We preach about generosity pretty often at the Summit. I’m unapologetic about that fact. After all, Jesus talked about money all the time. He talked about money more than heaven and hell. More than prayer. More than faith. Jesus knew what most of us try to ignore—that money acts as a persistent idol, so it’s worth uprooting as often as possible.

Whenever we bring up generosity, people instinctively resist. They think we’re just trying to raise money for our newest capital campaign. (And often, that resistance is warranted, coming from a history of religious leaders doing precisely that!) But I say this every time I teach on money, and I mean it: We don’t talk about generosity because we’re trying to meet financial needs. God owns the cattle on a thousand hills (Psalm 50:10). He isn’t short on resources. I fully trust that God will accomplish his work on earth, and he’s not wringing his hands in heaven, wishing he had just a little more capital to get it done.

But that raises the question: If talking about generosity is not primarily about collecting money to meet needs … what is it about?

In 2 Corinthians 8, Paul identifies three reasons he wants the Corinthians to be generous. And it’s telling that none of these have anything to do with meeting Paul’s personal needs. Those three motivations are grace, joy, and follow-through.

Generosity Motivation 1: Grace

First, Paul is concerned that the Corinthians have grace (2 Corinthians 8:7, 9).

In verses 7 and 9, Paul writes, “But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also. … For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (ESV). Grace toward others is the right response to experiencing the grace of God toward you.

I learned this recently, and it blew my mind: In 2 Corinthians 8–9, Paul never uses the word for “money.” Not once. But over and over again, he uses the word “grace.” Why? Because generosity isn’t really about money. It’s a response to grace. Paul is talking about the kind of instinctive generosity that grace creates in the hearts of all who experience it. So to encourage generosity, Paul doesn’t say, “Look how great the need is!” Nor does he say, “God really wants you to do this!”

Nope: Instead, Paul encourages the Corinthians to think about God’s generosity toward them—and to think about where they’d be had he not poured out his life and all these riches for them. Once you let grace wash over you, it’ll change everything, including your wallet.

Generosity Motivation 2: Joy

Second, Paul is concerned that the Corinthians have joy (2 Corinthians 8:1–2).

Paul writes about how the Macedonian churches were in a test of severe affliction, yet somehow still abounded in joy and overflowed in a wealth of generosity. Their extreme poverty didn’t keep them from being generous; it catalyzed it—so much so that they had “an abundance of joy.”

I’m just going to say it straight: You probably don’t believe that you can be happy without money. You don’t. You say that the best things in life can’t be bought with money. You say that the good life isn’t about an amount in your bank account. But you don’t live like it. You hustle and grind and scrape and save. You daydream about better vacations. You think about how much easier things would be if you could just get a little more in your savings account. And all of that shows that you think an abundance of joy is the result of an abundance of possessions.

I don’t mean to heap shame on you. I’m just drawing out what’s in your heart. And I know because it’s in my heart too. I need Paul’s reminder, every day, of the Macedonians—a group of believers who were poor and generous AND happy. True joy has literally nothing to do with a dollar amount.

Generosity Motivation 3: Follow-through

Third, Paul is concerned that the Corinthians have follow-through (2 Corinthians 8:6, 10–11).

Paul knows that when it comes to growing in this grace in particular, it’s easy to start with good intentions but never actually go through with them. He says it’s not the intention to be generous that brings the benefit (or blessing) to you; it’s the follow-through. Resolving to be generous does nothing for you.

Some of you have committed to investing more in the kingdom of God, but you haven’t acted on it. To which Paul would say, “Well, it’s time to actually get out your budget and do this thing.” Does that sound mundane and unspiritual? It’s not. An emotional response in a sermon doesn’t do anything for you. You have to (1) make a plan and (2) act on that plan, preferably at the beginning of each month.

True generosity teaches our hearts what comes first: Ours is a God who gets the first and the best, not our leftovers. Generosity also gives us a chance to trust God, to tangibly lean our weight on him. Generosity, you see, is ultimately not a financial test, but a trust test. It reveals what—or who—we think will make tomorrow okay.

And I get it: In an unstable economy, it’s not easy to be generous. Who knows what’s going to happen next? Your premiums might jump up. You might get laid off. All of that is real. But you know what else is real? The provision and kindness of our God.

Generosity is not a declaration of confidence in your financial future. It’s not a gamble on a secure and stable economy. No: Generosity is a declaration of confidence in a God bigger than your financial future and more stable than the stablest economy.

Grace, joy, and follow-through. This is what drove generosity in Paul’s day. It’s what drives generosity in our hearts too. Where do you need to start, today?

J.D. Greear is the pastor of The Summit Church, in Raleigh-Durham, North Carolina. He leads the Summit in a bold vision to plant one thousand new churches by the year 2050. Pastor J.D. completed his Ph.D. in Theology at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. He has served as a member of the Board of Directors of Chick-fil-A since January 2022 and recently served as the 62nd president of the Southern Baptist Convention. Pastor J.D. and his wife Veronica are raising four awesome kids: Kharis, Alethia, Ryah, and Adon. This article has been republished with permission from the J.D. Greear website and is under copyright law. It may not be republished without express written consent by J.D. Greear Ministries Team. J.D. Greear is the author of 27 Books including his newest book, Everyday Revolutionary: How to Transcend the Culture War and Transform the World.

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