10. The Giving Church
When we think of generosity, we usually think of the value of the gift that is involved, but the Bible shows that the attitude behind the gift is just as much a part of what truly generous giving is all about. The Old Testament emphasizes this repeatedly – as when the book of Deuteronomy tells us: "Give generously … and do so without a grudging heart" (Deuteronomy 15:10), and in the New Testament the apostle Paul taught that: "Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly" (2 Corinthians 8:12, NLT). In fact, truly generous giving delights in the opportunity to give, and this is seen repeatedly in the history of the early church.
The book of Acts tells us that not long after the formation of the New Testament church, a prophet named Agabus predicted that a severe famine would spread over the Roman world (Acts 11:28). Luke, in writing Acts after the event, mentions that "This happened during the reign of [the emperor] Claudius" (A.D. 41-54) and indicates that the famine in Jerusalem and Judea was particularly severe. Luke also tells us that the believers in the city of Antioch: as each one was able, decided to provide help for the brothers and sisters living in Judea. This they did, sending their gift to the elders by Barnabas and Saul. (Acts 11:29–30) Brief as it is, this account tells us a number of things – that the giving was nearly universal ("each one"), that probably even poor members gave ("as each one was able"), that the gift was delivered by trusted individuals ("Barnabas and Saul") and that it was delivered to trusted individuals ("the elders") to be administered.
Most of all, however, we see the love behind this giving in that the new congregation in Antioch – which was composed of Gentile converts who only a little while earlier had been considered by many in Jerusalem as questionable recipients of the gospel (Acts
11:1) were now generously helping those in Judea who had only recently been rejecting them. Forgetting the reluctance of many of the Jerusalem Christians to welcome gentiles, the believers at Antioch now responded with love to those they considered "brothers and sisters living in Judea."
The famine situation among the Jerusalem Christians was doubtless particularly severe as most of the wealthier members had probably fled the area, and the early practice of selling personal property (described in Acts 4:32–37) to help the many individuals from other areas who had stayed on in the city likely reduced the economic strength of the church community. Coupled with persecution and resulting economic difficulties, the famine had doubtless strained the church's financial resources severely.
We see an indication of this situation in the way the leaders of the Jerusalem church urged Paul to: "keep on helping the poor, which I have always been eager to do" (Galatians 2:10 NLT).
That is why Paul later organized a great collection for the poor Christians in Jerusalem from numerous churches that he and others had founded in the area of Greece and Macedonia. This charitable collection was similar to the one done in Antioch in several ways. Paul advised the members of these churches that "each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with your income" (1 Corinthians 16:2).
Once again we see that all the Christians gave in this difficult situation, and that they all gave according to their ability. And we should remember that the majority of these Christians were gentiles who had not been warmly welcomed by many mistaken Jewish believers who apparently had resented the inclusion of non-Jews in the early church.
Nevertheless, the gentile Christians of Antioch proved their faith and very real love by sharing their material possessions with those less fortunate themselves, despite hard feelings that they could have harbored if it were not for the generous spirit they exhibited.
Generous Giving Is Joyful Giving It was in the context of this collection that Paul wrote his famous words regarding Christian giving:
Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:6–7) The word translated "cheerful" in this verse is the same hilarón (from which we get our word "hilarious," as we saw earlier), meaning cheerful and joyous. Giving "cheerfully" is giving with joy! That is the attitude James tells us God exhibits: "God—who gives to all generously and ungrudgingly" (James 1:5 CSB).
Evidently, the Corinthians and other gentile churches gave in this way because Paul also mentions "the generous gift" they were giving (2 Corinthians 9:5). There is no question that the early church responded with kindness and concern to those Christians needing help, and that the combined assistance saved many lives and reduced suffering among those affected by the famine conditions.
Today, in our era of mega churches and the massive financial incomes of many congregations in the "first world," we should perhaps reflect on the fact that so many Christians around the world desperately need help because of political turmoil or natural disasters – which have duplicated the situation of the early believers in Jerusalem. We can all ask ourselves if we are seeing their need and responding – and if Paul's words that God loves a joyful giver apply both to us personally and to our churches as well.