In 2 Cor 9:7, the author asserts God loves a cheerful giver.
The word “cheerful” is from hilaros (i?????)-(ilaron from the same as hileós ????? (showing mercy, favor, open to forgive). Hilaros: propitious or merry, prompt or willing, a giver, lover in a social or moral sense (biblehub.com). It includes without grudging (biblestudytools.com)
As we welcome the birth of Jesus, joy is the theme. Yet in the life of Jesus we are not told very much about Jesus being joyful or cheerful in his life. Rather his mission to humans seems to weigh on him. Yet if we look closer we can find cheerful giving in Jesus’ example.
Jesus spends his time with people giving. He gives healing, counsel, discernment, wisdom. He is criticized for spending time with people who are having a good time. In my view because they are without pretense. They are not concerned with how they seem to others but rather enjoy the companionship and good times with friends and family.
In my view, Jesus gives out of compassion but also out of connection with the people he loves. In my life, I have examined the motives for giving and how it can become compulsive and far from cheerful.
Conditioned as a woman to serve, too often women are not giving a choice whether to give or not. In fact, mothers don’t seem to have the option to not give since their children are dependent on them. Yet outside of family duties, women are too often conscribed within giving as the only area of operation. They are not allowed to say “no” to others and “yes” to their needs. Required giving does not yield cheerfulness, but can become a burden.
But Jesus did not show this example. He went apart to replenish his energy. He told people “no” even if they didn’t want to hear it when conditions warranted. The parable of the Ten Wise and Foolish Virgins in Matthew 25 even claims that the kingdom of heaven is like the virgins who would not share what could not be replenished and was vital to them.
Today giving can be detached from cheerfulness or compassion. People-pleasing can create an idea of compulsive giving to earn favor or worth. Giving can come with expectations, which can lead to resentments. Authenticity or personal honesty can be abandoned out of concern for social status or image, then the gift can become begrudged.
Immaterial gifts are not as subject to such misuse, since they are often more closely connected to the heart. Still, service can be done in the name of giving yet yield the same resentments. We have all known the “martyr,” who pretends not to have any needs but whose emotional blackmail holds those who care about them hostage.
This season, a gift of cheerful giving is refreshing. Giving for the joy of blessing someone else because we care, we love seeing them happy, applied to both material and more so to immaterial gifts. The cup of tea with someone in grief, childcare for a harried new mother, advocating for justice, these are some of the compassionate gifts that lift both the giver and the receiver.
I smile remembering the “coupons” my young children would give me when we had very little at Christmas time. A back rub, doing dishes more than their time that week, an hour of quiet- these were priceless. There was a Small Santa shop at a local mall where children could buy their gifts for a quarter or a dollar. I still cherish my mug they got me that was slanted, yet proclaimed “No one’s perfect, except my mom.”
We know in our hearts the gifts that cheer us to give. God loves a cheerful giver, someone gracious, merciful, willing to forgive, showing favor, and free given from an abundance of love.