Irish playwright and author of yesteryear, Oscar Wilde, once wrote in The Picture of Dorian Gray, “Young people, nowadays, imagine that money is everything. . . . And when they grow older they know it!”[146]

As important as money may be, we are all aware that there are some things money can’t buy. Consider these examples:

Why is it so difficult even for believers to get a grip on money before money gets a grip on them? Richard Foster gives us a clue: “When Jesus uses the Aramaic term mammon to refer to wealth, he is giving it a personal and spiritual character. When he declares, ‘You cannot serve God and mammon’ (Matt. 6:24), he is personifying mammon as a rival god. . . . Mammon is a power that seeks to dominate us.”[147]

If we’re not careful, our genuine need for money will become a desire for money. The desire for money will become a longing for more money. When that happens, the warning of Paul to Timothy could very well fall on deaf ears: “For the love of money is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs” (1Tim. 6:10).

Though they had not yet reached the point of lusting after money, Paul felt concerned that the Corinthian Christians had taken a step in that direction. One year after they had first agreed to help ease the financial crisis in Jerusalem by giving from their abundance, the Corinthian commitment had waned. Like an untended campfire, the roaring flames of their original zeal had dwindled to smoldering embers barely noticeable in a pit of smoky ash. In 2 Corinthians 8:10-24, Paul attempts to fuel the flames of financial surrender by pointing out three hindrances to God-honoring giving (8:10-15) and two principles for God-honoring receiving (8:16-24).

— 8:10-15 —

The Corinthians abounded “in everything” (8:7). They had faith, good teaching, knowledge, sincerity, and love. It seems they also were quite well off financially. Yet in the midst of their surplus, they struggled with focus. They had turned inward, consumed by their own internal problems: factions, false teachers, spiritual gifts, unrepentant sin. These things turned their attention from outward ministry to inward controversy. To realign them with their original God-given mission, Paul pointed to two examples of self-sacrificial giving: the Macedonian Christians who gave abundantly despite hardship and poverty (8:8) and Jesus Christ, who gave up all his heavenly riches to become poor in order to save us all (8:9). Now Paul seeks to overcome three common hindrances to giving: procrastination (8:10-11), hesitation (8:11-12), and exception (8:13-15). Let’s consider how he addresses each of these.

First, procrastination plagued the Corinthians. Though the Corinthian congregation was the first church to commit to financial support, a year later it still had not followed through on that commitment (8:10-11). Procrastination involves intentionally and habitually putting off something that should be done. It’s not just forgetting; it’s forsaking. It is not merely being accidentally delayed; it is intentionally ignoring. The procrastinator’s favorite word is tomorrow. The Corinthians had fallen into that trap. Tomorrow became next week. Next week became next month. And now, a year later, they still had not followed through on their commitment. The decisive cure to the plague of procrastination is the second word of verse 11: now.

Second, hesitation paralyzed the Corinthians. Hesitation is sometimes motivated by uncertainty: “Should I give my money to this person or to somebody else?” “Should we give this amount to the church or that amount?” Sometimes hesitation is motivated by lack of readiness (8:11): “If I just wait a little longer I’ll have more to give.” “My financial situation is almost ready to absorb this kind of financial gift, but not yet.” Paul responds to these excuses (8:11-12). The Corinthians already had made a commitment to a particular cause: the support of the Jerusalem church. The church’s need had not improved during their delay. In all likelihood, it had grown worse. Paul’s point in 8:12 seems to be along the lines of the old adage “A bird in the hand is better than two in the bush.” Paul says to the Corinthians, essentially, “If you’re ready, you can do it. You can complete the project even if you don’t think you have the resources. Do what you can now without hesitation; don’t worry about what you can’t do.”

The third hindrance to the Corinthians’ giving was exception. The person hindered by this excuse says, “Since others have it easier financially than I do, I am not responsible. I’m an exception.” We can always find people better off than we are. Somebody always has a nicer car, a bigger home, a larger paycheck, more free time. If we simply pass the hot potato down the line, nobody will ever give anything to anybody. The Lord’s work will screech to a halt. The Corinthians likely thought others could foot the bill this time; they would catch the next opportunity when it came around.

Paul responds by turning the tables. They should care nothing about the abundance of others that makes their own wealth pale by comparison. Instead, they should focus on the needs of others in contrast to their own abundance (8:14). Instead of worrying about keeping everything “fair and equal,” they should simply trust their giving to the providential care of their sovereign God, the great equalizer who has a way of balancing our provisions in the work of His kingdom. When he wrote, the church in Jerusalem needed assistance from the Corinthians. But someday, the burden might shift, and the Corinthians could be the ones in need. Because God alone knows the future, He can be trusted to provide for any need when it arises. We don’t need to excuse ourselves from giving now because of the needs we might have in the future.

Procrastination, hesitation, and exception —these hindrances relate to the giver. Paul concludes this chapter by focusing on the carrier of the financial support, sharing two principles for how those in ministry should handle the giving (8:16-24).

— 8:16-24 —

The first part of this chapter directly addressed the Corinthians and their need to follow through on their commitment to giving. The second fills in details related to how Paul and his associates were to handle the gifts that would be given. For us today, the principles Paul shares in these last verses apply primarily to the recipients of financial gifts: Christian organizations, evangelistic ministries, missionaries, Christian schools, and local churches.

First, only qualified people should handle financial responsibilities. Throughout these verses Paul mentions three men —Titus and unnamed “brothers” —who would handle the collection of the gifts. Note their credentials: earnest (8:16), willing (8:17), approved by the churches (8:19), administratively gifted (8:19), diligent (8:22), cooperative (8:23), and Christ-glorifying (8:19, 23). Also notice that the emphasis isn’t on “thrifty,” “polished,” “business-minded,” “focused on the bottom line,” or “eager for return on investment.” These weren’t businessmen, fundraisers, or accountants. They were godly men of unblemished integrity, well-known to Paul and the churches, entrusted as a team to receive and carry out the project with diligence.

This leads to the second principle: Money matters should be administered honestly and openly. Paul says that they were “taking precaution so that no one will discredit us in our administration of this generous gift” (8:20). Why must they be so cautious? First, because the money belonged to God. It was not a gift to Titus and his two buddies, but a gift to God for the sake of all the suffering saints in Jerusalem. They were accountable to the Lord Himself for handling the finances. Second, they were accountable to others. When people give money to churches, missionaries, ministries, or charities, they trust that their money will be used wisely and carefully —and in a manner consistent with the ministry’s purpose and goals. That sacred trust must be guarded.

Having dismissed the hindrances of procrastination, hesitation, and exception, and having reassured the Corinthians that their hard-earned resources would be treated in a God-honoring way, Paul closes with a final exhortation. With these words, he seeks to fan the flame of their dormant commitment, producing a blazing testimony of giving for all to see: “Therefore openly before the churches, show them the proof of your love and of our reason for boasting about you” (8:24). In other words, “Make us proud and get the job done!”

APPLICATION: 2 CORINTHIANS 8:10-24

Giving with Gusto

Think with me about the three hindrances that smothered the Corinthians’ passion for giving: procrastination, hesitation, exception. How often we fall into the same casual attitude toward what should be an exciting exercise of faith in a God who owns it all. Rather than a calm, calculated, cold approach to financial contributions, the biblical examples of Spirit-led and God-glorifying giving paint a brilliant picture of joy, exuberance, and gusto. Consider the following examples.

When the Israelites gave of themselves and of their belongings to construct the tabernacle in the wilderness, they had to be told not to give anymore (Exod. 36:6-7), showing their gusto. Wouldn’t it be great to hear such an announcement from the pulpit some day?

When the people in Jerusalem rallied around Nehemiah and rebuilt that wall, their gusto resulted in the quick realization of what had once seemed like an impossible goal (Neh. 2:17-18; 4:6; 6:15-16). They probably surprised even themselves!

When Jesus challenged His followers to be unselfish, He taught that it is “more blessed to give than to receive,” connecting joy with our financial investments in eternal things (Acts 20:35).

Want to bring back the gusto for giving? Want to capture some of the blessing that comes from sharing with others? Consider three simple suggestions that work for my wife and me.

First, reflect on God’s gifts to you. Consider His blessings in your life. Forget about the things you don’t have (a list that could be miles long). Instead, think about what He has given you. Hasn’t He been good? Always better than we deserve. Sufficient food, clothing, and safe shelter. Blessings of good health, happy families, growing children, and close friends . . . and so much more. Yes, some of these things have come and gone. Maybe we are struggling with less than we once had. But consider your life as a whole. Then respond to Him with thanksgiving.

Second, remind yourself of His promises regarding generosity. Call to mind a few biblical principles that promise the benefits of sowing bountifully. Hebrews 6:10 says, “For God is not unjust so as to forget your work and the love which you have shown toward His name, in having ministered and in still ministering to the saints.” We may not be rewarded with material blessings, but we can rest in the promise that He won’t forget us. In fact, He will graciously provide all of our needs “according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:19). So don’t fret! Call to mind His promises of provision.

Third, examine your heart. Nobody but you can do this. Open that private vault and ask several hard questions, such as:

Have you lost the joy of giving? Get it back! Avoid procrastination, hesitation, and exception. Instead, reflect on God’s gifts, remind yourself of His promises, and examine your heart. Then give with gusto!