Giving is not natural to sinful human beings except where we have a personal interest, or to the people we love. By definition, sinfulness places self in the centre and keeps the best for ourselves. That is why we must be taught to share and give. The church in Corinth was no exception. Although they were still spiritually immature, God had made them holy to Himself (1 Corinthians 1:2), and they had many spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 1:4-7). But they did not naturally give to the Lord, or His people.

The previous year, Titus had gone to Corinth to teach about the need to give, and the church was eager to give a little, but after that nothing happened (2 Corinthians 8:10). Paul was concerned that they were going back on what they had promised. That would not only have deprived the beneficiaries of much needed support, but would have damaged the believers: their spiritual growth would have been stunted.

The church loved to worship together and to use the spiritual gifts God had given to them (1 Corinthians 12:7-11). They were eager for more of God but they lacked love (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). It is love which urges us to give. That was the motivation for God sending Jesus to be our Saviour (1 John 4:10) and it is the motivation for every follower of Jesus to sacrifice their own interests for others (John 15:13). But there was still an inner struggle – they loved God but did not want to give more than the minimum. That is why Paul was sending Titus back to Corinth, to challenge the reality of their love and encourage them to give.

It is still a sad statistic that churches will give far more to their own churches, and send money back to their own families and cultures, than give to mission. But God sent Jesus from heaven to an unwelcoming world in order that people who had alienated themselves against Him might have life (John 1:11). He is a giving, missionary God. And yet most of us are glad to receive what He gives and resist the call to give sacrificially to support His mission in the world. Something is wrong. If there is love, it is immature, and we need to be taught that it is more blessed to give than to receive (Acts 20:35). It is not enough to give a little to salve our conscience. We need to look to the Lord, realise how much He loves us, and then ask Him what He wants us to give. Then we need to do it. As James said, faith without action is meaningless (James 2:14-26).