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If you’ve ever been ripped off, you never forget it. You can’t believe how gullible you were, and, at first, you don’t want to tell anyone. Eventually, however, you become more willing to share your story. You may even be able to laugh about it!

Cynthia and I laugh about something that happened to us as newlyweds. We had nothing. I mean, nothing! I was a machinist’s apprentice, and she wasn’t working. We were living on love—which means we were starving.

Along came this guy in a striped three-piece suit who looked like he had just stepped off Wall Street. He had a brochure that was shiny as chrome, and his presentation was flawless. He was selling stock that he said was certain to make us rich.

Well, we fell for his pitch, and somehow, we scraped together $600 to invest. We even talked people in the church into investing…never do that! We were going to make millions, because that’s what his brochure said! Only one problem. The whole thing was bogus. He took our money and ran. The guy was as crooked as a dog’s hind leg, and we never saw him again.

We lost $600, but we learned a million-dollar lesson. It’s easy to get ripped off in temporal investments…but it’s impossible to be ripped off in eternal investments.

Isn’t that great? Earthly investments are always risky. But you never have to worry about being cheated if you invest in eternal things. The rewards—backed by God Himself—always eclipse the sacrifice, and we don’t have to wait until heaven to enjoy them. The seeds we plant now produce a bountiful inner harvest of gratification, fulfilment, satisfaction, and joy.

Paul made this point to the believers in Corinth:

Remember this—a farmer who plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But the one who plants generously will get a generous crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to pressure. “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6–7)

The word for cheerfully comes from a Greek word from which we get the word hilarious. God loves it when we give with hilarity—with so much joy we start laughing!

I can’t think of a better example of a hilarious giver than my wife, Cynthia.

One Christmas she surprised us in the family by giving us matching bathrobes, each one with his or her name monogrammed on the front. She had the most fun of everyone! She brought the gifts in and set each one on the right lap. She told us not to open them until everyone was ready…then, “Go!”

I deliberately watched Cynthia as one after another opened the package and shouted. She was dancing and laughing and clapping and jumping up and down! Then she had all of us put them on at the same time and “model” them, with hoods on and hands in pockets.

By the time we finished, we looked like a roomful of monks, embracing each other and having the time of our lives. But nobody experienced more joy than the one who thought up the idea, pulled it off, then relished in the sheer pleasure of watching others take delight in her gift to each member of the family.¹

She is a living, loving, laughing embodiment of the truth of Jesus’ words:

It is more blessed to give than to receive.(Acts 20:35)

Where does the joy of giving come from? Not from compulsion. No one twists Cynthia’s arm to make her give. Her generosity bubbles up from within her like soda from a shaken bottle and gushes out in sheer delight. Generosity springs from the heart.

The Israelites gave from their hearts. After the Lord led them out of Egypt, He spoke through Moses and asked them to contribute gold, silver, bronze, precious gems, acacia wood, spices, and fabrics to build a tabernacle in which to worship Him.

They had never seen a “tabernacle” before. They had no idea what one looked like! They just knew it would be the place where the light of God’s glory would shine and where God would dwell among His people.

The Lord told Moses: “Accept the contributions from all whose hearts are moved to offer them” (Exodus 25:2). The Lord didn’t want Moses to pry donations from the fists of begrudging givers. He desired the people to give out of their love for Him and their desire to worship Him. What was the result?

All whose hearts were stirred and whose spirits were moved came and brought their sacred offerings to the Lord. They brought all the materials needed for the Tabernacle. (35:21)

The gifts kept coming and coming and coming! They gave out of the abundance of their devotion. Through giving, they worshipped. The Israelites weren’t trying to repay God for the gifts He had given them. They couldn’t. No one can give back to God anything equal to His blessings. We can’t give what God gives, but we can give like He gives—with hearts of joy.

When we give out of obligation motivated by guilt, our giving is mechanical and cheerless. However, once God’s style of giving gets into our bloodstream, we develop an appetite for giving—an infectious, overflowing joy that bubbles up in generosity.

The Israelites gave so much, Moses had to tell them to stop! Every morning, they kept bringing additional gifts to the workers who were building the tabernacle. Finally, the workers told Moses, “The people have given more than enough materials to complete the job!” (36:5).

Moses had to command the people not to give anymore—“Men and women, don’t prepare any more gifts for the sanctuary. We have enough!” (36:6).

When God stirs our hearts to give, logic flies out the window, and facts and figures don’t matter. Let me tell you something: fancy brochures don’t stir hearts. God stirs hearts. When He showers our lives with His grace and love, we give to others out of the overflow—and joy follows. Eternal investments always pay off.

Losing money on a get-rich-quick scheme taught Cynthia and me some valuable lessons about investing in things that are eternal.

Let me leave you with four principles we gleaned:

• First, generosity helps us keep a healthy balance so that we don’t just accumulate blessings, we give them as well.
• Second, when we give with joy, we emulate the generous grace of Jesus Christ who offered Himself not out of obligation but out of joy (Hebrews 12:2).
• Third, generosity counteracts selfishness and covetousness. Generosity loosens greed’s grip.
• Fourth, we become increasingly more generous the more we give. Giving prompts more giving, and the joy multiplies!

I’m glad we learned these principles when we were young, because they showed us early in life God’s way to experience real joy.

Why don’t you ask the Lord to help you experience joy in generosity right now? Thank Him for His Son. Thank Him for giving you the most precious of all gifts and countless blessings beyond description. Ask Him to stir in your heart a generous spirit and to help you give like He gives, with genuine love and boundless joy. Close your prayer to the Giver in the name of His Gift, Jesus. Amen!

Content adapted by Insight for Living staff from the original transcripts of Charles R. Swindoll’s sermons, “Generosity—Willing Hearts, Stirred Within,” Copyright © 2018, “Investing in Things Eternal… Being Blessed,” Copyright © 2018, and “The Charming Joy of Grace Giving,” Copyright © 2013 by Charles R. Swindoll, Inc. All rights reserved worldwide.

 ¹This story is taken from Charles R. Swindoll, The Grace Awakening (Dallas: Word, 1990), 262.