The Cheerful Giver

How would you feel if somebody described you as a generous person?

Most of us would feel pretty good about it. We warm to people who are generous, so we very much like being thought of as generous ourselves. Yet most of us also know how difficult it is to actually be generous.

In this short book, Des Smith shows how the Bible—and the life-changing gospel of Jesus Christ that it declares—teaches us to live generous lives. Importantly, he answers the three questions that get to the heart of generosity:

• Why give?
• How much should we give?
• Who should we give to?

The goal of The Cheerful Giver is to help you enjoy a big life, a noble life, a generous life—because you’re made in the image of a big, noble, and generous God.

• Introduction
• 1. Why should we give?
• 2. How much should we give?
• 3. Who should we give to?
• 4. What next?

Des Smith is married to Suzie and they have four children. Des is the pastor at Trinity Church Lockleys, Adelaide, and has written several studies in the Interactive Bible Study and Pathway Bible Guide series for Matthias Media.

Lots of pastors find it hard to talk about money and giving. Christians feel awkward when the topic gets raised. Here is a gem of a book that takes us to the heart of what the Bible says about money and generosity. But it doesn’t stop there. Des Smith is, at heart, a pastor—so he insightfully lands what the Bible says to shape our motivations and practice. This is a very positive tool in a culture where love of money is a huge issue.

—Paul Harrington, Senior Pastor, Trinity Network of Churches, Adelaide

I’ve had the privilege being involved in the production of a number of resources that encourage Christians to be generous and train gospel workers to raise support. It is a big topic. The Cheerful Giver is like the ‘Blinklist’ or ‘Sparknotes’ book that summarizes the Bible’s teaching brilliantly. It has a beautifully simple structure. The first three (of four) chapters ask three key questions: “Why should we give?”, “How much should we give?” and “Who should we give to?” Simple. The Cheerful Giver took me 65 minutes to read. How good is that? Jesus Christ’s generosity is marvelled at throughout. The points made from Scripture are faithful and true. The illustrations are superb. And Des ends the book by explaining how he and his family organize their own financial giving.

As an aside, Des has done some stand-up comedy … so the book is quite fun to read. And in it I learnt that God is “flahoolick”. You’ll have to buy the book to find out what that means!

I wholeheartedly commend The Cheerful Giver.

—Ben Pfahlert, National Director, Ministry Training Strategy, Sydney

There are three reasons why this book is so helpful and why I hope it finds its way into every Christian’s hands in Australia. First, before it takes you anywhere, it takes you back to the overflowing generosity of God to us in Jesus. Second, without being simplistic or shying away from hard questions, this book will help anyone understand how to order their priorities in line with God’s. Third, this book is so engaging and easy to read that anyone can pick it up and consider what flahoolick generosity might look like for them.

—Derek Hanna, Director of Church Planting, Reach Australia Network