2 Corinthians 8:1-7: in context

Paul holds up the churches of Macedonia as an example of generosity that came from an unexpected place. In a severe test of affliction, he says, their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity. They gave according to their means, and beyond their means, of their own free will, even begging for the privilege of sharing in the gift. And Paul explains the source of it: this was not as we expected, but first they gave themselves to the Lord. Their remarkable generosity flowed from hearts first given wholly to God.

The Macedonians' generosity is striking because of where it came from. They were not wealthy; they gave out of deep poverty. They were not comfortable; they gave in the midst of severe affliction. And they gave not grudgingly but with an abundance of joy, freely, even beyond their means, begging to share. By ordinary reckoning, people in deep poverty and severe affliction would have little to give and little inclination to give it. Yet they gave generously and joyfully. And Paul names the reason: first they gave themselves to the Lord. Their generosity flowed from hearts wholly given to God; because they had given themselves to him, giving their possessions came freely. This reveals the true source of generosity. Generosity does not flow chiefly from abundance; the Macedonians gave out of poverty. Nor does it require comfortable circumstances; they gave in affliction. It flows from a heart given to God. When we have first given ourselves to the Lord, giving our possessions, even out of little, comes freely and joyfully; but when we have not given ourselves to him, we cling to our possessions even out of abundance. The order matters: first they gave themselves to the Lord, and then their generosity flowed. Generosity is a matter of the heart given to God, not of the amount we have. This searches the source of our own giving, and its lack. We may excuse a lack of generosity on the ground that we do not have enough, that our circumstances are hard, that we will give when we have more. The Macedonians, in deep poverty and affliction, gave generously and joyfully, because they had first given themselves to God. The issue is not chiefly how much we have but whether our hearts are given to God; for the heart given to God gives freely even out of little, while the heart not given to him clings even out of abundance. This calls us to the generosity that flows from a heart given to God. The Macedonians gave out of deep poverty and severe affliction, freely and joyfully, because they had first given themselves to the Lord. And we are called to the same: not to wait until we have abundance or comfort to be generous, but to give ourselves first to God, from which generosity flows freely, even out of little. God loves a cheerful giver, Paul says; and the cheerful, free generosity that gives even out of poverty flows from a heart first given wholly to God, so that the way to true generosity is to give ourselves to the Lord, and then to give freely from whatever he has entrusted to us.

Do I excuse a lack of generosity on the ground that I do not have enough or that my circumstances are hard, intending to give when I have more, and can the Macedonians, who gave generously and joyfully out of deep poverty and severe affliction because they had first given themselves to the Lord, teach me that generosity flows not chiefly from abundance but from a heart given to God, moving me to give myself first to the Lord, from which free and joyful generosity flows even out of little?