Certainly that is a just requirement, and it was recognized as such by the apostle Paul. Thus, when encouraging the prosperous Christians at Corinth to make contributions for their needy brothers in Jerusalem, he wrote: “For if the readiness is there first, it is especially acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what a person does not have.

This matter of giving in proportion to what one has might be said to be both a comforting and a heart-searching principle. How so? It is a comforting principle for the Christian who has little to give. As long as what he gives is in proportion to what he has he can be content.