Cheerful Giver

Proverbs 11:25
The generous will prosper; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.

Generosity is a blessing in itself. I know from time to time we see how people will go out of their way to do something for someone else. The holiday season is a great time to see people serving others. This scripture is a great reminder that when you give your time, money, and possessions, you will be refreshed.

The Bible says that God loves a cheerful giver. So when you give, give with a cheerful heart. God is more interested in your heart and motives than the amount. There are wealthy people that will give a lot of money, but they do it for the wrong reasons. Everyone thinks they are doing a good thing, but their intentions are wrong. They might be able to fool others, but they can’t fool God.

Jesus spoke about this to his disciples. When the Pharisees would give thier offerings, they would drop their change in the offering plate very loudly. They wanted everyone to see and know that they were righteous. Then, we see a peasant woman come and give a few cents. Jesus told his disciples that she gave more than all of them. How could this be? She only gave a couple of cents. The difference was she gave everything she had and it took faith for her to know that God was going to provide for her needs.

When you give this holiday season, do it with a cheerful heart. Most importantly, give out of love. God doesn’t want our offerings when we have sin or grievances towards one another. He wants our hearts to be pure when we give. Maybe you need to get right with someone today and ask for forgiveness. Before you do anything else today, do all you can to make things right with God and others. Then, when you give, God will honor and bless your gift.