God loves a cheerful giver...

...not one who has been manipulated or coerced

Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

2 Cor. 9:6-7 (NASB)

So often verses like 2 Cor. 6 are taken out of context in order to pressure people into giving. Any leader or congregant attempting to use God's word to coerce others into making offerings is violating that very word they claim they seek to uphold. God wants people to give of their own volition, not because someone else is guilting them into it.

Even from Old Testament times, God's command was that He wanted offerings only from those who gave willingly. The tabernacle was built with such offerings, and this is how God requested them of Moses:

“From what you have, take an offering for the Lord. Everyone who is willing to bring to the Lord an offering of gold, silver, and bronze...” - Exodus 35:5-6 (NIV - the list of items continued in the following verses)

Even the word “offering” should in itself tell us this. Yes so many are manipulated into giving, oftentimes even beyond what they can afford. This too violates God's word:

“For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.” - 2 Cor.8:12

Giving is to be according to what we have, not what we don't have. There are three very specific reasons behind God's desire for us to give.

First, the original reason for the tithe, was to support God's work. In the Old Testament, a portion of every offering (including the tithe) went to support the Levitical priests, who had no inheritance in the land (Num. 18:21-24 - there is much more to be said about the tithe, but that is a separate discussion ). Their work was in the tabernacle, and they had no other means of sustenance. In the New Testament, this often translates to sharing with those who are doing God's work of preaching the word (1 Cor. 9:13-14; Gal. 6:6; 1 Tim. 5:17-18).

Second, giving is a way to remember from whom all we have has come. God wants our focus on Him, not in earthly treasure. This is why we're told, “No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth” (Mt. 6:24) and, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves do not break in or steal; for where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Mt. 6:19-21)

Lastly, giving is supposed to help support the widows, orphans, and poor among us. This is specifically about what Paul was worrying when he addressed the Corinthians. They had made a promise to send assistance to the poor among the saints in Jerusalem, and Paul wanted them to fulfill their promise, but only willingly.

Do not be deceived, manipulated, or coerced into giving. Give because you love the Lord, you love God's people, and you recognize that all you have belongs to God. If our heart is in the right place, we will give willingly and our giving will be acceptable to the Lord.