What emotions or words come to mind when you think of financial giving? I tend to have fairly negative associations: It’s dutiful or obligatory. I know I should do it, but I too often begrudgingly give my money. I also associate fear, guilt, or scarcity with giving. What if I won’t have enough if I give to others? What if I end up needing what I’m giving away?

Most often, I associate giving with someone else. It’s for someone who has more money than I have.

In a recent study of 2 Corinthians, however, I was struck by the emotions and words Paul associates with financial giving. Unlike mine, his are all positive emotions and words, like joy (8:2), eagerness (v. 4), grace (v. 7), love (v. 8), cheer (9:7), and a bountiful harvest (v. 6). And those are the emotions and words he associates not with the receiver but with the giver.

Generosity Is Profitable

Paul invited the Corinthians—and he invites us—to “share in the ministry to the saints” (8:4, CSB). God prompts his people to provide for others’ needs, and Paul describes this ministry as blessing both the giver and the receiver.

Saying that generosity profits the giver is a paradox. How can someone who gives away his money actually profit from it? Because what the giver gives and what the giver profits are different. We see this in Paul’s sower-and-seed analogy in 2 Corinthians 9:6–15: The giver is equated to a farmer sowing seed. The seed she’s planting is her money; it’s an offering she gives to God for the benefit of his kingdom.

Often I associate giving with someone else. It’s for someone who has more money than I have.

If we followed the common misapplication of these verses, we’d believe that when she gives her money, she can expect to get even more money in return. But Paul never says you’ll see the amount you give come back to you multiplied. He says that when you plant the seed—when you give your money—a bountiful spiritual crop bursts forth.

How, then, does the giver profit? The giver gets to see a spiritual harvest grow around her, and she gets to see that harvest benefit other people. When we’re financially generous, we get a front-row seat to seeing God at work in people’s lives in our neighborhoods, in our communities, and all across the world. We get to see people turn to God in worship and thanksgiving (v. 13).

The giver also profits in joy. As a result of seeing this spiritual harvest, he experiences a unique type of joy—the joy of being an instrumental part of God’s work. If you think about it, giving generously to others triples the joy: There’s joy for the one to whom we give, there’s joy we experience in the act of giving, and there’s joy in our relationship with God as we see him providing for our future needs, just as he says he’ll do.

Ultimately, we feel joy in generously giving because our generosity reflects who God is and what he does. He’s a cheerful giver. We’re imitating God and glorifying him when we give cheerfully.

God Is an Investor

Generosity is a defining feature of God’s kingdom because it’s a defining feature of who God is. Let’s not miss that God puts his money where his mouth is. He isn’t just generous with us; he’s an investor. He invests in his saints. He invests himself in us by giving us his Holy Spirit and saying, “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations” (Matt. 28:19). He invests himself in us by giving us spiritual gifts as tools to edify the church (1 Cor. 12:7).

And Paul says God invests what he owns—which is everything—into us as seed money: “He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way to be generous in every way, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God” (2 Cor. 9:10–11).

He isn’t just generous with us; he’s an investor. He invests in his saints. He invests himself in us by giving us his Holy Spirit.

God gives us what we have so we can have the joy of being like him and giving it away. He enriches us in every way so we can enrich others. Just as an investor does with a start-up, we’re working with God’s money and using his possessions to produce a greater profit. We’re to steward his investment wisely—and wisely according to God’s Word means generously.

So when we think about generosity, it’s important to remember we aren’t sharing what we have. Rather, we’re sharing what we’ve been given through God’s generosity and abundant grace. And when we think about God’s generosity toward us, it’s clear: God is investing in our joy and the joy of others.

Excel in Giving

Paul called the Corinthians to excel in giving (8:7). That means cheerfully giving toward others’ needs. Do you excel in giving? Do you give generously and cheerfully? If you do, you’ve found the secret and ever-expanding joy of generosity.

But if not, the first step toward excelling is to take stock of what you’ve been given. I don’t mean a specific number on your bank statement. You don’t need a certain amount of money to be generous. Generosity is simply giving cheerfully without expectation of return. So what has God given you that you can share with others?

You’ve been given your money and possessions by the One who owns all things. God has invested himself in you, so sow your seed widely, and watch how God grows a spiritual crop.