What happens when we steward our treasure the way God instructs? Preaching from 2 Corinthians 9:6-14, John Piper outlines a few results of sowing bountifully (Source):
“Harvest Rest” by George Cole, 1865
From “He Who Sows Bountifully Will Reap Bountifully”
What is the harvest of our righteousness? What does the harvest of our sowing look like when it begins to come in? I see at least four aspects of this bountiful harvest that come in when we sow bountifully.
1. Even Greater Ability to Be Generous
The first two are mentioned in verse 11: “You will be enriched in every way for great generosity.” That’s the first aspect of the harvest: namely, an even greater ability to be generous. The more you give, the more you will be able to give. And if it is more blessed to give than to receive, you can see what a harvest of joy this will mean.
2. More Thanks to God
Verse 11 goes on, ” . . . great generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.” The second aspect of the harvest that comes from generous sowing is that God gets more thanks. Verse 13 says the same thing. The different versions handle the difficult Greek differently but the one thing they all agree on is that God gets glory or praise because of our generosity, our obedience to the gospel. RSV: “Under the test of this service, you [or: they] will glorify God by your obedience in acknowledging the gospel of Christ, and by the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others.”
God gets glory when his people give generously? Why? Doesn’t the Giver get the glory? Exactly! The Giver gets the glory! And the people who sow most bountifully display most vividly that their God is an inexhaustible Giver.
3. The Joy of Seeing God Meet His People’s Needs
The third aspect of the harvest that comes from our sowing is mentioned in verse 12: “The rendering of this service not only supplies the wants of the saints but also overflows in many thanksgivings to God.” The third aspect of our harvest is the joy of seeing the needs of God’s people met.
4. Affection and Love Among God’s People
The final aspect of the harvest that comes in when we sow bountifully is the affection and love of God’s people. It’s mentioned in verse 14. The people who benefit from your sowing “long for you and pray for you, because of the surpassing grace of God in you.”
“Peasant Family at the Table” by Jozef_Israëls, 1882
Everybody wants to be loved by other people. Everybody wants to be needed by other people. Everybody wants to be desired and longed for by other people. I want to be loved and needed and longed for and prayed for. And like verse 14 says, I want that to be “because of the surpassing grace of God in me.” Why? Because the grace-Giver gets the glory.
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As we discovered when examining the stewardship of time and talent, God’s truth is often made evident to those studying these concepts from a secular worldview as well. Watch this TED Talk, in which the speaker describes a research project examining the effects of spending on happiness.
