day no. 16,325: a cheerful giver is a shrewd farmer

"It is not possible for us to be cheerful givers if we think we are dumping perfectly good seed down a gopher hole. But it is more than possible once we discover that soil is fertile. A cheerful giver is actually a shrewd farmer." — Douglas Wilson, A Brief Theology of Christmas Presents

Making good investments is not hard work. It is always easy to plow fertile soil. The work is no less strenuous, mind you, but the reward is more obvious. Hard, unyielding land is tough to work. It not only resists your efforts, but refuses to reward them. The farmer who finds fertile soil, however, has less trouble sowing greater percentages of his seed. He can resist the urge to eat it up now knowing how much more there will be to eat later. He gives up the gratification of a plate of food for the satisfaction of a feast for the extended family.

If God can be mocked, then sowing and giving can be separated. But if God cannot be mocked, then you will reap what you have sown. Your reaping will be in keeping with the quantity and the quality of the seeds you have planted. If you have sown sparingly, you will reap a life with nothing to spare. However, if you sow abundantly, you will reap a life of abundance enough to give away and sow even more.

If you are convinced that your gifts to God and His Kingdom are money poorly spent, you will find yourself spent and poorly equipped to recover. However, if you are convinced that your gifts to God and His Kingdom are deposits well invested, you will find you are personally invested in it and richly equipped to appreciate its increasing production.