And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others. 9 As the Scriptures say,

“They share freely and give generously to the poor.
    Their good deeds will be remembered forever.” NLT

 God can pour on the blessings in astonishing ways so that you’re ready for anything and everything, more than just ready to do what needs to be done. As one psalmist puts it,

He throws caution to the winds,
    giving to the needy in reckless abandon.
His right-living, right-giving ways
    never run out, never wear out. The Message

As it is written,

“He has distributed freely, he has given to the poor;
    his righteousness endures for ever.” (verse 9, ESVUK)

I heard a story about a pastor who, one day, said to his congregation, ‘The good news is that the Lord has all the money required for…(whatever the project was); the bad news is it’s in your wallets!’

But if we understand this passage correctly, this is not ‘bad news’ at all. It is indeed the best news that we get to be partners with God in giving: to be channels of his blessing to others. As one generous man said to another, when giving a large gift, ‘No need to thank me. I’m just the Lord’s errand boy.’ One of the chief ways that our God gives ”freely” to others is through His people.

The quotation in verse 9 is from Psalm 112:9. It speaks of the person who scatters blessing to the poor, and says their ”righteousness” will last ”for ever.” It doesn’t mean that they are made right with God by the action of giving. They not earning merit. But those who are right with God, through faith, overflow with good deeds that are in some real sense ‘eternal’.

”…the whole poem is a celebration of those who fear and trust the Lord, and in particular of their generosity and merciful behaviour towards their neighbours, particularly the poor. Once again Paul is inviting the Corinthians to step inside the Biblical portrait and discover a whole new identity, not simply to do something strange because he tells them to.’ Tom Wright.