How do we encourage someone to give of themselves for others? Paul may have found himself asking this question when he sat down to write 2 Corinthians 9. He was writing to a wealthier church in the southern part of what was formerly Greece. After Rome took over Greece, it created the northern province of Macedonia and the southern province of Achaia. Inside Achaia, Paul determined that the Corinthian church needed some admonition.

We are told in Romans 15:25–27 that these Gentile believers in Macedonia and Achaia promised to help the Jewish believers in Jerusalem. These Gentiles felt led to reach out to help their Jewish brothers and sisters in Christ. They figured that since Christ came from the Jews, and He had allowed them to partake in the spiritual victory of a life in Christ, then they could minister to the Jews in the physical sense. However, we see in 2 Corinthians 9:2 that a year had gone by and, although initially there had been a buzz of excitement and community, it faded. Evidently, the Corinthian church had not yet pulled its weight.

Paul made the decision to write to the Corinthians concerning their portion of the gift. In 2 Corinthians 9:6, he uses the idea of sowing (planting seed) to get this point across. This was a well-known analogy that resonated with people in the largely agrarian society of that time. Farmers had to give of their time, money, and energy to properly sow their fields. Without the sowing, they would not be able to reap the harvest. Paul pulled these principles into the spiritual lives of the Corinthian believers. Relating 2 Corinthians 9 to today, I believe some of us Christians are in that same boat. We struggle with giving of ourselves and sowing bountifully.

Are we sowing bountifully?

2 Corinthians 8:2 says that the Macedonian church was undergoing a great trial of affliction. Remember in Acts 16:9 when Paul had a vision where a Macedonian man pleaded with him to come help them in Macedonia? Paul says in 2 Corinthians 7:5 that when he went to Macedonia, they were troubled on every side. It was a dangerous place to be a follower of Jesus.

In Macedonia, even in their tough situation, their liberality was abounding. Liberality is just another way of saying their sincerity and generosity. They were being generous with what God had blessed them with. They were continually giving to others, even though they were going through trials on every side. The Bible says in 2 Corinthians 8:5 that the Macedonians gave their own selves to the Lord. They were fully committed.

How did the Corinthian church stack up against the Macedonian church? For Paul to make the comparison, we can surmise that there were some differences.

Time for a mini history lesson.

Corinth had two good harbors. A lot of the shipowners and traders of that day did not like the risks associated with a voyage around Cape Malea (the southernmost tip of Achaia), so they preferred to have the cargoes of larger vessels unloaded and transported less than five miles across the isthmus to be reloaded into other ships. Corinth’s control over this trade made the city very prosperous. In fact, it was so prosperous that Augustus made Corinth the capital of Achaia. Corinth was also famous for a temple to Aphrodite (a false goddess of sex and beauty), located on the highest peak of a landmark mountain in the south of the city. In that temple, around 1,000 prostitutes served those who came. It was so immoral that the term “corinthianize” was coined. If someone participated in the act of “corinthianizing,” it meant they practiced sexual immorality. From this, we can gather that the Corinthian church was wealthy in material things, but perhaps not so much in the spiritual.

Applying this Scripture to our current time, ask yourself, how is the church of America today? Collectively, are we wealthier in the material or in the spiritual? If our zeal and sacrifice for the Lord were put alongside our brothers and sisters in China, or Africa, or Iran and Iraq, is our sincerity and generosity abounding? I am afraid that the answer would not be to America’s favor. The modern church of America has drifted from the teachings of Paul in 2 Corinthians 9:6. The Lord is calling us to take a hard look at ourselves with the Word of God and the help of His Spirit, so we must collectively seek to begin sowing bountifully again for God’s glory.

A lack of spiritual wealth will keep you from departing with earthly wealth.

It is not an uncommon thing for people to struggle with parting from things. We all have things in our lives that we do not necessarily want to let go of—things we do not want to give up. For some people, it is their career. For some, it is their status. For some, it is money. For others, it is hobbies.

I need you to understand that all of these things are earthly things. Many people look at this passage in the Bible and write it off as Paul telling the Corinthian church to just give more money. Yes, there was a monetary gift that Paul was asking them to give, but to leave it at that is a gross oversimplification of what was taking place here. Paul was exhorting this group of believers, living in this pagan city, to focus more on the spiritual wealth that they were to have in Christ rather than the physical wealth that surrounded them.

We live in this very same Corinthian culture today. The church of America is surrounded by opulence and wealth. The United States is one of the richest nations in the world. We are a world power. Trade flows through us. Additionally, more so than our counterparts in Russia, the Middle East, and China, we accentuate the Corinthian ideals. More so than any other current world power, we highlight hedonistic consumerism and sexual immorality.

I am afraid we also struggle in the same way the Corinthian church struggled. By and large, the church in America struggles to give. We sow sparingly.

I am not just talking about giving in the monetary sense. That is one of our first-world faults. Being as we are such a rich nation, many of us have no problem throwing a little bit of money at different causes. In fact, we lull ourselves into a sense of false security with our monetary charity. We give some money to the church, to the Santa Claus outside of Walmart, the love offering for the missionary, and to St. Jude’s, and then we feel exonerated.

But we do not part with the other things. We do not part with our time. Our pride. Our envy. Our guilty pleasures. Those things fill up our lives and leave little room for us to do much else for the cause of Christ. We do not give of our time in prayer and service to God, and to admonishment and encouragement of fellow believers. These are the things that build spiritual wealth. If we are to be true servants of the Lord, we must learn to love to do the things of the Lord.

Give to God with heartfelt fervor, not out of obligation.

2 Corinthians 9:3–5 speaks of Paul sending the brethren in preparation. These were spiritual leaders, like Titus, who were coming to get the Corinthian church ready. Paul did not want the Macedonian believers to come and see the Corinthian church in a bad state. There were expectations that the Corinthians needed to live up to. Evidently, the Corinthian church had promised a generous gift at some point before. Paul wanted to make sure that the church would be ready to give the gift with the right heart. He did not want them to give with a feeling of regret, wishing they had not promised as much. He did not want them to give in greed, wishing they could have it back.

Who prepares us to give correctly? I believe it is the power of the Holy Spirit working in our lives, using God’s Word to discern the thoughts and intents of our hearts (Hebrews 4:12).

When we give to God, it should be out of a spirit of graciousness, thankfulness, and reliance on Him. It has to be done in the right heart. Satan tries to lure us into a trap where we give to God out of a sense of begrudging guilt. Or we do so purely because we feel a sense of pride. Or he wants us to worry about what other people would think of us if we did not give.

How are you giving of yourself today? How are you sowing today?

• Is it out of fear that God will punish you if you do not?
• Is it out of pride, worrying that people’s perception of you will be negatively impacted?
• Is it out of guilt? You do not really want to, but you feel obligated.

If you have fallen into this trap, you have a responsibility, by the power of the Holy Spirit working in your life, to rend yourself from its grip with the help of God’s grace through repentance, and then sow with the desire to demonstrate dependence on Him.

Demonstrate your dependence on God.

There are so many blessings that you lose out on when you decide not to give to God to demonstrate dependence on Him. One of the predominant ways we demonstrate this dependence is through money. 

Money does help me, but it is not ultimate to me. For example, I depend on the Lord to provide for me and through the job He has given me, I am able to put a roof over my head and clothes on my children. The Lord also uses the money I make to get me the medicine I need and allows me to take the vacations I want. Furthermore, money affords me the opportunity for comfort, rest, and the ability to serve others with the money He has given me to steward.

Do we understand that how we view and use money, along with everything else, demonstrates where our ultimate treasure is? So, if the world says money provides ultimate comfort and enjoyment, then to demonstrate, both to ourselves and others, that it is God who does it, I give generously to my local church and to others. Such giving demonstrates dependence on the Lord, who gave me the money (and everything else) to steward for His glory.

The same thing applies when we talk about our time or when we talk about what we put our energy into. The world says that we need to put our time into improving ourselves and put our energy into doing things that glorify us. God says our time and energy should be put towards things that glorify Him. Are you doing that? Or are you falling into the same trap that the Corinthian church did and sowing sparingly?

Do you have a desire to do things for Him every day and to see Him work in your life and in the lives of other people? If not, today is the day to change by acknowledging how you have sinned and then repent (and seek help from other godly saints in your local church if you need more focused help and accountability). God desires a daily commitment that flows from daily following Him in communion with the means He has given His people.

Most importantly of all, He wants it done with humility and a heart that desires to grow closer to Him. If you are serving God simply out of obligation and routine, then I implore you to search your heart with the Word of God. Then begin taking steps to demonstrate daily dependence on our Lord. Let us heed the warning Paul gives us in 2 Corinthians 9 by making the moment-by-moment and daily decision today to sow bountifully for Christ and use the money and everything in our lives for His glory alone.