2 Cor 9: 6-11 “Trading Places”

The old adage says “You reap what you sow”, but did you realize that was a Biblical concept well before it was a cultural phrase? In today’s scripture lesson the Apostle Paul is speaking to the Church in Corinth about sowing and reaping for the bounty of the Kingdom. 

Whether we realize it or not, we are all investing in something. Investing in daily living. Retirement. Our family’s future. And what we invest in is determined by what lens we we view the world from. Aren’t sure what your lens is: what is the first thing you think of when I say the word “money”? Spending? Saving? On what? For whom? 

The lens we see the world through colors our perspective. As Christians, is the lens we view all else through God? Do we trust God with our money? Do we trust God enough with the harvest to invest in the sowing? Do we focus more on our basic needs or on expanding the Kingdom of God? 

Paul is telling the Church that each of us needs to decide what exactly we are going to invest in - what exactly we want to be a part of. It has to be a willful decision, not one that we make only when we have to or half-heartedly. Paul is essentially asking the people in Corinth, and us today, what we are going to sow - God’s word, or something else?

A little background - Paul is writing this section of 2nd Corinthians as a thank you to the people in the Corinth Church for investing in another Church he ministered to, people they would never meet in this life time. Its an odd way to say thank you for your generosity isn’t it - or is it? Paul is trying to affirm the choice the Church has made to sow generously so that other’s may come to know the message of Christ. 

Now I can hear the argument forming - but Pastor Michelle - the people in Corinth didn’t have the same financial obligations as we have today. You are right -they didn’t have the same bills - the auto insurance, health insurance, life insurance, and utility bills - but they were heavily taxed - more then we can even imagine today, and made a lot less, having a lot more children to feed. The vast majority, over eighty percent, of folks during the New Testament Era would have been considered poor by their own standards, let alone ours. In order for the Church in Corinth to give to Paul for the sake of the gospel message in this magnitude they had to be generous and make sacrifices.

Have you ever noticed when your generosity becomes limited? Is it at certain times of the year? Or when certain bills arrive in the mail? Our generosity is most quickly limited by our desire for surplus above sowing. When we want to make sure every I is dotted and every t is crossed for the future. But here’s the thing, the future is beyond our control. We don’t know what the future holds - when the next stock market crash will come or when we will receive a pink slip. That’s why being generous for the sake of the Kingdom is a risk, an act of trust. When we give sacrificially we say that we believe God’s Kingdom is worth investing in. We are proclaiming that while we may not know what the future holds, we want to give abundantly. And we are willing to sacrifice the mirage of being in control that accumulating wealth and saving for a rainy day can bring in order for more people to come to know the One who is in Control.

So Paul is thanking the Corinthians for their generosity so people could come to believe in another city. He is trying to use this moment to teach them that God used them to meet the needs of another group of people, and that God will meet their needs as well. It is God’s desire to meet the needs of God’s people - but the first step is trust.

Paul begins this portion of his thank you by pointing out that whoever sows sparingly will reap the same, and whoever sows bountifully will reap beyond measure. In other words, whoever sows generously will reap generously. But reap what, exactly? When we give, we receive something back in return for giving. Sometimes it is a peace in our spirits. Other times it is seeing lives being transformed. And yet other times it is a growth in our personal trust of God. We get something back, not because we deserve it, but because God is a God of bounty and blessing.

A word of caution, this passage has been used by a plethora of preachers to say that when you give, you get back even more and become materially rich. Note that is not what Paul is saying. Paul is speaking more of receiving God’s rich spiritual blessings. We should never give because of what we expect, or demand to get back, in return, even if it is as simple as a thank you. We give as an act of faith of who God is. Paul is trying to tell that Church not to fear that they are going to lose what every they are giving way, but instead see it as an investment for God that will effect both others and them. In the words of Pastor Andy Stanley, Paul is trying to say “The farmer doesn’t lose seed in the end. He gains a crop”.

Paul goes on to tell the church that God loves a cheerful giver. A person in this parish once told me that it is fun to give money away. Its fun to spread the word of God through our generosity. And once we begin giving, we don’t stop. Sometimes we give simply because it makes us feel good, cheerful. But I think its also so much more than that - we need to think about why we feel good when we give money away. As Christians we feel good because we recognize that we are giving to something bigger than ourselves. Recognize that God is up to something in the world. Recognize that God is inviting us to be part of the Kingdom work before us. The reality is God is going to do God’s will with or without out - but God is inviting us to be a part of it and to see the bounty of God! 

Paul is proclaiming that God wants us to share abundantly in and for every good work! God wants to use us to distribute for the sake of the Kingdom to the very ends of the earth. The apostle even says that God will supply seed to the sower (that is the giver) in order to increase the harvest. Once again, this verse and accompanying concept has been abused by preachers in the past to mean that God wants to give you everything that you want. But that isn’t what Paul is trying to say. Instead he is pointing out that if people are faithful in putting the Kingdom of God first in their lives, including in their finances and giving, that God will provide what you need, which is not the same as everything you want. God is going to to give the giver or sower what they need to keep sowing, because God wants to see us continue to be good stewards. 

At some point you need to just go for it. You need to just give in order to be a steward of what God has blessed you with, however meager you may think that is. At some point you need to take the leap and invite God to be a part of your finances whether they are good or bad. It was true in Paul’s time and its true in our time, often money is the very last door we open to God in faith. Are you willing to take a risk? Are you willing to open that door? Are you willing to sow for the harvest of the Kingdom of God, giving God control? Amen.