⁶ Remember this: Anyone who sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and anyone who sows generously will reap generously. ⁷ Each of you should give according to what you have decided in your heart, not grudgingly or as if being forced to, for God loves a willing giver.

2 Cor. 9:6-7

¹ Now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the churches in Macedonia. ² Facing a very severe trial, a combination of overflowing joy and extreme poverty brought forth rich generosity. ³ For I can say that they gave what they were able, and even beyond. ⁴ The urgently pleaded with us – entirely from their own desire – to have the privilege of sharing in serving the Lord’s people. ⁵ And they went far beyond what we expected by giving themselves first to the Lord, and then, by God’s will, to us.

2 Cor. 8:1-5

Biblical economics is a wonderful, challenging, inspiring, and sometimes quite frustrating aspect of God’s kingdom. As you might expect, humans have read Scripture’s precepts from all kinds of perspectives and find verses to support everything from free market capitalism to Christian socialism to the prosperity gospel. If we can all draw such varied conclusions from God’s word, then we have to ask ourselves some questions about what might be really true about his vision for what a disciple’s relationship with “things” might be. Is there a way for us to synthesize the scriptural narrative and commandments so that we recognize when we have a genuine grasp of godly character with regard to what we have, spend, own, or give away?

My first thoughts in response to the complexity involved in understanding these sometimes divisive issues are these: First, every interpretation of Scripture sees one sliver or, at best, slice of God’s universal understanding and wisdom. Admittedly, some reveal more than others and are more valid as lenses through which to see kingdom principles and purposes. Second, the vast majority of us would like to avoid the competing or alternate viewpoints. Third, we would prefer that there be some kind of simple formula or set of rules to follow. Fourth – and probably most importantly – we do a disservice to truth when we confine ourselves to money or material possessions in any discussion of making, owning, and using.

Among the hundreds of verses that could provide a comprehensive answer to the above, I have pulled out two parts of 2 Cor. 8 and 9, which contain Paul’s blueprint for experiencing real financial (and, by extension, other kinds of) freedom. The whole of both chapters offers a foundation and rationale for choosing a life of radical giving. It is also a rebuke and correction of the biases and systems of thought that prevent us from being true followers of Jesus. And it blows apart our Pharisaical desire to have a set of legal prescriptions by which we can rationalize various comfortable lifestyle decisions. As always, God’s word aims at the heart and seeks to unbind us from every impulse of self-love, unbelief, and protectiveness.

The (shocking!) foundation of Paul’s instruction is grace. It is remarkable how often he uses the word in these two chapters: Grace has been given to the Macedonians (8:1); Titus is completing this act of grace (8:6 and again in vv. 7 and 19); God is able to make grace abound for the offering (9:8) – and on it goes. As with any character trait, whether we are “naturally” generous or not, there is no other source of godly liberality than the original blessing that comes from God himself. Elsewhere in this section of Scripture, Paul points to the “one who became poor for our sake, so that we could become rich in him” (2 Cor. 8:9). The faith and humility of the Messiah is the indispensable gift from which our call, and our obedience flow. We are aware of the infinite debt that underlies any ability that we have to fulfill the divine purpose. And we can be sure that there is no such transaction as giving to get, as the false faith teachers hold. With the Father, it is all receiving to give.

A second key to walking in the way of generosity appears in verse 5 of chapter 8. Paul reveals the Lord’s priority: What the Father wants first and foremost is not our things, but our selves. And not only does he call us to offer our lives to him, but to each other, as well. The outcome of God’s paradigm of grace is gift-giving everywhere. One conclusion of this verse is that generosity is not an individualistic, self-generated act, but a lifestyle of surrender to God that works only in the context of connecting to his people. Although this may be a concept that we theoretically understand, it can be offensive to a private approach to sharing our lives, a view that our culture so strongly and jealously guards. It’s almost as if we believe that we can keep the whole thing under our control and hidden from the Lord himself. And yet yielding to the freedom for which we are set free sets off exponential abundance among and beyond our circle of fellow-disciples.

How do we grow into the divine call to generosity? I see three primary points that Paul raises in these verses. The first is liberty that arises from the movement of God’s Spirit. Throughout Scripture, there is a clear acknowledgment that giving is not a matter of compulsion. When Israel built the Tabernacle and the first Temple, the people brought astounding amounts of material and money for the project. Moses and the Elders actually had to restrain them from adding further contributions since, “there (was) more than enough to carry out” the work of construction (Ex. 36:5) Later, in 1Chron. 29, we read that the people experienced great joy “because they had made their offerings willingly.”

In this vein, Paul counsels us to never give as if someone has forced us to do so. If the law is written on our hearts, true generosity – giving beyond our nature (even for the generous) – will flow from our trust in the Father’s eternal provision. Which leads us to the second aspect of growing in open-handedness: Offering ourselves comes from an expectation of a goodness that far transcends human limits or standards. There is nothing that equals the gift of his Son. Although the idea has become a cliché, it is true that we simply cannot out-give God. But it is equally true that he can’t out-give us if we are suspicious or unbelieving toward the truth of his kindness. To be open-handed means to have open hands. At its root, generosity is a species of salvation. We are as helpless to give as we are to merit or win eternal life or a relationship with God.

Lastly, Paul points us to the release of joy for those who freely offer themselves to the Kingdom. Most simply, this is joy that arises from the act of giving and seeing others blessed. Most humans experience this kind of elevated feeling; it’s a kind of general participation in God’s grace and mercy. More profoundly, Christians understand that willingly parting with money, time, or self is a reflection of his character. Every act of generosity that involves financial giving; caring for the poor, the needy, the elderly; showing hospitality; receiving the broken into our lives – all these are pale but substantial imitations of the divine nature.

So that’s about twelve hundred words about an attribute of God that he wants to display in his children. In writing them, I have just nicked the surface. There’s so much more to say about why we find it difficult to be generous and how we discern exactly how to go about growing in the grace of generosity. I’ll leave that (possibly) for later. Until that theoretical day, a simple step might be to open our hands and hearts to the greatest of the Lord’s gifts: himself and his own presence. Because the more of God we have, the more full we are, the more we will overflow with his great and abundant goodness.

May he increase, and may we decrease – a subtraction that will lead to multiplication.