G*d Loves a Hilarious Giver

Week 4 - 25

It would be good for us to perk up our ears when G*d says He loves something. One of those times is found in 2 Corinthians 9. "But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for G*d loves a cheerful giver." (2 Corinthians 9:6,)

This word "cheerful" is a great word. It means happy and optimistic. From the context, we can see that we are to give happily, and with optimism, because we realize that we are participating in the wonderful spiritual phenomena of giving.

We can take this further by understanding that the Greek word for cheerful is hilaros. Can you see something here? Hilarious comes from "hilaros." This understanding takes our attitude about giving to another level. It is one things to be happy and optimistic as we give, but it is quite another to be hilarious in our giving. Optimism is the reflection of a prosperous soul (3 John 2); but regular, hilarious giving reveals that we have established radical core values that will accelerate the removal of limits and constraints from our lives. It is to this type of person that the Bible says, "G*d loves." of course, G*d loves everyone, but there is something that touches His heart when He sees a person become a joyous giver.

We are told to not give "grudgingly" (2 Corinthians 9:7). This would mean that we are doing so with "sorrow, pain, grief, annoyance, affliction, and mourning." If hilarious giving attracts G*d to us, then "annoyed giving" would seem to create a distance between His empowering grace and us. Our attitude about giving indeed becomes a thermostat that will set the "temperature" for our Christian experience and the quality of our lives. If hilarious giving is something that G*d loves, then we need to overcome stinginess in our soul and intentionally develop this abounding cheerfulness. It is a journey that will take us from glory to glory, strength to strength and joy to joy.

Declaration: I am a cheerful giver. I am becoming a hilarious giver who jumps for joy when I get to give. It is something that G*d loves and I love it, too.