Why You Should Be Hilarious

I never cease to be amazed at how some people can take one verse of scripture and twist it to suit their purposes and/or lifestyle. 

For instance, let’s look at 2 Corinthians 9:7:

 “Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

 Believe it or not, this verse is often cited by some Christians as a justification for not tithing.

 They say the scripture tells them to be cheerful givers and that they cannot give up 10% of their income cheerfully. They would feel better about 3% or maybe even 5%. . .but 10% is way too much. They say tithing is Old Testament legalism.

 This type of thinking . . . or lack thereof is wrong on several different levels.

 There is a hedonistic philosophy that suggests “if it feels good, do it” or even worse “if it feels good, do it again.”

 What if we applied this same logic . . . to other basic Christian principles?

 We would only pray if we were in the mood or were facing a real emergency.

 We would only attend church when it was convenient and didn’t interfere with any things we felt like doing.

 We would do good to others as we felt they did for us . . . and only if they did it first and we felt good about it.

 We would honor our mother and father when they did for us or gave us what we wanted.

 We would only worship God if we really like the music and felt like worshipping

 If a person subscribes to the philosophy of only doing what they can do cheerfully . . . then many people would probably never go to work. . . or fix things around the house. . .or help others in need.

 They would backslide in their faith and fall away from the things of God.

 Please understand that I’m not saying you can’t do all the things previously listed cheerfully. . .but the Bible teaches us not to be controlled by or respond to the leading of our emotions. And if we were led that way, some people aren’t cheerful about anything any way.

 Any attempt to justify not tithing because it wouldn’t make you happy is a weak, lame alibi and excuses about why we can’t obey Him, don’t impress God.

 I do feel impressed to share some of the thoughts expressed in a previous teaching I did entitled “Do You Have An Alibi?”

 The dictionary defines alibi as “an excuse to avoid blame.” Now let me ask you a question.

 Has there ever been a time when you didn’t tithe or stopped tithing for a short period of time?

 If a person, a robber, takes what doesn’t belong to him even once in a while, does that make him any less of a thief? 

 If the robber only steals when he/she wants or needs money, does that make them any less of a thief?

 If you’ve ever watched a television program or movie about criminals, you know the first thing the defense attorney wants to know is if they have an alibi.

 The attorney will advise his/her client whether or not they have a ‘good’ alibi, the kind that will stand up in court and get them off the hook.

 Do you have an alibi for not tithing or giving offerings to God’s work?

 Will it stand up in the Court of Heaven? Will God accept it on Judgment Day? 

 Is the Word of God based on your view of the circumstances or what the Word says about the subject?

 For those who really want to be cheerful on Judgment Day. . .I suggest they forget the alibis and obey the Word of God.

 For your further reading on our scriptural mandate to tithe. . .I suggest our website www.debtfreearmy.org to read the full teaching on “Do You Have An Alibi?” as well as  “This Must Be Done”; “You’re Hurting Your Family Even Benji”; “Don’t Eat My Stuff”; “Don’t Be Cut Off At The Pass” and “The Curse Of God.” 

 Now back to the teaching for today.

 2 Corinthians 9:7 concludes by saying “…for God loveth a cheerful giver.”

 According to Strong’s Concordance, cheerful is the Greek word hilaros which means: “cheerful, joyous, prompt to do anything” and it only appears in the New Testament one time.

 The English word hilarious comes from this word and the implication is that we are to be very joyful givers.   Now let’s look at the Amplified Bible translation of 2 Corinthians 9:7 which says:

 “Let each one [give] as he has made up his own mind and purposed in his heart, not reluctantly or sorrowfully or under compulsion, for God loves (He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, "prompt to do it") giver [whose heart is in his giving].”

 God created you to be an agent of free will. . .meaning you have a choice to obey or not obey. The spiritual benefits of tithing and giving cheerfully should make you smile. . .BIG TIME. 

 Every believer should become hilariously happy when they realize the incredible benefits that giving tithes and offerings bring.

 Perhaps you’ve been subjected to a fund-raising drive where you felt pressured to give or face scrutiny from your employer or co-workers. Many companies dictate that employees give to specific charities, such as the United Way or some other worthwhile organization . . . but the giving is prompted so the company can be recognized for their percentage of employees who participate in the drive.

 These comments shouldn’t be taken as a reflection on the value and worthwhile work of the United Way or others but rather the required compulsory giving to any work no matter how noteworthy. Forced giving can cause a person to give grudgingly as the scripture describes.

 If a person doesn’t participate in this type of strongly recommended “voluntary” giving they can even be silently ‘looked down on’ for their failure to give.

 It’s clear that in 2 Corinthians 9:7 the Apostle Paul was seeking to motivate fellow believers to give out of a true ‘love for God’ motive. He was simply pointing out the benefits of proper giving. He definitely wasn’t creating a loophole for those looking for an excuse not to give but rather an incentive to do it properly.

 I had a former Pastor who used to say that God loves a cheerful giver but He will take it from a grouch. There was a time I liked it because it was a funny statement until I realized, it is in fact, scripturally inaccurate.

 The scripture says that God loves a cheerful, hilarious, joyous, prompt to do it giver. So if you’re not happy in your giving . . . then you’ve got to know that God isn’t into your giving either.

 In other words, if He “…He takes pleasure in, prizes above other things, and is unwilling to abandon or to do without) a cheerful (joyous, "prompt to do it") giver [whose heart is in his giving]”. . .then anything else doesn’t make Him happy..

 Make no mistake about it. . .the local church, the ministry or non-profit organizations may take your money and be happy about it. . .but it may not be pleasing to God.

 Truthfully, I’m much more interested and motivated about how God looks on my giving than I am about my personal feelings because my flesh will always offer a ready excuse. 

 Do you want God to take pleasure in you?

 Do you want God to prize you about all things?

 Do you want God to never abandon you?

 Then your answer is clear. . .be a cheerful, even hilarious giver . . . prompt to give what He says to give.

 When God directs you to give and you obey His instructions. . .it draws you closer to Him on a number of levels. Bottom line –your money shows God that your heart is towards Him.