Today St. Paul captures one of the causes for spiritual stagnation in our current culture: we continually put ourselves first. “God loves a cheerful giver” (2Cor 9:7c) he writes. When we give of ourselves, in our service to others and in our almsgiving, we receive much more than we give. We grow deeper in our love of the Lord and in our continuing conversion. Giving of ourselves-talent and finance-are expressions of our love of God and love of neighbor.
Preaching on this passage St. Augustine said, “If you give bread and it makes you sad to do so, you lose both the bread and the reward.” St. John Chrysostom preached that St. Paul puts forth two principles, “in temporal things one should limit oneself to what is necessary; but in spiritual things one should seek as much as possible. Therefore he asks that we should not simply give alms, but give alms generously.”
Living in Love with God 
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