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NASB | 2 Corinthians 8:13 For this is not for the ease of others and for your affliction, but by way of equality-- |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 2 Corinthians 8:13 For it is not [intended] that others be relieved [of their responsibility] and that you be burdened [unfairly], but that there be equality [in sharing the burden]-- |
Bible Question: Did Paul say they would be burdened and suffer for giving? Because all I hear preachers say is "the more you give the more you will get." |
Bible Answer: Actually what Paul is saying is just the opposite. He saying I don't want to see you burdened or suffering, give so God can give back to you. Here is an excerpt from J Vernon McGee Here is something very important to note. Each should give according to "that a man hath," and he is to do it with a willing mind. No one is to give according to what he does not have. In the section on 1 Corinthians, I gave an illustration which I will repeat because it is a very fine example of this principle. When I was pastoring a church in Texas, one of my officers owned several Coca-Cola plants, and one of them was in our town. He was a man of means, and he owned a ranch where we used to go out to hunt and fish. Often he would ask me why I didn't preach on tithing. One day I said, "Why should I preach on tithing?" He said, "Because it is the Bible way of giving." I agreed, "Yes, it was the Old Testament way of giving, but under grace I don't believe tithing is the way it should be done." So he asked me, "How do you think it ought to be done?" I took him to this verse: "As God has prospered him." Now this was during the Depression. If you are as old as I am, you will remember that the Depression in the 1930s was a very serious time. So I said to him, "For some strange reason, Coca-Cola is selling, and you are doing very well. However, there are some members in our church who couldn't give a tithe right now. I don't believe God is asking them to give a tenth. There are a few people who are doing well, and they are to give as they have been prospered -- and they are not to stop with a tenth. Probably they ought to give a half." Do you know that this man never again suggested that I preach on tithing! The reason was that he found out that a man is to give according to what he hath, not according to what he hath not. The tithes were a basic measurement in the Old Testament, and I cannot believe that any Christian today who has a good income should give less than one tenth. In this time of great abundance Christians should be giving more than a tenth. For I mean not that other men be eased, and ye burdened [2Cor. 8:13]. Paul is saying that a burden should not be placed on anyone. But by an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality [2Cor. 8:14]. Perhaps you have been blessed with a good automobile, a lovely home, nice furniture, and all the appliances that are considered necessary in our contemporary culture. May I say to you that God expects you to share in the Lord's work. You may be like my rancher friend who would like to settle for the tithe. He wanted me to preach on the tithe so he would feel comfortable in his giving. After I had talked with him, I don't think he ever felt comfortable about his tithe-giving. Those who are able to give should give, and we should not burden those who are unable to give. As it is written, He that had gathered much had nothing over; and he that had gathered little had no lack [2Cor. 8:15]. Paul gives the example of the gathering of the manna in the wilderness. Each was to gather enough for one day. Some man might go out with several baskets and say, "Let's just fill them up. I'll gather bushel baskets of manna while I can." He would go out and greedily gather up much more than he needed. What would happen? After he had eaten what he needed for that day, he would find that all the rest had spoiled by the next morning. It was God's plan that each one should have just enough and no more. We will learn in chapter 9, verse 6, that ". . . He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully." I think that God will begin to deal with you as you have been dealing with Him. I think that God keeps books. He does not put us under law because He wants our giving to be a grace, a passion, a desire to share. It should be a joyful experience. You ought to be able to say to other folk, "You ought to listen to Dr. McGee. He's talking about the most wonderful privilege in the world. He is telling us how we can be happy by giving." That may sound crazy to you, but that is exactly what Paul is saying here. —J. Vernon McGee's Thru The Bible EdB |
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