You can give God the credit, but he also wants the cash
In Paul’s second letter to the Corinthians, Paul compares the work of Corinthians to the work of the Macedon church to encourage them. The Corinthians excelled in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in love, but they did not excel in giving. They had everything together; they were "Good Christians". But they lacked the giving and sacrifice to back it up. Paul tests the sincerity of the love of the Corinthian church by comparing it with church in Macedon. For we know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for our sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might have become rich. Silly us for thinking that God only wants ten percent of our money or our possessions. It is ALL his; we should look to glorify God with all of it. That doesn’t mean give it all away, but it does mean stop being selfish in our spending and start glorifying God with our spending.

But we should not give because it is expected, but we should first cultivate the desire to give, for God loves a cheerful giver. Now we should finish the work, so that our eager willingness to give will be matched by our completion of it. For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have. It is all a matter of the heart. Our point is not to live on end’s meat while those we give to live luxuriously, but that there might be equality. 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, as it is written: “The one gathered much did not have too much, and the one who gathered little did not gather little.” God is good as redistributing funds; the amount that you give will be returned to you, whether in this life or the next.


Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for god loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in ever good work. As it is written: “They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever.” God will give you what you need when you need, if you will only trust him, not your own cunning and saving and plotting and toiling. If you trust Christ with your finance, you will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion. Through your giving, your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

Give generously; it’s the only way to truly live.

Godly Sorrow
Since God is faithful, since God is good, since God has promised us life with Him, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates both body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of our respect for Him. Make room for everyone in your heart. Wrong no one. Corrupt no one. Exploit no one. Act in such a way that other brothers and sisters and see how you are living and take pride in you. Act in such a way that other’s will experience your giving and respond with praise! Let God’s goodness lead to repentance. Let your sorrow from conviction lead you to change the way you are living. Godly sorrow brings repentance that leads to salvation and leaves no regret while worldly sorrow brings death. Godly sorrow gives you an earnestness and an eagerness to clear yourselves. It kicks you in the tail and gets you on the right track. It makes you long for righteousness and yearn for justice. Godly sorrow leads to encouragement. You are blessed if you realize you need to change. It’s the first step, and many never reach it. We are being sanctified, so let Christ guide you actions and unclog your ears with all the sin and junk in your life so you can hear the Spirit instruct you.