Q3. Your Store of Seed

[WinstonY]

The purpose of God increasing your "store of seed is to enable to give more generously to those who need the help. Those needy exist both in our own community and around the world. Jesus was always concerned about these unfortunate. Paul writes And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.” (9:8)

Greed and generosity are opposites. Greed is about self. Generosity is about others.

God promises to supply and increase your store of seed and enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.

Paul in these verses is drawing on the old testament for inspiration and guidance. Here he makes use of isaiah 55.lo and Hosea lo.12.these speak to the bounty of God

[lighthouse2014]

Q3. (2 Corinthians 9:10-11) According to these verses, what is the purpose of God increasing your “store of seed”? How do greed and generosity differ from each other? What is God’s promise here to generous givers?

According to 2 Corinthians 9:10-11, the verse describes God increasing our store of seed for the purpose of his Kingdom. With our faith in giving abundantly and with a cheerful heart, the Lord said he will increase our store house so we can give more to further His Kingdom.

Greed and generosity differ from each other by the fact that through greed, we we want to increase our wealth, keeping everything for ourselves, increasing our own material prosperity. Generosity, the opposite of greed, is one that has been blessed by the Lord, because he has out of the abundance of the heart gives all to further God's word and his Kingdom.

God's promise to a generous giver in Luke 6:38, "Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For the measure you use, it will be measured to you."   

[Krissi]

I love these questions! They get at the crux of issues that have been bothering me for months. 

God gives some people more than they need. He does so so that they give it away. To those who have much, much is required, and in this case, generosity is required. The wealthy have a greater burden than the poor -- the burden of giving away that which they may want for themselves. They have to give it anonymously, generously and wisely. 

Here, however, it sounds like God will bless all generous believers with more than is needed. The key is being generous. The opposite of generosity is greed. Miserliness. The image of Scrooge counting his coins ...

I'm getting to that later middle-age stage of life when my friends are all talking about their future retirement "nest eggs." What these passages suggest, however, is that we do NOT have these nest-eggs, but rather give them away in faith that God will provide for our needs AND multiply what we have. 

This requires a mature faith, which a mature-in-age person should have. It requires that we hold God to His promises to provide for us, minimally, as well as multiply our savings so we can give more away. Lighthouse2014 above quotes Luke: "for with the measure you use, it will be measured to you." I pray to use a big measure. I pray for great wealth to give away. I pray to be a blessing to others, including my own family but not exclusively so. I pray to not cling. To not be insecure. To step out in faith and trust God to supply my needs and more. 

"Lord, I have been a generous giver ... to my detriment. Yet, my needs have been taken care of. All of them. I pray, then, that you honor your promise to increase my store of seed so I can live simply and give more away. Give me more, Jesus, so I can give more. Fill my storehouse.  Amen."