‘It’s going to be so much fun giving it away.’ So said Frances Connolly reflecting on the £115m fortune she has just won on the EuroMillions lottery. Her husband added, ‘Money doesn’t bring you happiness. We already had happiness and were very blessed in life.’ The couple have already drawn up a list of 50 people with whom they want to share the money.
I’ve no idea whether the Connollys are Christians but I’ve no doubt St Paul would be delighted with their attitude. In a letter to the church in Corinth he urged that ‘each person should give what they have decided in their heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.’ Perhaps surprisingly Paul was not giving this advice to those who were rich but rather to those who were poor, and he does so because, as he reminds the church, ‘God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.’
How different the world might be if we all knew the truth of Paul’s words and lived lives of cheerful giving, knowing that we have a generous Heavenly Father who loves to give to us.