Hilarem datorem diligit Deus

Hilarem datorem diligit Deus

That, sadly, is one of the very few phrases I remember from the Latin course I took in high school.  At least it’s not something silly like “The quick brown fox jumped over the lazy dog.”  Oh wait, that was from typing.  Anyway...

I’m sure you’ve heard the saying before: “God loves a cheerful giver.”  It is actually (no surprise here) from a passage in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 about generous giving (the last phrase of verse 7, to be precise).  While this passage is primarily considered to be about monetary gifts, I say that it is really so much more than that!

Is money the only thing we ever give?  No!  We give so much more, whether we realize it or not!  We give our time, we give our resources, and we give our experience, just to name a few.  When we go to church and teach a class or help in the nursery or work on the sound board or even make a pot of coffee, we are giving.  When we go out in the community and volunteer our time at a hospital or nursing home, we are giving.  When we are standing in line at the grocery store with an overflowing buggy and let the tired and harried looking young woman who walks up behind us with a baby on her hip and two more children behind her take her one pack of diapers and check out ahead of us, we are giving.

WHAT we give is not the point.  HOW we give it is.  If we do it with neon lights, making sure that everybody sees what a great thing we’re doing, then we are doing it to honor ourselves.  It is not truly intended to help the other person, but to make ourselves look good.  When we seek to honor ourselves, there is no space left to honor God.

Another name for this “giving” is “service.”  When we give of ourselves, we are serving.  This service how we show God’s love to those around us, sometimes without even saying a word.

So get out there, look at those around you at home, at church, and in the community, and ask yourself, “What would God have me do to serve this person?”

Do it quietly.

Do it with joy.