By O.S. Hawkins
Some people say only people with money should give. Let Bob or Bill do it. He has the money. We often exclaim, “If I had their money, I would give; I would tithe." This notion that only people with money should give is just a myth, though.
Paul said that these people gave out of "a great trial and out of deep poverty." They gave out of what? Stock reserves? Certificates of deposit? Savings? No, out of "deep poverty" and "great trial." The Greek word translated "trial" in 2 Corinthians 8:2 is the same word that means “purging.” The word picture is of a precious metal that is heated until the liquid impurities rise to the top and are scraped off. Pure metal is left, and when it is cool it's stronger than ever. Here were people who were being tested. The heat was being turned up on them. Yet out of this great trial, they gave to the Lord's work.
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The apostle also says that they gave out of "deep poverty." The word means "rock bottom destitution." They had lost their jobs. But circumstances did not keep them from giving. The people in Macedonia did not buy into the myth that those in Corinth did, that only people with money should give.
Our Lord Jesus destroyed myth No. 1 when He encountered the widow with her last coins. We all know the story well. A lot of people would counsel her to keep it. They would tell her that only people with money should give. And they would have robbed her of a great blessing and us of a great example. Our Lord placed that widow with a few pennies in the Bible to show us that our money talks. He still sits opposite the treasury to see not what we give but how we give it. She gave out of her want and not out of her resources.
How many times have we heard, "Only people with money should give"? I have had people tell me, “If I had a million dollars … or if I won the lottery … I would give to the Lord's work.” If God can't trust you to give out of poverty, how will He ever trust you to give out of riches?
It is a myth that says that only people with money should give. The greatest givers are most often those with little. This is because it is not what we give but how we give that matters most to Christ. Look at the Macedonians. What an example they are to us today. They gave out of "great trial and deep poverty."
"...that in a great trial of affliction the abundance of their joy and their deep poverty abounded in the riches of their liberality" (2 Cor. 8:2).
Some say it's unpleasant to give. Many think we would be happier if we kept our money for ourselves. Some people believe we should "give until it hurts" That is a myth. There is great joy in giving. It is said of the Macedonians that they gave with "the abundance of their joy."