2 Corinthians 8:8-15

John Burnett: ⁸ I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. ⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.

¹⁰ And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. ¹¹ Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. ¹² For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.  Verse 11 hits me over the head like a sledgehammer.  I have a hard time finishing with the same effort and willingness as when I start something.  This is true for quiet times, prayer, discipleship, and giving of my time.

¹³ Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. ¹⁴ At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, ¹⁵ as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.”

^{God provides exactly what we need so that  we can give with the right attitude because we know that he takes care of those who belong to him.  I have found that the more I give, the more I receive in the form of contentment and peace.}

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Allen Michaels: ⁸ I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. Paul wants them to give all that they can. He does not order them to give. He is testing their desire to give. He wants to know how real their faith and love are. He does not want them to give because he orders them. They need to give because they want to give.

⁹ For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. Jesus is all that God is. He shares with God in everything. This is how Jesus was rich. He came from the highest place. He descended to the lowest place. He became a man. As God, he was rich. As man, he became poor.

¹⁰ And here is my judgment about what is best for you in this matter. Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so. ¹¹ Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. God wants us to obey him. It is always good for us too to obey him. But there is a better way. You do the right thing. But you do it because you want to (from the heart). That is better than doing it because someone tells you to do it.

¹² For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. Paul did not expect them to give from what they did not have. It is the same for us.

¹³ Our desire is not that others might be relieved while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. ¹⁴ At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need. The goal is equality, ¹⁵ as it is written: “The one who gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not have too little.” Paul does not expect the rich to give so much that they make themselves poor. He does not want everyone to be equal and everyone poor. Paul is not giving an order. It is not an order that they must obey. He wants to see in them a desire to give. This desire must come from the heart.

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Tomorrow's reading for 2 Corinthians 8:16-24

¹⁶ But thank God! He has given Titus the same enthusiasm for you that I have. ¹⁷ Titus welcomed our request that he visit you again. In fact, he himself was very eager to go and see you. ¹⁸ We are also sending another brother with Titus. All the churches praise him as a preacher of the Good News. ¹⁹ He was appointed by the churches to accompany us as we take the offering to Jerusalem^[e]—a service that glorifies the Lord and shows our eagerness to help.
²⁰ We are traveling together to guard against any criticism for the way we are handling this generous gift. ²¹ We are careful to be honorable before the Lord, but we also want everyone else to see that we are honorable.
²² We are also sending with them another of our brothers who has proven himself many times and has shown on many occasions how eager he is. He is now even more enthusiastic because of his great confidence in you. ²³ If anyone asks about Titus, say that he is my partner who works with me to help you. And the brothers with him have been sent by the churches,^[f] and they bring honor to Christ. ²⁴ So show them your love, and prove to all the churches that our boasting about you is justified.