Giving.

I've never really understood the concept of giving or what it means to be a cheerful giver (2 Corinthians 9:7).  I try to think of this break-even point of giving cheerfully and not giving cheerfully (so like what Paul writes, reluctantly giving or giving under compulsion). What does it mean to give cheerfully? As in, will there ever be an amount that you can settle for so that you feel okay or "cheerful" giving? Because I feel that when you give an amount out, you can always give more? From talking to some people before, it was more like it doesn't matter how much you give, but the attitude and intention of your heart. Again, I find it hard to grasp that just because I have so much (so much more than a lot of people already) and I can always give more. For example, I always stare at Budget Birdie at CCF, thinking how much should I give? $5? $10? $20? Where is this break-even point? And then there is the question "what if God calls you to sell off all your possessions to those who are poor?" (Mark 10:21)


Picking up the Radical book again by David Platt, he helped me put things into perspective again. The chapter of the book was named "How much is enough?" It's interesting, because he talked about how Jesus does not call everyone to go and sell their possessions to the poor, but it also does not mean that Jesus doesn't call people to do this, just not everyone. Bhahahaa, when I read that I was like ohh hahaa mmm, cool/good? But then, there was a quote in the book that was really really interesting: 

"That Jesus did not command all his followers to sell all their possessions gives comfort only to the kind of people to whom he would issue that command."

Ahh word. Hahah! What a twist. But it's true because here in North America, the majority of us, we have so much.

"God has given us excess, not so we could have more but so we could give more?"

Also, I like how Platt paraphrased what Jesus was saying to his disciples regarding selling your possessions and give to the poor (Luke 10):

"In light of the fact that you have a God in heaven who is set on caring for you as a shepherd does his sheep, as a father does his children, and as a king does who is passing on an entire kigdom, don't be anxious. Sell your possessions, give to the poor, and don't worry. Your God - your Shepherd, your Father, your King - has everything under control."

So how much is enough? The chapter then talked about this one man who decided to sell his home and give away many of his possessions and he said this:

"I wonder at some points if I'm being irresponsible or unwise. But then I realize there is never going to come a day when I stand before God and he looks at me and says, 'I wish you would have kept more for yourself.' I'm confident that God will take care of me."


Haha, I also do not think God would say "I wish you would have kept more for yourself." 
And note that riches and possessions in it itself are not bad or inherently evil; they are good gifts from the hand of God intended for our enjoyment and the spread of his glory. (1 Timothy 6:17)


"[So] Give. Give generously, abundantly, and sacrificially. Give not because your stuff is bad. Give because Christ is in you. Give because your heart has been captured by a Savior who has produced in you 'overflowing joy', welling up in 'rich generosity'."


So what did I learn from that? To make me a budget and live simply.