Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem.
1 Corinthians 16:1-4
As Paul begins to wind down his first letter to the church at Corinth, it is easy to just skip over some of his practical thoughts and then miss an opportunity to learn from even a passing thought or example. I am reminded of the passage from Deuteronomy –
You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise.
Deuteronomy 6:7
In the passage above, Paul reinforces the concepts of generosity and discipline.
Generosity is a key characteristic of our Faith. Throughout the Bible we see examples of those who have honored God with their giving and as Paul quoted Jesus, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35b).”
And so we are to give and we should not procrastinate along the way. Paul reinforces the idea of giving regularly on the first day of the week. Giving regularly avoids the pressure of meeting a need all at once, right? Before the lockdowns, I didn’t think much about the idea of giving during a church service since many churches had already started doing online giving, but I think we may be missing something. What do you think?
Let’s practice generosity and be intentional about it.
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