Monday, March 31, 2025
The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not regretfully or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. ~ 2 Corinthians 9:6-8
Written by Rev. Dr. Mike Hegeman | Associate Pastor
At first glance, it sounds like Paul is preaching a “prosperity gospel” here to the Corinthians.
In our own times, the Prosperity Gospel has these characteristics: God wanting believers to be wealthy, healthy, and happy; poverty and sickness being curses that can be broken through faith in Jesus; believers claiming wealth and health as part of their divine inheritance; God manifesting himself to the faithful in miraculous ways.
I guess that I don’t really disagree with any of these…except that illness is a curse. I do have trouble though when someone says, “The only way you know that you have been blessed by God is if you are healthy and wealthy.” Paul reminds us most of all that our gratitude comes out of knowing that the God who loves us is the source of everything in our lives. We are to find reason to give thanks to God in all circumstances and to share abundantly with others. Poverty consciousness and any sense of lack only separate us from God and our neighbors. Genuine sharing comes out of the deep love from God’s abundant well-spring of LOVE. Whether we see ourselves as “rich” or “poor,” “sick” or well, we are God’s beloved, and our actions are to reflect this.
Prayer: Lord Christ, be my path to God, and help me be thankful for all that comes my way on this journey. Amen.