“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”–2 Corinthians 9:7, NIV
I’ve been told that the proper translation for “cheerful” in this verse is “hilarious.”
I thought of that today as I was paying bills.
It was a task I’d been putting off a couple of days because right now, there seem to be a LOT of expenses. Seems like “education” even for public schools is a bigger and bigger piece of the budget. Not to mention, I now have a child in college (who thankfully did get a major scholarship–provision!).
When I finally knuckled down and wrote the checks, I also wrote one for our church and the ministries we support. I thought about “hilarious giving.”
It seemed to fit.
As in:
“Get ahold of this. I wrote a check for my church, which brought my bank account to zero. So I said,
‘Lord, I’m trusting you to provide for the rest of my bills, because you’re the one person I don’t want to short change.’
“I checked the mailbox, half hoping there would be a surprise check.
“Nope.
“Ah, but I’d forgotten about that other kind of mail we have nowadays. Within two hours, I got an email saying a payment (totally unexpected) was ready in my Paypal account. Isn’t that hilarious?”
Yes, God loves a “hilarious” giver. He likes to make us laugh with delight at how he provides.
Oh, and not too long ago, as I was shelling out money for school clothes, I tried to remember the last time I’d bought new clothes.
Shortly after, on my walk, I came across a garage sale in my neighborhood. I got a like-new winter jacket, dress, dress pants, and 5 pairs of jeans for, I think, $11.
(To get the full impact of the 5 pairs of jeans, click her to read an earlier post.)
God loves a hilarious giver because … that’s how he himself likes to give.
So lighten up! A joke is just around the corner (if you trigger it by “hilarious” giving).
P. S. In the few hours since I posted this, I talked to someone who told me he owes me money (through some sales I didn’t know that I made). Hilarious!