Love Made Her Do It
Matthew 26:6-13
By Harold Dinsmore, M.Div.
© 2008 Harold Dinsmore

Someone once said there are three kinds of givers – the flint, the sponge, and the honeycomb.  To get anything out of the flint, you must hammer it, and then you get only chips and sparks.  To get anything out of the sponge, you must squeeze it, and the more you squeeze it, the more you get.  But the honeycomb just overflows with its own sweetness.

When it comes to giving financially to God’s work, some people are stingy and hard; they do everything in their power to give nothing away if they can help it.  At worst, they’re non-givers, and at best, they’re grudge givers.  They only give if they feel pressed into a corner where their conscience pricks them.  But even when under personal conviction, they still give with great reluctance.  They will never experience the blessings and benefits God promises in Proverbs 11:24-25, to the openly generous man: “One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty.  A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.”  Hard, old flint-type givers seldom water others’ lives, and no wonder their wells run dry.

Sponge givers are basically good natured people, but they only give when external pressure is applied to their hearts.  Appeals for funds have to be applied often and with more and more convincing words of persuasion before they open up their wallets.  Their giving is directly proportional to the pressure applied.  Little pressure, little giving.  More pressure, more giving.  A preacher has to “pour it on” before these people “pour it out”.  They know little or nothing of the spontaneous, generous giving that comes from a heart that loves the Lord and can’t wait to contribute to His Kingdom’s work.  Back in Proverbs 11:26 it says, “People curse the man who hoards grain, but blessing crowns him who is willing to sell.”  It’s a law of life: God blesses and people respect those who give; God and people curse those who choose not to give.