Like my wife, I am sure there are many of you who give of your time and money cheerfully. I envy you. However, I am also sure there are others who struggle to be cheerful just as I do. Why can’t we always be happy when we give our time and money to the Lord? Is there something wrong with us? Are we less Christian? Perhaps we are missing something.
These are thoughtful questions that I do not have easy answers for. However, I do know that our theology, and thus our Christian faith, should not be led by our emotions. Joe Thorn, who writes articles for Ligonier Ministries, writes, “While it is true that our emotions should not lead our theology, it is vital to our faith that theology leads to a deep experience of our triune God” (Thorn, 2017, p.2). We should be seeking a deeper and deeper relationship with God, but we should not count ourselves out of the game just because we are not always that cheerful when we give.
Perhaps there is a moment in your past that has caused you to become less than cheerful when giving of your time and resources. As I reflect on my own past, I know there were times when people have abused my generosity. These people include pastors, missionaries, friends and even family members. Over time perhaps these “injustices” have caused me to become calloused, which in turn has deprived me of my cheerful attitude. Perhaps you have had similar experiences.