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Text: 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 We’ve discovered that… ~ Jesus viewed money/wealth as a serious ‘rival’ for our affection and attention. His intention was that our relationship with him would properly shape our affections and order our lives. “Freely you have received, freely give”. Matthew 10:8 ~ Giving is a response to having received. Gratitude is what distinguishes us from all the other “takers”! ~ Generosity can never be measured strictly by the amount of the gift given; but, by the size of the gift in proportion to one’s means (i.e. a small gift may indicate a huge heart; vice versa, a seemingly big gift may indicate a small heart). ~ The very act of giving itself can be directly traced to a God who exemplifies extravagant love. ~ Money is not a possession; it’s a trust. As a trust, it must be used in a way which best reflects the heart of the owner. “just as you excel in faith, speech, knowledge, love…” “…see that you also excel in this grace of giving.” (8:7) ● When you think of God, one of the things which should come to your mind is ‘generosity’. You don’t get the sense that “grace” has anything to do with manipulation, or posturing, or coercion; no ulterior motives or hidden agendas. ● No sense that God was attempting to “obligate us” to himself, but, somehow, having been the recipients of his extravagant love, we find ourselves “indebted” to him (owing him gratitude). ● Paul is appealing to people for financial assistance; they are naturally skeptical. He uses the churches in Macedonia as a way of painting a picture of generosity. He says that their motivation for giving was this big work that God had done in their hearts, and in response, they were compelled to unexpected generosity. ♥ Grace compels us, but never controls us! Legalism always forces us to live within the boundaries of the rules… to do what’s expected. To ‘excel’ means to go beyond the limits of the boundaries; to exceed what’s expected. ● It’s what makes grace so attractive; it allows us to live freely (freely receiving, freely giving)… to live ‘responsively’ [toward grace]. It allows us to live without fear that, even in our giving, we haven’t ‘measured up’. ● When we approach giving that way, we don’t need to ask, “How much should I give? Are we still supposed to tithe? On the gross or net?” These questions all miss the point; they all address the issue of what’s ‘expected’ of me. Tithe [historically, it’s been used as a primary means of funding places of worship] We live in a culture that is, at best, ‘cynical’ about the credibility of organized religion. One would be hard pressed to watch Christian TV and not assume that the emphasis is on soliciting funds (all with the promise of some incredible return for your ‘seed’ planted into their ministry). For the past several centuries, our ‘ace in the hole’; our ‘go to strategy’ has been the ‘tithe’ (by definition, ‘a tenth’); but, if we are honest (or at the very least, ‘observant’), it would appear that our strategy has failed to produce any significant changes in giving patterns. George Barna (Christianity’s version of Alan Greenspan); we look to George to gauge the climate, to predict trends and alert us to challenges. Percentages of people who give to centers of worship consistently hovers somewhere below 10% with the average giving reflecting about 2% of an individual’s income. Generosity is the ‘unexpected’ response which should typify people who follow Jesus. ● And, it’s really more of a ‘life-principle’. It seems that all of our activity is either motivated by ‘fear’ or ‘love’. We struggle with giving in our relationships for fear that in giving “all”, we will somehow be left incomplete or wanting; or that our devotion will not be reciprocated. We struggle in giving of our time for fear that there won’t be enough left for ‘me’. We struggle to freely give financially in fear that our generosity will result in insufficiency. Love frees us to give without fear; to realize that in giving all, we are somehow made complete; that in our generosity, our sufficiency is assured. So,… ♥ When we excel in grace-giving, generosity always trumps obligation. Some suggestions for cultivating habits of ‘grace-giving’: ► Give willingly (2 Cor.8:12). “if the willingness [readiness, spirit] is there, the gift is acceptable…” ► Give decidedly (2 Corinthians 9:7). “…what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion…” ● Paul addresses the very source of for giving… our heart. If we are honest, sometimes our giving is done in the context of this secret fear that we have that if we don’t, God ‘won’t guarantee what might happen’ if we’re not willing to pay up! (as if God is like Tony Soprano and we need to buy him off to ensure that our economic situation doesn’t go sideways!) So, there’s this subtle ‘compulsion’; it’s just something we should do… if you know what I mean! In it, there’s a subtle sense of ‘distrust’. ● At what point, then, does our giving become a form of ‘bribery’? (payment to another to help ensure favorable treatment) At what point in our consideration of ‘God’s blessing’ does our heart get turned toward the gift [the payoff for following] and away from the giver? ► Give consistently (1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 8:10-11) [Paul talks about ‘weekly setting aside a determined amount]. Helps form/shape healthy attitudes toward your finances. Give with the initial enthusiasm that prompted you to give in the first place. ► Give faith-fully. ● Determining that you will give and what you will give in advance encourages you to live more responsibly with what you decide to keep. It makes giving a priority in your life. “First-fruits”: first of the crop was harvested and given not only as a means of celebration, but in anticipation of a future harvest. This type of giving seemed ‘illogical’, but it was ultimately a demonstration of trust. It was actually meant to take the fear out of giving (took from you ‘control’); God was responsible. ► Give spontaneously. As you become aware; as you have the resources to help eliminate (if only temporarily) someone’s need (i.e. good Samaritan). ► Give proportionately (2 Corinthians 8:11; Deuteronomy 16:10, 16-17) Giving according to your ability allows for generosity no matter what your current financial status. ► Give dis-proportionately. Unexpectedly; extravagantly! ‘sow sparingly, reap sparingly…’ ● The natural law that exists is also a spiritual law [principle]. And the point is not to attempt to figure it all out so that you can manipulate the system and ensure a bigger return (thinking selfishly about selfless concepts), but to give with the assurance that your giving matters; it’s productive; fruitful; that the giving is somehow bigger than the gift itself. ♥The Bible sees giving as ‘investing’, not ‘forfeiting’. ‘investment’ (def.)- any use of resources intended to increase future production; to devote for future advantage. It suggests a commitment. ● Life’s resources are to be ‘invested’; managed in the present for some future return. Creation presents us with limitless opportunities to either hoard or invest. God loves productivity; reproduction (‘bear fruit, more fruit, much fruit’ John 15). Illus: packet of seeds (“Did I give you flowers or seeds?” Depends on what you do with them). ► Give because it hurts. The saying, “Give until it hurts”, always seems to emphasize the discomfort of the giver, not the distress of the disadvantaged. ● It’s not really sacrificial until it interrupts our lifestyle. Sacrifice is not to be understood as ‘losing something’; but, willingly forfeiting some privilege or opportunity in order to assist someone toward a more advantageous position. ● You’re only required to give that which you possess (It’s why ‘faith pledges’ are so easy: you’re often asked to pledge some exorbitant amount of money and trust God to bring it in; if he doesn’t, you’re ‘off the hook’!) True sacrificial giving makes room to give; it reorders and rearranges in order to accommodate our heart’s compulsion.
The goal of generosity? That people will look
for someone to thank (God being recognized) (2 Corinthians 9:13) |
