Brothers and sisters, consider this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. (2 Cor. 9:6)
“You reap what you sow” is a common expression used in our modern times, perhaps extracted from Paul’s letter to the Corinthians, as well as from a similar letter he writes to the church in Galatia (Gal. 6:7).
Of course, the expression has been modified a bit in our culture today—perhaps even distorted—to connote a justification or satisfaction in the misfortune of those who have offended us or who have otherwise acted selfishly or with malintent.
But this is not the connotation that Paul is trying to express when he urges us to “sow bountifully.” On a practical level, Paul is simply trying to encourage the church in Corinth to give generously to help the church in Jerusalem—and Paul is a master in the art of persuasion!
But his letter has something to say to us as well, and it is not simply a lesson in the inevitable misfortune that will sooner or later befall us if we are selfish or prideful towards others. He is telling us something about what takes place in our hearts when we give.
The one who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. (2 Cor. 9:10)
In a counterintuitive truth of the spiritual life, the more we give, the more our stored-up “inventory” increases. How can this be? If I have $300 in my bank account, and I give away $100 to the poor, logically I will have $200 left. So what does Paul mean?
God is able to make every grace abundant for you, so that in all things, always having all you need, you may have an abundance for every good work. (2 Cor. 9:8)
Paul means that as we increase our trust in the Lord, the Lord increases our “supply.” This doesn’t mean He waves a magic wand, transforming $100 into $400, but it does mean that He will always give us exactly what we need when we need it.
In other words, when we give the $100 away from our $300 supply, we often find that our needs are taken care of in unexpected ways. The car payment we thought we owed this month was inadvertently taken care of last month. Or the grocery item we intended to purchase is given to us by a neighbor who had a “buy one, get one” coupon. Our child receives the much-anticipated scholarship to college; the raise we were hoping for at the year’s end comes early; the major appliance we were sure we had to replace is surprisingly easily repaired.
The Lord’s “supply” comes so naturally and subtly that we almost don’t notice His grace when it comes knocking at our door. This might make us ask: why doesn’t God send His blessings in a more obvious, clearly-a-miracle kind of way—such as suddenly increasing our bank account from $100 to $400?
And your Father who sees in secret will repay you. (Mt. 6:4)
Simply put, there is nothing more dear to the Lord’s heart than our humility. Just as He instructs us to give without fanfare, without “win[ning] the praise of others,” or “so that others may see,” or “to appear to others to be [generous]” (Mt. 6:2-18), so too does the Lord respond to us in this same, quiet, and hidden way. Thus, the more we trust Him to “repay” our hidden acts of generosity and selflessness, the more He supplies for our needs.
Indeed, we reap what we sow.
You are being enriched in every way for all generosity, which through us produces thanksgiving to God. (2 Cor. 9:11)
Of course, this leaves us with just one problem. We are all for being generous, but if it is indeed the case that the more we reap, the more we sow, at what point does our generosity end? What is the fair way to allocate one’s funds to charity?
The truth is, there is nothing “fair” about what Paul is asking the Corinthians—or any of us—to do. After all, Paul is asking them to contribute generously to a church comprised of Jewish Christians, some of whom made life exceedingly difficult for the Gentiles. So if we are not to think in terms of what is “fair” in our acts of generosity, in what way are we to think of them when assessing just how much we are expected to give?
Just one way, really. We must give whatever amount God calls us too—willingly, and without counting the cost. If we trust in the Lord to take care of our needs when we obediently and generously follow His instructions, then He will see to it that we will “reap what we sow.” This is how He will “make every grace abundant” for us.
Each must do as already determined, without sadness or compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Cor. 9:7)
Doing “as already determined” means we must do no less than what God instructs—but also, no more. There is no “above and beyond” when it comes to God because the Lord’s plan in the work of salvation is already perfect.
In fact, if we attempt to “outdo” His plan in a misguided attempt at Christian charity, we run the risk of becoming an obstacle in His way. We end up giving away $200 to someone who today only needs $100, thereby not having the extra $100 on hand to give to another who needs it tomorrow. Our $200 may well come at the cost to our own family’s needs, for just as Jesus cherishes our humility, so too does He cherish our obedience.
The Lord wants nothing more in this life than to teach us our lesson in virtue—even if that means we must learn our lesson the hard way. So let us heed the Lord’s voice and follow His instructions “generously”—not necessarily by the size our check, but always by the size of our love. In this way, we will always be a “cheerful giver,” which is the kind of generosity Jesus seeks from us most. A cheerful heart is a trusting one.
Photo by Elaine Casap on Unsplash
