Giving and Hoarding

Sharing Tomatoes

 

I have been thinking about Covid-19 and this new hoarding mentality. The supply hasn’t changed, by many fear that it might.  Our giving is not dependent on our attendance at church but it is based on the fact that God has not stopped giving and neither should we.  Being faithful in giving is based on God’s faithfulness to provide. We give God a portion of what He has given us and He has given us everything. Everything we have comes from Him.  It is frightening to see our hard earned money dwindle. Giving should not be dependent on our “stash”, or lack of it, but on giving God the “firstfruits” of everything He has given us. The 2008/2009 Market crash was distressing. We didn't know when it would end. Experts then told us the market is cyclical and would eventually rebound. In time, the market did recover & funds (if left alone) replenished.  This feels all too familiar. But God’s promises & faithfulness do not deflate because of a market crash or emptying shelves or... a pandemic. Jesus commended the widow for giving all she had. “For where your treasure is, there will your hearts be also”

Hoarding of any kind, is counterintuitive, whether it be toilet tissue, hand sanitizer, or money. 

May God help us to be faithful and not panic, even in these times of uncertainty.  Please pray for ACC and may God give you the grace of giving. 

“And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,

And they exceeded our expectations: They gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us.

But since you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in the love we have kindled in you —see that you also excel in this grace of giving. I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.””  

-- 2 Corinthians‬ ‭8:1-3, 5, 7-9, 11-15‬ ‭NIV‬‬