“It takes work to give. To pay attention when someone speaks, you must concentrate; to make a donation to a charity, you must not only earn the money but, as a wise giver, you must research the charity before writing the check; to help in the soup kitchen, you must…well, set aside time and help. Often we are simply too comfortable to give; we’d rather play, be entertained, or just plain do nothing…It will come as no surprise then that we need God to better ourselves as givers. If we are good givers to the extent that we echo God’s giving, then only God can reverse the ill effects that selfishness, pride, and sloth have on giving.”
Miroslav Volf in Free of Charge: Giving and Forgiving in a Culture Stripped of Grace (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005) 100.