II Corinthians 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
A Cheerful Giver
We sometimes hear that we are to be joyful givers who give until it hurts. Actually, either I am a cheerful giver or I give until it hurts. The question is, “Should it hurt to give?” The answer is, “The more I give, the more joy I should have.” Giving is not supposed to be painful. It is to be joyous. II Corinthians 9:7 says, “For God loveth a cheerful giver.”
If you look at the rest of II Corinthians 9, it is all about cheerful giving, but it is not about our giving. It is about God’s giving! For instance, verse 8 says, “And God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work.” Now notice the language here: “all things,” “abound,” “always,” “all sufficiency,” “every good work.” That is the grace that God is giving to the giver.
Verse 10 says, “Now he that ministereth seed to the sower both minister bread for your food, and multiply your seed sown, and increase the fruits of your righteousness.” God is giving here; He is providing for the giver. Verse 11 says, “Being enriched in every thing to all bountifulness, which causeth through us thanksgiving to God.” Now the giving is through us, but the thanksgiving is to God because the supply is really from God. Again, in verse 12 the Bible talks about thanksgiving to God. Verses 13 and 14 remind us that people are to glorify God because of “the exceeding grace of God in you.” This chapter concludes by saying, “Thanks be unto God for his unspeakable gift.”
When you read about all that God gives through givers and to givers, the conclusion that you come away with is that God loves a cheerful giver because God is a cheerful giver! It is the very nature of God. God is not asking us to do anything He does not do Himself. In fact, God is asking us to allow Him to be Who He is and to be Who He is through us in the lives of other people.
When I give, I am living like a child of God; I am acting as God would act. I am to give cheerfully because that is the example that God gives us from Himself. God loves a cheerful giver because God is a cheerful giver.