BIBLICAL BASIS
Then it will be ready as a generous gift, not as one grudgingly given. - 2 Corinthians 9:5
Paul became more specific as to why he was sending Titus and the two brothers ahead of time. He wasn't being redundant. Rather, he was introducing them to another concern. They had promised to give a generous gift. If Paul arrived in Corinth and the money had not been collected as they had promised, it would create greater pressure because it would be more difficult to come up with the money. What the Corinthians would try to gather together after Paul and his traveling companions arrived would be given in a grudging manner, and the apostle wanted to avoid this.
Supracultural Principle 57
JOYFUL GIVING
Organize and plan your giving so you can give generously, not grudgingly.
When money is available because we've planned our giving, it becomes a joyful experience to share it with others. We've not only prepared our hearts for that moment, but we've prepared our hearts in a broader way ahead of time, because we've arranged our giving together with our overall financial plans. In other words, we've prepared a budget. Conversely, when we don't plan our giving, we usually don't have money to give. Many of us tend to allow our standard of living to rise to our present level of income. Then, when we're asked to give (either regularly to meet the ongoing needs of the ministry or through special gifts for special needs), we respond reluctantly. This is understandable, since we've already spent our excess funds on our own needs and desires or laid aside that excess for our future benefit.
Under such circumstances, negative emotions are predictable. Often we not only have no excess to give to God's work, but we're worried that we won't even have enough money to meet what we believe are our own needs. Yet, as with the Corinthians, this problem often is not God's but ours-the result of not becoming systematic planners and givers.
Extracted from Dr Gene Getz’s Rich in Every Way
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