"But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver." (2 Cor. 9:6-7)

Author Thomas Carlyle tells how, when he was a boy, a beggar came to the door. His parents were out and he was alone in the house. On a boyish impulse, he broke into his own savings bank and gave the beggar all that was in it, and he tells us that never before, or since, did he know such sheer happiness as came to him in that moment. (From Illustrations Unlimited, by James S. Hewett, p. 240)

Indeed, there is joy in giving, knowing that God appreciates the one who gives willingly and cheerfully.