In this chapter of Paul’s second letter to the churches in the city of Corinth, we find him exhorting the members of that church to greater and greater lengths of charitable giving. He does this by – in a sense – “shaming” them into giving by holding up the example of the extreme generosity of their sister churches in Macedonia (v. 1 and 2). Paul paints quite a vivid picture when he tells the Corinthians that out of their extreme poverty the gifts of these churches “… overflowed in a wealth of generosity.” (v. 2)
Obviously Paul is talking about financial giving in this part of his letter. But since we pause to celebrate Veteran’s Day today (a holiday originally created to mark the signing of the Armistice agreement ending World War I), let’s widen the concept of giving just a little bit and talk about the sacrificial giving of the men and women of the U.S. Armed Services. The act of volunteering to serve in the military is an act of giving at the most profound and basic level. It involves a decision to put personal safety aside in defense of the greater community.
In one sense, giving of any kind is a practice that flies directly in the face of our culture’s definition of “the good life.” Those preoccupied with the hoarding of life or of wealth are downright puzzled by the notion of voluntarily giving ANYTHING away. And yet, in reality, every decision we make to do “X” necessarily entails deciding to give up the chance to do “Y” in that same moment. So we are forever engaged in the act of giving things away… whether we realize it or not. The question is, how do we make giving an intentional act and use our giving to bring new life and new options to the world around us?
When we take Jesus at his word, we find out that conscious, sacrificial giving of our whole selves is really the key to life. In Mark 10:45 we read Jesus’ words that reminds us that: “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”
To some, giving our money, giving our goods, or giving our lives voluntarily does not make any sense whatsoever. In God’s hands though, giving is the doorway to God’s kingdom.
