One of the great challenges of the Christian life is to become a giver—and not just a giver, but a cheerful giver. The Bible commends generosity, but generosity that is free from compunction or coercion, for “each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” We must not love money so much that we fail to be generous. Yet we must also ensure we are not giving merely as a way to assuage guilt or relieve external pressure. As is so often the case in the practice of the Christian faith, we need to guard against competing extremes.
It has long been my observation that it often takes some time for Christians to begin to give to the church (and/or to other ministries) and to do so in a way that is genuinely generous. And I think this actually makes a good deal of sense. The majority of people who come to Christ do so when they are young and in a phase of life when earnings tend to be low and a lot expenses loom before them. We can hardly criticize young people
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