FBCD_FaithEssentials_June_FlipBook

Todd Gaddis

A second misconception concerning giving is that you have to twist arms in order to get people to participate. This reminds me of the story of a wealthy, but stingy man who decided to give his daughter and future son-in-law $10,000 for their wedding present. Being one who didn’t like emotional confrontations, he decided to send it through his assistant. When the man returned, the father asked, “Did they cry or anything when you gave the money?” “A minute or two!” the father exclaimed. “I wailed for over an hour after writing the check.” That may be the way many approach contributing to kingdom causes, but it certainly wasn’t the attitude of the Macedonian churches. According to Paul, they gave with an “abundance of joy,” (2 Cor. 8:2). One of my favorite Christmas movies is The Christmas Carol, based on the Charles Dickens novel of the same name. I especially love the scene at the end where Scrooge, a changed man, wakes up on Christmas morning, looks out on a snowy London and gleefully throws money to a young lad to buy a prize turkey for Bob Cratchet’s holiday meal. According to the Bible, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). The word for cheerful in the original language, used only here in the New Testament, is a form of hilaros. From hilaros, we get the English word hilarious. Attitude trumps amount every time. An open hand is even better when accompanied by a merry heart and smiling face. “Maybe for a minute or two” answered the assistant.

"THEY BEGGED TO GIVE"

Note also that the Macedonians denounced the arm twisting myth by pleading for the opportunity to give . In fact, they begged,

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