2 Corinthians 8.16-21

¹⁶ Thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. ¹⁷ For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. ¹⁸ And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. ¹⁹ What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. ²⁰ We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. ²¹ For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of others.

The pastor asked us to reach down under our chair. Certain chairs – five of them – contained an envelope with a one hundred dollar bill inside. I was one of the fortunate ones. Now that c-note came with one stipulation. We were to pass it on to someone who had a need. The only thing that the recipient was to know was that the money was a gift from God. For two weeks I prayed about and fretted about how to best use that $100. I could give it to a homeless shelter. The need was there, and it would be pretty easy. It would make a really good tip at a local restaurant (and what waitress doesn’t need a bonus from God). I really wanted to make sure that the gift was used in a way that the congregation intended and in a way that God was glorified.

In today’s passage, Titus is one of the carriers of a cash gift. Paul and the others were concerned that they handle this endeavor with integrity. They took pains to do what was right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men.

Today, look for a chance to give a blessing (financial or otherwise) in a way that will honor the Lord. (vs. 19).