Giving and Receiving Blessings
With the rising gas prices - did you hear about the recent gas giveaways in Chicago? Businessman Willie Wilson did a couple where he gave away $1.2 million dollars worth of gas. There were also several large Churches in the area who had their own events and helped over seven hundred drivers. Free gas? Yes, please!
We love it when people are generous with us - but, are we as equally excited about being generous with others? With skyrocketing inflation and climbing interest rates - yes, the preacher is again talking about money. Because - our relationship with money and things is a spiritual issue. When things are going good and we have a bit of a cushion - it's easier to be generous. But what about now when everything costs more and things are so uncertain?
I don't know what you give in the offering plate, or what you give to charities, or what you give to family, or any poor person in need - but you do. And how generous you are, or aren't - it can certainly give you an indication of where you place your trust - in God, or in money and things. And having money and things is not evil in itself - but money and things do have more of a hold on us than we'd like to admit.
For your spiritual benefit - I want to again encourage you to be generous. And according to the Bible...
I. Generosity brings joy
When someone in need is blessed by an act of generosity, the giver is also blessed. And I want us to look at an account from scripture that demonstrates that idea. In this passage the Apostle Paul was writing to the Church in the city of Corinth. Paul had been taking up an offering for the poor in Jerusalem who were in extreme need because of war, famine and persecution. And Paul shared this with the Church in 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 (NIV)...
And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. (2) Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. (3) For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability.
Entirely on their own, (4) they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. (5) And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God's will.
Here was a group of Christians who were dealing with hard times of their own. They didn't have a surplus of resources, in fact they were in need themselves. But because of the joy they had from understanding how blessed they were through Jesus - they insisted on giving. They pleaded with Paul to take some of the little they had and share it with their brothers and sisters in Jerusalem.
Joy and generosity go hand in hand. These believers were joyful despite their circumstances and responded in generosity, which in turn led to more joy. It's counter intuitive to the way the world sees things. Rather than seeing themselves as poor - they saw themselves as extremely blessed and they couldn't help but share what they had. This group of believers understood that their relationship to money and things, their generosity had to be based - not on self preservation, but on...
A. Self sacrifice
They were more interested in being a blessing to their brothers and sisters than they were in their own personal well being. That's not always the typical attitude - but that was the example that Paul was holding up. I think that's one of the hardest things to do in practice on a regular basis. We can all put aside our needs for a little while and do something selfless - but obeying that command on a daily basis is harder. But just imagine what a difference that would make if Christians really lived that out. Imagine how people would view Christianity differently if all Christians consistently lived like that...?
And let's continue on in this passage...
2 Corinthians 8:6-7 (NIV)
So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part. (7) But just as you excel in everything - in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us - see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
What if we always gave of ourselves, our time and resources in that kind of way? And this is not about advocating some sort of 'communal ownership' or political philosophy. This is about private charity - this is about intentional, personal, willing generosity. It's looking out for the interests of others, not out of obligation, but based on love. It's a sacrificial love. It's putting your relationship with people first - even over your own 'rights' to your personal property.
We do this sort of thing all the time as parents or grandparents. Don't I have a right to my own food which I purchase with my own money? Yes - but I share it with my kids because I love them. (Now admittedly, I do have one drawer in the fridge where I 'hide' a little, otherwise I wouldn't get any with all of my hungry monkeys...)
But of course we share with our kids, it just makes sense - but why does that kind of sacrificial giving stop there? 'Well I can't afford to feed everybody's kids.' You're right - you can't. And that's not what Jesus is asking us. But He is asking us to respond with generosity in personal situations in which you are involved.
And this kind of generosity with the poor, with the Church, with charities, even with people who are not always so nice to us - this kind of selfless generosity won't happen based solely out of a sense of obligation. This kind of generosity is based on love! You see, this generosity comes from...
B. Grace, not the law
All the way back in the Old Testament, the concept of a tithe was established in the religious law. It was a command that the first 10% of everything you earned, owned or received belonged to God. The law said to give it to God because it was His in the first place. It really wasn't an act of love - it was simply giving God what was His. In essence, you couldn't even give an offering until you had fulfilled that first ten percent. Anything beyond 10% was then counted as a gift, as an offering.
Now we are no longer under Old Testament Law - but if we continually struggle with God over how much we have to give, what might that say about your relationship with money and things compared to your relationship with God and people? Paul understood this New Testament concept, when he wrote, continuing in 2 Corinthians 8:8-10 (NIV)...
I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others. (9) For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. (10) And here is my advice about what is best for you in this matter: Last year you were the first not only to give but also to have the desire to do so.
Sacrificial giving, being generous is not out of a sense of 'have to' - but like the Macedonian Christians, we get the opportunity to be generous because of God's love. It's not about checking off - 'well, I gave to the Church, I gave to a mission and I gave to the poor - it all equals ten percent, I'm done'. Being generous is about looking for ways to go beyond an obligation. Christians should be generous because...
II. Generosity brings freedom
Have you ever seen any of those hoarding TV shows? People have stuff piled from floor to ceiling, and in many cases their 'stuff' is quite literally killing them. They need to be 'set free' from their massive collections of 'stuff'. And nobody starts out saying, 'you know what? I think I'll become a hoarder. I really want to live in a house of squalor.'
Now I don't consider myself a hoarder - but I certainly have a lot of stuff compared to those early Christians in Macedonia. I have plenty of food, plenty of clothing, a garage and closets full of stuff. I'm guessing I've got a lot compared to many Christians in Ukraine... So I need to remember Jesus' words from Matthew 6:24-34 (NIV)...
No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money. (25) Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes? (26) Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them.
Are you not much more valuable than they? (27) Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ? (28) And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. (29) Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. (30) If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
(31) So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' (32) For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. (33) But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. (34) Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.
And some are tempted to respond, 'But Jesus just doesn't understand how complicated our modern lives are. They lived in much simpler times back then.' Really? Jesus doesn't understand? I'm not suggesting that we get rid of all our technology and gadgets and appliances and go live in a cave to the neglect of our families and obligations. But - based on that passage - we do need to constantly evaluate how much of a hold money and things do have on us.
I understand that what Jesus is telling us to do is hard - but think of the freedom that would come if we could actually learn to live like Jesus is describing. And maybe I should say, it's not just hard - it's almost impossible with today's demands and society. But fortunately, God specializes in the impossible.
When I'm trying to figure out how to pay all the bills - I don't always feel like being generous. When my wallet is very thin - I don't always feel like putting others' needs first. But do I trust God enough to do what He says even when I don't feel like it? In order to learn to be more generous - my focus can't be solely on me.
A. Generosity's focus is others
It's hard for me not to focus on me so much, because I spend so much time with me... But even though we do get a blessing ourselves by being generous with others - my focus can't be on me. There's a snare we need to avoid when it comes to generosity - Jesus' words from Matthew 6:1-4 (NIV)...
Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. (2) So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full.
(3) But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, (4) so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
You may have heard about many celebrities who have announced very generous donations to help the people of Ukraine. Earlier I mentioned Willy Wilson giving away over a million dollars of gas. Now some have noted that he had a failed run for Mayor before and maybe he's just doing this to gather votes for a future run. It's easy to complain about what others are doing publically, but I always want to be careful about judging another person's motives.
First - at least they are doing something. And second - we can't always know the motivations of others, so I'll give them the benefit of the doubt. But - we do know why we give what we give, or don't give. I don't answer for celebrities' motives or actions - I answer for mine.
Now I know that there are many generous people here - but because many of them do it in secret, we don't always know who they are. But I do want to thank them for their example - and the Lord will reward you. I want each of us to learn to be generous - I need to learn to be more generous. And true generosity brings freedom from worrying about getting any recognition. But one more attitude that I need to understand about giving and generosity is this...
B. God doesn't owe me
I encourage everyone to be generous - but remember, you can never 'out give' God!
I had lunch with my father a while back. He insisted that he pay - but he did accept a coupon that I had that saved him about $5. He paid - but he genuinely thanked me for saving him $5. I told him I'm pretty sure I've cost him way more than that over the course of my life - so I still may owe him quite a bit...
I read this rather humbling passage recently - Jesus' words to His disciples in Luke 17:7-10 (NIV)...
Suppose one of you had a servant plowing or looking after the sheep. Would he say to the servant when he comes in from the field, 'Come along now and sit down to eat'? (8) Would he not rather say, 'Prepare my supper, get yourself ready and wait on me while I eat and drink; after that you may eat and drink'?
(9) Would he thank the servant because he did what he was told to do? (10) So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, 'We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty.'
I don't deserve praise from God if I'm generous. I'm only doing what He has asked me to do. And Jesus isn't being rude in any sense here - this is the same Jesus who humbly washed His disciple's feet. Jesus wasn't lording it over anyone - but He is giving us a bit of perspective.
When someone donates a large sum to a hospital - they sometimes get a plaque with their name on it, or if it's a big enough donation, maybe even a wing named after them. But that's not how it works in God's Kingdom. God expects generosity from His children - that's just a given. And in the end, we will receive our reward when we are found faithful - in all areas of our lives. God doesn't owe us anything, but He wants to give us eternal life with Him.
So What?
We know there are people who don't believe in God who are generous. You don't have to be a Christian to be generous. But if you are a Christian, you do have to learn to be generous. And it is something you learn. Being generous when you have plenty is easy - learning to be generous even when things are tight, that's the hard part.
Spend time in your prayer life talking to God about money and things. Ask Him to give you wisdom in your spending habits, ask Him to help you spend according to His priorities and not yours. Ask Him to help you learn to be generous with others. And when you do this - understand that yes, you might be taken advantage of by some - but this life is not all there is. Your reward is coming!