[Steve Myers] It's often been said, "There's two ways of life, one to get, one to give." Well, what kind of giver are you?

There's a passage of scripture that probably comes to mind when we think about giving. It' s over in Second Corinthians. Second Corinthians 9:7 is kind of a famous scripture that talks about giving. And when we pay our tithes, we give our offerings, perhaps we've heard this particular passage oftentimes. It says, "So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity, for God loves a cheerful giver." So I have to ask myself, "Am I really a cheerful giver?"

What does it mean to give cheerfully? I mean, obviously, in this passage, we don't give haphazardly. I've got to recognize this and purpose in my heart so that I'm not reluctant, that it's not something that's forced out of me. So, in a sense, giving has to be done cheerfully or we really shouldn't do it at all. It's really pointless without that cheerful aspect.

And so, when you think of cheerful, what comes to mind? Well, the Greek word here is the word hilaros. Hilaros is the Greek word here. And if you looked it up in Vine's Expository Dictionary, it says it signifies a readiness of mind and joyousness which is prompt to do anything, hence cheerful. So you're ready to give. You're ready to give. But I think there's another connection that really brings out some of the meaning of this word.

Does this look familiar at all when you think of English? Our English word, hilarious, is related to this Greek word for cheerful. Are you a hilarious giver? When you think of hilarious, I mean, this is just overwhelmingly fun. This is amusing. This is something that we're just overcome with joy. That's the kind of giver that God wants us to be, a cheerful giver, one who really enjoys it, can't wait to give, looking forward to it with great, great anticipation and great joy. That's the kind of giver that God really wants us to be. So I need to be a responsible giver, no doubt about that, but I need to strive to be the kind of giver where I give out of my heart and it's overflowing with the same kind of generosity that God gives to all of us.

That's BT Daily. We'll see you next time.