“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”
“Cheerful” in this verse is translated from the Greek word “hilaros” which Strong’s Concordance further explains can mean “propitious or merry (“hilarious”), i.e. prompt or willing: – – cheerful.”
Next to love, laughter might be my favorite feeling to feel or see others experience because it’s so freeing.
When we laugh, genuinely, we don’t care so much about how we look or sound. It’s a (generally) spontaneous physiological response to humor. We’re not thinking about what’s going wrong, or what could go wrong. We’re not worried about how we’re viewed by others or what will happen tomorrow. I think one of God’s great gifts is that when we laugh, for that moment, we’re free. It’s a gift that gives everyone a little “life lab” of what living full time in freedom can be like: on our way to the joy of a life with Jesus.
So… what if our giving were not only deliberate but also as involuntary as laughter? When we give cheerfully, we’re giving freely.
Pray: “Dear Jesus – thank You for your provision for me. Please show me how to give cheerfully and freely what You have provided and how to use it to be of service to You and those that You’ve put in my path. In Jesus name, Amen.”
