City Life Starter

I. THE WORD: 2 Corinthians 8:9-15

For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich. 10  And in this I give advice: It is to your advantage not only to be doing what you began and were desiring to do a year ago;  11  but now you also must complete the doing of it; that as there was a readiness to desire it, so there also may be a completion out of what you have.  12  For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have. 13  For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened;  14  but by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may supply their lack, that their abundance also may supply your lack—that
there may be equality.  15  As it is written, “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack.”

II. REFLECTION QUESTIONS

1. What does it mean for Jesus to become poor?
2. What does it mean that through Jesus’ poverty for our sakes that we become rich?
3. What does it mean to have to be Christ-centered with our giving, saving, and spending?

In the Scripture, Paul is addressing the church in Corinth and has made references to the churches in Macedonia, about how poor they were, the many trials they face, yet filled with abundant joy which overflowed in rich generosity. The church in Corinth excelled at a lot. They had faith, gifted speakers, knowledge, love, and enthusiasm. Paul also encouraged the Corinthian believers to excel in the grace of giving.

Paul understood that most believers would not want to stop their growth in faith, knowledge, or love, yet many decide a fixed percentage of their money to give and stay there for life. True discipleship includes growing in the mature use of all resources, so giving should expand as well.

In many organizations, ministries, and churches, when it comes to giving, there can often be an appeal on people’s emotions by either making them feel really good or really bad to motivate giving, saving, spending, etc. Think about it. You may have heard the prosperity message that if you give a certain amount, then God is going to bless you a hundred-fold. Now you feel good about giving because you’re excited about that promise of wealth that is going to come. However, you’re actually only giving out of self-interest, not out of interest in God’s mission. In effect, you’re merely giving to yourself.

Here in the passage, Paul appeals to the Gospel and brings believers to think about that until they are changed and cut to the heart regarding the Truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Jesus became poor by giving up His rights as God and becoming human, where He was subject to place, time, and other human limitations. He did not give up His eternal power but set aside His glory and His rights. In response to the Father’s will, He limited His power and knowledge. Christ became poor when He became human because He set aside so much. Yet by doing so, He made us rich because we received salvation and eternal life.

Paul urges the church in verse 10 and 11 to act on their plans; to give eagerly, which is more important the amount you give, and to give according to what you have. From these verses, we can see a few things at work here. We are to give eagerly, to give as much as we are able, to decide what we will give, and to give in proportion to what God has given us, and that our giving is done as a response to Christ and what He has done, not for what we can get out of it.

Sacrificial giving should be responsible, not irresponsible. Pastor Chris reminded us of Matthew 6:21 “For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also”. For one small practical approach, look over your finances, tally up categories, and see which is getting the most amount. When my wife and I did this years ago, in our first year of marriage, we discovered our finances were greatly directed at eating out. Not groceries, just eating out alone. We were spending more on eating out than rent per month. This was ridiculous, and we were cut to the heart to make a change after we saw the blatant idolatry of our lives with our finances as we brought to bear in mind the weight of our sin upon the cross and the superfluous amount of grace Jesus had shown.

Asking a simple question of “How can I honor God with my finances?”, will surely help you in seeing how to be good stewards of your finances.

PRAYER

Lord, help me to be Christ-centered in my giving, spending and saving. Help me to give eagerly according to what has been given to me, and to remember the Cross and what that cost Jesus. Thank you for your grace and for giving me so much. Grant me wisdom to do what is pleasing in your sight. In Jesus’ Name, Amen!