Generosity
Series: Follow me | Bible text: 2 Corinthians 8:1–15
Worrying about falling short ourselves and not having enough can prevent us from living a generous life. These worries often come from being blinded by earthly riches and losing sight of the heavenly riches we are blessed with. Generous giving is an expression of being aware of the abundant provision and divine blessings in our lives and it helps our hearts to grow in this faith and trust in God.
Many people think that growing up in a large family teaches you to share and be considerate of others from an early age. Well, I had four siblings. Three of them were older brothers. So what I learnt very early on was to hide my sweets really well. Anything lying around was considered common property and was destroyed within a very short time! If even the tip of a piece of paper was visible, you could be sure that at least one of the brothers had seen it and it was gone. But the treasures that you could keep safe enough, you only ate in the end when they had already expired, because you either saved them or couldn’t find them yourself. You might think we didn’t get enough, but that wasn’t the case. We were just constantly afraid that, unlike the others, we wouldn’t get enough!
I come up short
Matthias preached last week about God as our provider. Most of us would probably agree and say that we believe God is a good provider. I too would be very quick to say of myself that I trust in God’s provision. However, when we were at home last Sunday afternoon and talked about the sermon again, we had to admit to ourselves that our lives would look different if we really believed that. I am convinced that if we believed this biblical truth from the bottom of our hearts, we would be much more generous with our money and our time. Our actions painfully reveal our faith or unbelief. Generosity is clearly a character trait of God and when we live generously, we reflect Him in our lives. Our problem, however, is this recurring life lie: we don’t have enough. What God gives us is not enough, so we have to provide for ourselves. The logical consequence of this is to protect what we have. We become stingy and begrudge others nothing. This idea is already evident with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. The lie that what God had given them was not enough ultimately tempted them to eat from the fruit of the tree of knowledge. From the very beginning, it is a stumbling block and a fear that is deeply rooted in us. There are countless stories in the Bible that tell of how people fall because they believe this very lie. Jesus told a parable that is rarely associated with this topic, but in my opinion beautifully illustrates some important aspects. It is the parable of the prodigal son, which we can read about in Luke 15. However, I don’t want to focus on the prodigal son himself, but on his father and his brother. After the reconciliation between the father and the son, who wanted his inheritance early and returned full of remorse after he had nothing left, there is a conversation between the father and the son who had stayed at home with him. «The older brother got angry and didn’t want to go into the house. Then his father came out to him and said to him: «Come and be happy with us!But he replied bitterly: «I’ve worked hard for you all these years. I’ve done everything you’ve asked of me. But you never even gave me a young goat so that I could have had a proper party with my friends.And now that your son is coming back, who has made your fortune with prostitution, you are even having the fatted calf slaughtered for him!» (Luke 15, 28–30 HfA). The older son’s reaction shows precisely this deep fear of falling short. He had everything and yet it felt like it wasn’t enough. In the father’s response, we see how he tries to open his eyes to the riches he has.«His father said to him: «My son, you have always been with me. Everything I have is also yours.» (Luke 15:31 HfA). There are two treasures that this son was blind to because of his fear. On the one hand, the treasure of living in the presence of the father. Secondly, the treasure of having access to everything that belongs to the father. It was not the father who withheld the goat or anything else of his wealth from him, but the son himself who did not claim it. He did not realise what a blessing the father had placed in his hands.
Earthly wealth blinds us
We too are often in this situation, in which we do not realise and understand what heavenly wealth God has placed in our hands. We are blinded by earthly riches so that we lose sight of the divine riches, the true riches. If we look at the Bible, those who have little seem to find it much easier to give generously. For example, there is the story from Mark chapter 12, where Jesus first talks about the hypocrisy of the scribes. How they present themselves to the outside world as great heroes, but there is nothing behind it. Jesus then sits down next to the offering box in the synagogue and observes who puts in how much money. Jesus could actually have been quite satisfied, because many rich people were throwing in large sums of money. What really excited Jesus, however, was a widow who gave two of the smallest coins, which was actually a ridiculous amount. But it was precisely this small amount that excited Jesus: «Jesus called his disciples to him and said: «I assure you: «This poor widow has given more than all the others.The rich only gave a little of their wealth, but this woman is poor and gave everything she had – even what she desperately needed to live.» (Mark 12, 43–44 HfA). We can also read about a similar story later in the Bible in 2 Corinthians. The church in Jerusalem is not doing well, which is why Paul wants the other churches to come together to support the church. We can assume that the church in Corinth was rather wealthy. Corinth was a trading metropolis with many rich merchants from all over the world, but they apparently needed a more detailed sermon from Paul in order to give away some of their wealth. Paul also goes on to say that they should bear in mind the heavenly riches they have received: «You are richly blessed in so many ways: through your faith, through the words that the Holy Spirit gives you, through your understanding of God’s message, your commitment to the Lord and the love that we have awakened in you. Let this richness now also become visible by helping the church in Jerusalem.» (2 Corinthians 8:7 HfA). I find it amazing. What he is saying is that the Corinthians, in how generously they deal with their earthly wealth, make visible what heavenly wealth they have. How generously we give is the visible sign for people of what we have received in secret. What Paul also mentions in this passage is that it is easier for the supposedly poor to give. He talks about the church in Macedonia, who have little and yet contribute generously to the collection. He writes about them: «The Christians there faced many difficulties because of their faith and endured them steadfastly. Yes, they were full of joy and gave generously to others despite their great poverty.I can testify that they gave what they could, and even more than that. And they did all this of their own free will.They asked us insistently and considered it a privilege to be able to participate in helping the Christians in Jerusalem.» (2 Corinthians 8:2–4 HfA). I don’t know whether Paul is exaggerating a little for rhetorical reasons, but let’s not assume that. So here is a church that is poor in worldly terms, but still gives more generously than its budget actually allows. They are practically begging Paul to give something. The lack of earthly wealth helped them to have open eyes for heavenly wealth. Under no circumstances do I want to say that it is a sin to have earthly wealth! But what I do believe is that in earthly wealth there is a danger of becoming blind to the heavenly wealth that God gives us. It’s not about whether you have a lot or a little, it’s about the attitude of your heart behind it.
Why be generous?
This is so exciting when we look at what Jesus teaches about dealing with money. Believe me, Jesus often talks about money when he teaches. It seems to be a topic that he considers to be enormously important. But what Jesus talks surprisingly little about is the impact it has on others when you give generously. I am honestly certain that by living a generous lifestyle, not only in terms of finances but also in terms of our time, we have a significant impact on those around us. In a world where many are only looking out for their own benefit and in a country where you have to at least triple your future security before you give away any of your abundance, being generous is recognised. It is the visible sign of the wealth we have received from God, which is usually invisible to people. Through small gestures of generosity, we can achieve great things. And yet Jesus is not actually talking about what we can do for others through our generosity. What Jesus is concerned with is your heart. He is concerned about you! Jesus does not directly describe possessions as something bad. However, he emphasises how important it is for your faith not to cling to earthly possessions. Mark 10 describes the encounter between Jesus and a rich young man. We often call it the story of the rich young man. We quickly forget the other characteristics of the young man because we only focus on the negative. It is written that the man prostrates himself before Jesus. He asks him how one can be saved and confirms to Jesus that he has kept God’s commandments since his youth. The young man had reverence for Jesus, was interested and lived in obedience to God. In my opinion, you can sense a longing for God in this man. Jesus does not contradict him either. He believes or even knows that the man before him is honest in what he says. Nevertheless, there seems to be another point for Jesus that shows whether he is ready in his heart to become a follower. «Jesus looked at him with love: «You still lack something: go, sell everything you have and give the money to the poor. That way you will gain wealth in heaven that will never be lost. And then come and follow me! » » (Mark 10:21 HfA). He looked at him with love. I am moved by how lovingly Jesus treats this man. We often see Jesus» request as overly strict and almost mean. However, Jesus is not acting to teach the listeners a lesson or to put the young man down. He is acting out of pure love for the young man. Jesus wants the man to make room in his life so that he can attain heavenly riches. Jesus is not sitting at the offertory box because he is worried about the pastor, the missionaries or the poor getting enough or because he is concerned about whether the church can cover all the fixed costs. It is important to him because you are important to him and he knows what generosity does to your heart. If we believe in our hearts that God is a good provider and our eyes are free to see the heavenly riches, we will be able to give generously from our earthly wealth with joy and without hesitation. When we give generously in turn, it opens our eyes to the heavenly riches and we will understand even more deeply how great God’s blessing is. When we give more than our budget would actually allow, we become even more dependent on God. Only in this dependence will we be able to experience supernatural provision, which in turn strengthens our faith. It’s a cycle, or more of a spiral, that brings us closer and closer to God, strengthens our faith and allows us to experience true wealth. Again, it’s not about whether you have a lot or a little. It’s not about whether you tithe exactly and whether you calculate it from gross or net wages. Jesus is concerned with you. He is concerned with your heart and your attitude. He wants you to experience the greatest possible blessing and he wants you to be allowed to discard what hinders you from following him. God wants you to experience him as a loving, caring father. He longs to walk through life with you, to be close to you. It’s not the numbers that matter, but the attitude of your heart. To put it in the words of St Paul: «God is not concerned with the amount of the gift, but with our willingness. He rejoices in what everyone can give and asks nothing of us that we do not have.» (2 Corinthians 8:12 HfA).
Possible questions for the small group
Read 2 Corinthians 8:1–15 together
- In which areas of your life do you find it difficult to trust in God’s provision? (finances, relationships, future plans, time management, etc.)
- What could heavenly riches consist of? (2 Corinthians 8:7; Mark 10:29–31; Romans 8:14–17; Ephesians 1:3–5; 18–23 can provide suggestions. However, this is not a complete list)
- Tell each other how you experience the divine blessing and the heavenly riches in your life.
- How do you feel about the idea that giving is not about the impact on others, but about you and your faith? Does it trigger freedom in you or does it perhaps even increase the pressure you feel on this topic?
- How can you practise gestures of generosity in your everyday life? Perhaps especially in those areas where you find it difficult to be generous.
- What does generosity have to do with discipleship? You can read the story of the rich young man and the following verses again in Mark 10:20–31.
