“Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means”
This is great advice. We’ve all heard in one form or another. “Finish what you started”. “Do what you say you’re going to do”. This advice was also a big part of Jesus’ teaching. He had a strong emphasis on integrity, being true to your word, not falling into hypocrisy.
Paul adds “according to your means.” This alludes to the biblical teaching of percentage giving. When God asks for a tithe, it implies that if one has no income, then there’s nothing from which to tithe. God’s desire is always to lead us to sacrificial giving, but not impoverishment.
Paul then speaks to attitude. “For if the willingness is there . . . . .”
Am I willing or am I resistant. This is a wonderful heart test for each of us. If I sense reluctance, unwillingness or resistance in myself, then I know that God has some work to do in my heart. If I have a genuinely willing heart, I can rejoice that God’s Spirit is bearing fruit within me.
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