“So we urged Titus, that as he had begun, so he would also complete this grace in you as well. But as you abound in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all diligence, and in your love for us—see that you abound in this grace also.” 2  Corinthians 8:6-7

The Grace of Giving

Part 1

For much of my life, I wasn’t much of a “giver.” My stepfather made sure we knew that everything we owned had come from his own hard work, and we would not be sharing it with anyone else—other people could work just as hard and earn their own money and buy their own things. I knew this “selfishness” was coming from a place of having been literally as poor as dirt in his own childhood; he had, indeed, worked hard and overcome poverty. We were taught that having and keeping a job was our top priority as we grew up. We worked hard every weekend and after school on chores.

I developed the attitude of working as much as I needed to earn money to pay the bills—not a bad thing in itelf—and whatever was left over could be spent on myself. It was responsibility first, then pleasure. There was no thought given to meeting the needs of others.

In this portion of 2 Corinthians, Paul urges the Corinthian church to take up a generous offering for the poverty-stricken church in Jerusalem. The Corinthians had started a fund but never saw it through to completion. Paul sends Titus to Corinth with a message. “Finish what you started. You abound in everything else: you abound in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in diligence, and in love—all good things in themselves—but you lack this particular grace—the grace of giving.”

We are to complete this grace of giving. Perfect it. Mature it. Work the grace muscle of giving. And along with the actual giving, there is to be a right attitude about giving. Paul is saying, don’t let this go. This is important. We need to learn this. As John Piper has coined it, we need to learn this “pattern of self-emptying.”

In tomorrow’s devotional, we will ask some hard questions of ourselves, and see what it means to have the “grace of giving” completed in us.

“Father, lead us into this grace of giving. It is our desire to live in ALL things as You have designed. We know this is best for us—and it benefits others as well. Open our hearts, Lord. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.”