“with all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;”
Ephesians 4:2 KJV,https://bible.com/bible/1/eph.4.2.KJV
“Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”
2 Corinthians 9:7 KJV,https://bible.com/bible/1/2co.9.7.KJV
The Urgency of Giving
Have you ever waited to do something you knew was the right thing to do?
When Paul wrote his second letter to the Corinthians, the church in Corinth needed correction. In the ninth chapter, Paul focused on a promise the Corinthians had made a year before to help struggling Christians in Jerusalem. Not only had the Corinthians made this promise—to collect an offering and send it to Jerusalem—but they were so eager in their pledge, they had inspired other churches to follow their lead.
However, the Corinthians were taking a long time to follow through on their promise, and in the meantime, their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem were suffering. Not only that, their eagerness to give had waned, and they were no longer setting the generous example they had before. So Paul wrote:
“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 9:7 NIV
When we are reluctant to give, ...