https://odb.org/MY/2022/06/08/generosity-and-joy
I think as researchers have pointed out, there are people who give because it gives them joy. It makes them happy to give and I think it is true because we are happy knowing that we have done something meaningful. We have helped someone in need. But at the end of the day, I think most Christians still give to meet a need and usually as prompted by the Holy Spirit, rather than using giving as a source of joy. We see a need, God speaks to our heart and we give on the basis that what we have is from God anyway. So we are just a vessel for the Lord to meet the needs of others and if we follow this principle, there is a good chance that the Lord will likewise bless us in order that we may continue to be His vessel to reach out to those in need.
However there is another subtle point we should note when it comes to giving and that is to give with joy. Not so much to get joy in return but to give willingly with gladness in our heart. We must not give grudgingly as though we are forced to. If we ourselves have more pressing needs, then we should not give until those needs are met properly. Like if we need the money to buy medication, we should buy medication first before giving away the money. If we are not healthy, we will not be able to work and earn and thus we will not be able to give anymore in the future. So we need to make sure that the goose that lay the eggs, that is us, is well and alive! A dead goose lays no eggs.
Learn to give with joy to meet the needs of others. In the process, we may derive joy just from the act of giving as we see how our giving may help transform lives. As believers we should give more for Kingdom purposes, to help missionaries, to help God’s work in our local church and elsewhere. Yet we should not limit our giving only to Christian work as the world at large also needs help. Christ came so that the sick, the fatherless, the poor may enter the Kingdom of Heaven. We should likewise help the poor, the needy and the underprivileged.
We need to save and provision for our old age and yet we must give as vessels of God to meet the needs of others. If we are instruments of God, will He not preserve and protect us and care for us in our old age? Trust in the Lord and lean not on our own understanding. God will find a way for us as He uses us as a way for others in need!
Ronnie's Thoughts 