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Friday, July 5, 2019

Now I want you to know, dear brothers and sisters, what God in his kindness has done through the churches in Macedonia.  They are being tested by many troubles, and they are very poor.  But they are also filled with abundant joy, which has overflowed in rich generosity.  For I can testify that they gave not only what they could afford, but far more.  And they did it of their own free will.  They begged us again and again for the privilege of sharing in the gift for the believers in Jerusalem.  They even did more than we had hoped, for their first action was to give themselves to the Lord and to us, just as God wanted them to do.  So we have urged Titus, who encouraged your giving in the first place, to return to you and encourage you to finish this ministry of giving.  Since you excel in so many ways—in your faith, your gifted speakers, your knowledge, your enthusiasm, and your love from us—I want you to excel also in this gracious act of giving.                                                                  2 Corinthians 8:1-7

His show on the old black and white TV was always corny, full of clean humor and stuff that would make a third grader roll his eyes, but I liked the way Tennessee Ernie Ford sang…so I listened to his stories.  And then one day he caught me by surprise when he described somebody:  that feller’s as nervous as a long-tailed cat in a room-full-o-rockers.

Applying Ernie’s colloquialism to humans, just like you’d never ask a long-tailed cat to take up residence in a rocker-room, you don’t ask busy people to do more, do you?  Well, I guess if we could ask Ernie, he’d say…if’n you want somethin’ done, ask a busy person.

The Apostle Paul understood that, and it wasn’t just some psychological ploy to milk a bigger offering out of the group.  Jesus moved Paul to understand how God uses ordinary people to accomplish extraordinary things.  Most times it happens best if the preachers will just state the need, and then get back out of the way.  God’s people know how to get things done.

The Macedonian area churches, Philippi included, were not a financially affluent bunch.  But they pressed Paul to let them give to help the believers in Jerusalem who were in dire financial need.  And now Paul was asking the Corinthian tribe to finish up their part in sending aid.  They were much more well-to-do than the others, but somewhat hesitant in the actual doing.  Isn’t it amazing how often poor people put rich people to shame when it comes to being generous?  Did I just hear the clinking of the Widow’s mites hitting the collection jar?

We all know God calls us to be generous in our giving to others.  Often I think we understand that, but miss being generous because we don’t understand what it means to get to that level of sacrifice.  God will teach us if we open our hearts.

For You Today

Let’s let Tennessee Ernie have the last word today:

You ain’t bein’ generous until yer as nervous as that-thar long-tailed kitty in the rocker shop over what yer about t’give.

You chew on that as you hit the Rocky Road; have a blessed day.

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[1] Title Image:  Pixabay.com & Pixabay.com    Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture quotations are from The New Living Translation©