Give Cheerfully Without Hesitation or Outside Pressure
Daily Scripture
2 Corinthians 9:5-7
5 This is why I thought it was necessary to encourage the brothers to go to you ahead of time and arrange in advance the generous gift you have already promised. I want it to be a real gift from you. I don’t want you to feel like you are being forced to give anything. 6 What I mean is this: the one who sows a small number of seeds will also reap a small crop, and the one who sows a generous amount of seeds will also reap a generous crop.
7 Everyone should give whatever they have decided in their heart. They shouldn’t give with hesitation or because of pressure. God loves a cheerful giver.
Daily Reflection & Prayer
As the apostle Paul asked Corinthian Christians to contribute to an offering for believers in Jerusalem, his teaching echoed Proverbs 11:24-25, which said that spiritually (as much as materially) “Those who give generously receive more…. Generous persons will prosper.” Paul cared more about the spirit behind giving than the dollar amount raised.
“God loves a cheerful giver” wasn’t just an upbeat slogan—it was a serious call to examine motivation. “They shouldn’t give with hesitation or because of pressure,” Paul said. He didn’t invent that idea. In Exodus 25:2, God told Moses to receive offerings only “from everyone who freely wants to give.” As Pastor Hamilton wrote, this approach recognized that “we don’t really own anything. God owns it all. As the psalmist wrote, ‘The earth is the LORD’s, and all that is in it’ (Psalm 24:1).” *
- Paul’s generosity toward Jerusalem Christians is remarkable, given that some of them actively opposed him and his message (see Acts 15, Galatians 2:12). Yet he still wanted to help them. Have you ever given reluctantly, from peer pressure or obligation? What was that experience like? Compare it to a time when you gave freely from a grateful heart. How were those experiences different?
- Why would God want you to give from freedom and gratitude rather than coercion? How would you explain to someone why thriving individuals, families, or congregations should care about helping those who are struggling?
Prayer
A daily reminder from Pastor Hamilton: Our hope is that tonight or tomorrow morning, continuing through Christmas, each of you will, either in the morning or at night, take the time to write down three things you are thankful for. You might write these in the form of a thank you letter to God, or simply write down a journal entry.
Prayer: Lord Jesus, you gave generously and extravagantly—coming to earth as an infant, living as our example and Savior. As I grow in making you Lord of my life, deepen my joyful, unforced generosity. Amen.
GPS Insights
Steve Schneeberger
Steve Schneeberger serves as the RezLife Student Ministries Lead Director. He grew up in Overland Park, graduating from Baker University and the University of Kansas. He has led and taught about youth ministry for over 30 years. He is married to Carol, elementary school counselor, and they have three children (Hannah, Bobby and Michael). Steve enjoys running, playing basketball, watching Netflix and reading.
My life changed dramatically when I was ten years old. My dad died suddenly of a brain aneurism. I remember talking with him on the morning of his death while he was sitting on the couch and I was getting ready to leave for school. A normal day. The next day everything was different.
Rarely do we go through such abrupt changes. It is probably why I am not fazed as much by setbacks and lost opportunities. By comparison, every other challenge is doable.
As a result of his death, we moved to Overland Park to be closer to family. We lived in a two-bedroom duplex. My mom found a job as a secretary at United Telephone (the predecessor to Sprint). Our income was modest. I learned what we could afford and what we couldn’t. My mom cried herself to sleep most nights in the first few years after my dad’s death. Everything had changed.
I remember the day my mom returned home from a meeting at church. We attended Valley View UMC (the predecessor to Resurrection Overland Park). She was shocked. She was informed at the meeting that she was among the group of lead donors to the church. She knew we were in stewardship season and this would be another pitch to encourage people to tithe (give 10% of their resources). She just didn’t know that this meeting only included the lead donors and that she was one of them.
I was 15 at the time and this made a lifetime impression on me. At a time when my mom was legitimately mad at God because she was without her husband and when our finances were tight, she made room to be generous. I don’t really know how. She simply did. It was a real gift from her. She is generous in other ways. She smiles easily, invites others into conversation and seeks to connect with people that are seemingly on the outside. She is generous in all things. She turned 98 last month and is still giving generously to her church and the people she meets.
In my lifetime I have wanted to be a lot of things – a good husband, a good father, a good youth director. But above all, I want to be generous like my mom. Wouldn’t it be incredible if we all could?
© 2025 Resurrection: A United Methodist Church. All Rights Reserved.
Scripture quotations are taken from The Common English Bible ©2011. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
References
* Adam Hamilton, Enough: Discovering Joy Through Simplicity and Generosity. Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2009, p. 79.
