Spontaneous Giving

In the year 2000, when LeAnn and I went from one kid to two, we knew we needed to upgrade the family car from our tiny 1992 Geo Prizm to something with space for more than a booster seat, a diaper bag, and a juice box that had been fermenting under the seat since 1997. Thus, we began an extensive search for a new-to-us vehicle.

Frustratingly, it seemed every used car on the market was either priced out of our budget or needed major work. Then one day, we saw a classified ad (yes, in a physical newspaper!) for a car that sounded too good to be true. It was newer than we were looking for, had fewer miles than expected, and was priced a couple thousand dollars less than everywhere else.

Turns out, the owner worked from home for L'Oreal. The car was his company car, which was only used for driving to the airport with product to go to shows, then driving home upon return. L'Oreal required him to have the car serviced every three months, and he had all the records to prove it. Thankfully for us, L'Oreal upgraded their company cars every three years, so this guy needed the "old" car out of his driveway pronto because the new company car was coming the next day.

So just an hour after I saw the newspaper ad, I wrote a check and received the title. It felt weird to "spontaneously" purchase this guy's car so quickly. But because we had done the research, we knew this was the right vehicle for our growing family.

Plan to be Spontaneous

As we continue our 7 Qualities of a Giver series, we move on to verse 5 in our key passage (2 Corinthians 8:1-5), which says...

"...and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us." (2 Corinthians 8:5, ESV)

The Apostle Paul made it clear he had not expected the Macedonian believers to give like they did. He knew about their poverty and suffering (see verse 2), so their giving almost seemed to come out of nowhere, as if it were spontaneous.

Yet, when you jump ahead to chapter 9, you hear Paul telling the believers in Corinth, "Each [person] must give as he has decided in his heart." (2 Corinthians 9:7) That doesn't sound very spontaneous! That sounds like planned giving.

But just as LeAnn and I had been preparing ourselves to buy the right car when it came along, a wise giver is looking for the right opportunity to give. It might look spontaneous on the outside, but in the heart of the giver, this was the plan all along.

A Truth to Power Spontaneity

As we heard in the Give & Grow Principle on Sunday, May 11 (as part of our Dollars & Sense sermon series), God is not only able to return what we gave away, but to give to us even more than we gave. This truth should free you to be not just willing and eager to give, but even be "spontaneous" in your generosity.

This spontaneous giving also means you don't always have to wait for an official ask. If God puts something or someone on your heart, go ahead and give! You don't have to wait until you see a GoFundMe campaign, or when the Riverwood budget is behind, or when asked to give to a capital campaign. If you are seeking the Lord regularly, don't be surprised if He puts a person or a cause on your heart. But when He does, realize He is asking you to spontaneously give.

May you adopt a posture of generosity, poised and ready when the opportunity arises.