Worry\u00ading about fal\u00adling short our\u00adsel\u00adves and not having enough can pre\u00advent us from living a gene\u00adrous life. The\u00adse worries often come from being blin\u00added by earth\u00adly riches and losing sight of the hea\u00adven\u00adly riches we are bles\u00adsed with. Gene\u00adrous giving is an expres\u00adsi\u00adon of being awa\u00adre of the abun\u00addant pro\u00advi\u00adsi\u00adon and divi\u00adne bles\u00adsings in our lives and it helps our hearts to grow in this faith and trust in God.<\/p>\n
Many peo\u00adp\u00adle think that gro\u00adwing up in a lar\u00adge fami\u00adly tea\u00adches you to share and be con\u00adside\u00adra\u00adte of others from an ear\u00adly age. Well, I had four siblings. Three of them were older brot\u00adhers. So what I lear\u00adnt very ear\u00adly on was to hide my sweets real\u00adly well. Any\u00adthing lying around was con\u00adside\u00adred com\u00admon pro\u00adper\u00adty and was des\u00adtroy\u00aded within a very short time! If even the tip of a pie\u00adce of paper was visi\u00adble, you could be sure that at least one of the brot\u00adhers had seen it and it was gone. But the tre\u00adasu\u00adres that you could keep safe enough, you only ate in the end when they had alre\u00ada\u00addy expi\u00adred, becau\u00adse you eit\u00adher saved them or could\u00adn\u2019t find them yours\u00adelf. You might think we did\u00adn\u2019t get enough, but that was\u00adn\u2019t the case. We were just con\u00adstant\u00adly afraid that, unli\u00adke the others, we would\u00adn\u2019t get enough!
\nI come up short
\nMat\u00adthi\u00adas pre\u00ada\u00adched last week about God as our pro\u00advi\u00adder. Most of us would pro\u00adba\u00adb\u00adly agree and say that we belie\u00adve God is a good pro\u00advi\u00adder. I too would be very quick to say of mys\u00adelf that I trust in God\u2019s pro\u00advi\u00adsi\u00adon. Howe\u00adver, when we were at home last Sun\u00adday after\u00adnoon and tal\u00adked about the ser\u00admon again, we had to admit to our\u00adsel\u00adves that our lives would look dif\u00adfe\u00adrent if we real\u00adly belie\u00adved that. I am con\u00advin\u00adced that if we belie\u00adved this bibli\u00adcal truth from the bot\u00adtom of our hearts, we would be much more gene\u00adrous with our money and our time. Our actions pain\u00adful\u00adly reve\u00adal our faith or unbe\u00adlief. Gene\u00adro\u00adsi\u00adty is cle\u00adar\u00adly a cha\u00adrac\u00adter trait of God and when we live gene\u00adrous\u00adly, we reflect Him in our lives. Our pro\u00adblem, howe\u00adver, is this recur\u00adring life lie: we don\u2019t have enough. What God gives us is not enough, so we have to pro\u00advi\u00adde for our\u00adsel\u00adves. The logi\u00adcal con\u00adse\u00adquence of this is to pro\u00adtect what we have. We beco\u00adme stin\u00adgy and begrudge others not\u00adhing. This idea is alre\u00ada\u00addy evi\u00addent with Adam and Eve in the Gar\u00adden of Eden. The lie that what God had given them was not enough ulti\u00adm\u00adate\u00adly tempt\u00aded them to eat from the fruit of the tree of know\u00adledge. From the very begin\u00adning, it is a stumb\u00adling block and a fear that is deep\u00adly roo\u00adted in us. The\u00adre are count\u00adless sto\u00adries in the Bible that tell of how peo\u00adp\u00adle fall becau\u00adse they belie\u00adve this very lie. Jesus told a para\u00adble that is rare\u00adly asso\u00adcia\u00adted with this topic, but in my opi\u00adni\u00adon beau\u00adtiful\u00adly illus\u00adtra\u00adtes some important aspects. It is the para\u00adble of the pro\u00addi\u00adgal son, which we can read about in Luke 15. Howe\u00adver, I don\u2019t want to focus on the pro\u00addi\u00adgal son hims\u00adelf, but on his father and his brot\u00adher. After the recon\u00adci\u00adlia\u00adti\u00adon bet\u00adween the father and the son, who wan\u00adted his inhe\u00adri\u00adtance ear\u00adly and retur\u00adned full of remor\u00adse after he had not\u00adhing left, the\u00adre is a con\u00adver\u00adsa\u00adti\u00adon bet\u00adween the father and the son who had stay\u00aded at home with him. \u00abThe elder brot\u00adher beca\u00adme angry and would not go into the house. Then his father came out to him and spo\u00adke to him kind\u00adly: \u00abCome and rejoice with us!But he repli\u00aded bit\u00adter\u00adly: \u00abI\u2019ve work\u00aded hard for you all the\u00adse years. I\u2019ve done ever\u00ady\u00adthing you\u2019\u00adve asked of me. But you never even gave me a young goat so that I could have had a pro\u00adper par\u00adty with my friends.And now that your son is coming back, who has made your for\u00adtu\u00adne with pro\u00adsti\u00adtu\u00adti\u00adon, you are even having the fat\u00adted calf slaugh\u00adte\u00adred for him!\u00bb (Luke 15, 28\u201330 HfA). The older son\u2019s reac\u00adtion shows pre\u00adcis\u00ade\u00adly this deep fear of miss\u00ading out. He had ever\u00ady\u00adthing and yet it felt as if it was not enough. In the father\u2019s respon\u00adse, we see how he tri\u00ades to open his eyes to the riches he has.\u00abHis father said to him: \u00abMy son, you have always been with me. Ever\u00ady\u00adthing I have is yours too.\u00bb \u00bb (Luke 15:31 HfA). The\u00adre are two tre\u00adasu\u00adres that this son was blind to becau\u00adse of his fear. First\u00adly, the tre\u00adasu\u00adre of living in the pre\u00adsence of his father. Second\u00adly, the tre\u00adasu\u00adre of having access to ever\u00ady\u00adthing that belongs to the father. It was not the father who with\u00adheld the goat or any of his wealth from him, but the son hims\u00adelf who did not cla\u00adim it. He did not rea\u00adli\u00adse what a bles\u00adsing the father had pla\u00adced in his hands.
\nEarth\u00adly wealth blinds us
\nWe too are often in this situa\u00adti\u00adon, in which we do not rea\u00adli\u00adse and under\u00adstand what hea\u00adven\u00adly wealth God has pla\u00adced in our hands. We are blin\u00added by earth\u00adly riches so that we lose sight of the divi\u00adne riches, the true riches. If we look at the Bible, tho\u00adse who have litt\u00adle seem to find it much easier to give gene\u00adrous\u00adly. For exam\u00adp\u00adle, the\u00adre is the sto\u00adry from Mark chap\u00adter 12, whe\u00adre Jesus first talks about the hypo\u00adcri\u00adsy of the scri\u00adbes. How they pre\u00adsent them\u00adsel\u00adves to the out\u00adside world as gre\u00adat heroes, but the\u00adre is not\u00adhing behind it. Jesus then sits down next to the offe\u00adring box in the syn\u00adago\u00adgue and obser\u00adves who puts in how much money. Jesus could actual\u00adly have been quite satis\u00adfied, becau\u00adse many rich peo\u00adp\u00adle were thro\u00adwing in lar\u00adge sums of money. What real\u00adly exci\u00adted Jesus, howe\u00adver, was a widow who gave two of the smal\u00adlest coins, which was actual\u00adly a ridi\u00adcu\u00adlous amount. But it was pre\u00adcis\u00ade\u00adly this small amount that exci\u00adted Jesus: \u00abJesus cal\u00adled his disci\u00adples to him and said: \u00abI assu\u00adre you: \u00abThis poor widow has given more than all the others.The rich only gave a litt\u00adle of their wealth, but this woman is poor and gave ever\u00ady\u00adthing she had \u2013 even what she despera\u00adte\u00adly nee\u00added to live.\u00bb (Mark 12, 43\u201344 HfA). We can also read about a simi\u00adlar sto\u00adry later in the Bible in 2 Corin\u00adthi\u00adans. The church in Jeru\u00adsa\u00adlem is not doing well, which is why Paul wants the other churches to come tog\u00ade\u00adther to sup\u00adport the church. We can assu\u00adme that the church in Corinth was rather wealt\u00adhy. Corinth was a com\u00admer\u00adcial metro\u00adpo\u00adlis with many rich mer\u00adchants from all over the world, but appar\u00adent\u00adly they nee\u00added a more detail\u00aded ser\u00admon from Paul in order to give away some of their wealth. Paul also empha\u00adsi\u00ads\u00ades that they should bear in mind the hea\u00adven\u00adly riches they have recei\u00adved: \u00abYou have been rich\u00adly bles\u00adsed in so many ways: through your faith, through the words the Holy Spi\u00adrit has given you, through your under\u00adstan\u00adding of God\u2019s mes\u00adsa\u00adge, your com\u00admit\u00adment to the Lord and the love we have awa\u00adken\u00aded in you. Let this rich\u00adness now also beco\u00adme visi\u00adble by hel\u00adping the church in Jeru\u00adsa\u00adlem.\u00bb (2 Corin\u00adthi\u00adans 8:7 HfA). I find it ama\u00adzing. What he is say\u00ading is that in how gene\u00adrous\u00adly the Corin\u00adthi\u00adans deal with their earth\u00adly riches, they are making visi\u00adble what hea\u00adven\u00adly riches they have. How gene\u00adrous\u00adly we give is the visi\u00adble sign for peo\u00adp\u00adle of what we have recei\u00adved in secret. What Paul also men\u00adti\u00adons in this pas\u00adsa\u00adge is that it is easier for the sup\u00adpo\u00adsedly poor to give. He talks about the church in Mace\u00addo\u00adnia, who have litt\u00adle and yet con\u00adtri\u00adbu\u00adte gene\u00adrous\u00adly to the coll\u00adec\u00adtion. He wri\u00adtes about them: \u00abThe Chris\u00adti\u00adans the\u00adre faced many dif\u00adfi\u00adcul\u00adties becau\u00adse of their faith and endu\u00adred them stead\u00adfast\u00adly. Yes, they were full of joy and gave gene\u00adrous\u00adly to others despi\u00adte their gre\u00adat poverty.I can testi\u00adfy that they gave what they could, and even more than that. And they did all this of their own free will.They asked us insis\u00adt\u00adent\u00adly and con\u00adside\u00adred it a pri\u00advi\u00adle\u00adge to be invol\u00adved in hel\u00adping the Chris\u00adti\u00adans in Jeru\u00adsa\u00adlem.\u00bb (2 Corin\u00adthi\u00adans 8:2\u20134 HfA). I don\u2019t know whe\u00adther Paul is exag\u00adge\u00adra\u00adting a litt\u00adle for rhe\u00adto\u00adri\u00adcal reasons, but let\u2019s not assu\u00adme so. So here is a church that is poor in world\u00adly terms, but still gives more gene\u00adrous\u00adly than its bud\u00adget actual\u00adly allows. They are almost begging Paul to give some\u00adthing. The lack of earth\u00adly wealth hel\u00adped them to have open eyes for hea\u00adven\u00adly wealth. Under no cir\u00adcum\u00ads\u00adtances do I want to say that it is a sin to have earth\u00adly wealth! But what I do belie\u00adve is that in earth\u00adly wealth the\u00adre is a dan\u00adger of beco\u00adming blind to the hea\u00adven\u00adly wealth that God gives us. It\u2019s not about whe\u00adther you have a lot or a litt\u00adle, it\u2019s about the atti\u00adtu\u00adde of your heart behind it.
\nWhy be generous?
\nThis is so exci\u00adting when we look at what Jesus tea\u00adches about deal\u00ading with money. Belie\u00adve me, Jesus often talks about money when he tea\u00adches. It seems to be a topic that he con\u00adsiders to be enorm\u00adously important. But what Jesus talks sur\u00adpri\u00adsin\u00adgly litt\u00adle about is the impact it has on others when you give gene\u00adrous\u00adly. I am honest\u00adly cer\u00adtain that by living a gene\u00adrous life\u00adstyle, not only in terms of finan\u00adces but also in terms of our time, we have a signi\u00adfi\u00adcant impact on tho\u00adse around us. In a world whe\u00adre many are only loo\u00adking out for their own bene\u00adfit and in a coun\u00adtry whe\u00adre you have to at least tri\u00adple your future secu\u00adri\u00adty befo\u00adre you give away any of your abun\u00addance, being gene\u00adrous is reco\u00adg\u00adnis\u00aded. It is the visi\u00adble sign of the wealth we have recei\u00adved from God, which is usual\u00adly invi\u00adsi\u00adble to peo\u00adp\u00adle. Through small ges\u00adtu\u00adres of gene\u00adro\u00adsi\u00adty, we can achie\u00adve gre\u00adat things. And yet Jesus is not actual\u00adly tal\u00adking about what we can do for others through our gene\u00adro\u00adsi\u00adty. What Jesus is con\u00adcer\u00adned with is your heart. He is con\u00adcer\u00adned about you! Jesus does not direct\u00adly descri\u00adbe pos\u00adses\u00adsi\u00adons as some\u00adthing bad. Howe\u00adver, he empha\u00adsi\u00ads\u00ades how important it is for your faith not to cling to earth\u00adly pos\u00adses\u00adsi\u00adons. Mark 10 descri\u00adbes the encoun\u00adter bet\u00adween Jesus and a rich young man. We often call it the sto\u00adry of the rich young man. We quick\u00adly for\u00adget the other cha\u00adrac\u00adte\u00adristics of the young man becau\u00adse we only focus on the nega\u00adti\u00adve. It is writ\u00adten that the man pro\u00adstra\u00adtes hims\u00adelf befo\u00adre Jesus. He asks him how one can be saved and con\u00adfirms to Jesus that he has kept God\u2019s com\u00admandments sin\u00adce his youth. The young man had rever\u00adence for Jesus, was inte\u00adres\u00adted and lived in obe\u00addience to God. In my opi\u00adni\u00adon, you can sen\u00adse a lon\u00adging for God in this man. Jesus does not con\u00adtra\u00addict him eit\u00adher. He belie\u00adves or even knows that the man befo\u00adre him is honest in what he says. Nevert\u00adhel\u00adess, the\u00adre seems to be ano\u00adther point for Jesus that shows whe\u00adther he is rea\u00addy in his heart to beco\u00adme a fol\u00adlower. \u00abJesus loo\u00adked at him with love: \u00abThe\u00adre is one thing you still lack: go, sell ever\u00ady\u00adthing you have and give the money to the poor. With this you will gain wealth in hea\u00adven that will never be lost. And then come and fol\u00adlow me! \u00bb \u00bb (Mark 10:21 HfA). He loo\u00adked at him with love, and I am moved by how lovin\u00adg\u00adly Jesus trea\u00adted this man. We often see Jesus\u00bb invi\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon as over\u00adly strict and almost mean. Howe\u00adver, Jesus is not acting to teach the lis\u00adten\u00aders a les\u00adson 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 hea\u00adven\u00adly riches. Jesus is not sit\u00adting at the offer\u00adto\u00adry box becau\u00adse he is worried about the pas\u00adtor, the mis\u00adsio\u00adna\u00adries or the poor get\u00adting enough or becau\u00adse he is con\u00adcer\u00adned about whe\u00adther the church can cover all the fixed cos\u00adts. It is important to him becau\u00adse you are important to him and he knows what gene\u00adro\u00adsi\u00adty does to your heart. If we belie\u00adve in our hearts that God is a good pro\u00advi\u00adder and our eyes are free to see the hea\u00adven\u00adly riches, we will be able to give gene\u00adrous\u00adly from our earth\u00adly wealth with joy and wit\u00adhout hesi\u00adta\u00adti\u00adon. When we give gene\u00adrous\u00adly in turn, it opens our eyes to the hea\u00adven\u00adly riches and we will under\u00adstand even more deep\u00adly how gre\u00adat God\u2019s bles\u00adsing is. When we give more than our bud\u00adget would actual\u00adly allow, we beco\u00adme even more depen\u00addent on God. Only in this depen\u00addence will we be able to expe\u00adri\u00adence super\u00adna\u00adtu\u00adral pro\u00advi\u00adsi\u00adon, which in turn streng\u00adthens our faith. It is a cycle, or rather a spi\u00adral, that brings us ever clo\u00adser to God, streng\u00adthens our faith and allows us to expe\u00adri\u00adence true wealth. Again, it\u2019s not about whe\u00adther you have a lot or a litt\u00adle. It\u2019s not about whe\u00adther you tithe exact\u00adly and whe\u00adther you cal\u00adcu\u00adla\u00adte it from gross or net wages. Jesus is con\u00adcer\u00adned with you. He is con\u00adcer\u00adned with your heart and your atti\u00adtu\u00adde. He wants you to expe\u00adri\u00adence the grea\u00adtest pos\u00adsi\u00adble bles\u00adsing and he wants you to be allo\u00adwed to dis\u00adcard what hin\u00adders you from fol\u00adlo\u00adwing him. God wants you to expe\u00adri\u00adence him as a loving, caring father. He longs to walk through life with you, to be clo\u00adse to you. It\u2019s not the num\u00adbers that mat\u00adter, but the atti\u00adtu\u00adde of your heart. In the words of St Paul: \u00abWhat mat\u00adters to God is not the size of the gift, but our wil\u00adling\u00adness. He is plea\u00adsed with what ever\u00adyo\u00adne can give and asks not\u00adhing of us that we do not have.\u00bb (2 Corin\u00adthi\u00adans 8:12 HfA).
\n
\nPos\u00adsi\u00adble ques\u00adti\u00adons for the small group
\nRead 2 Corin\u00adthi\u00adans 8:1\u201315 together<\/p>\n
\tIn which are\u00adas of your life do you find it dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to trust in God\u2019s pro\u00advi\u00adsi\u00adon? (finan\u00adces, rela\u00adti\u00adonships, future plans, time manage\u00adment, etc.)
\n\tWhat could hea\u00adven\u00adly riches con\u00adsist of? (2 Corin\u00adthi\u00adans 8:7; Mark 10:29\u201331; Romans 8:14\u201317; Ephe\u00adsi\u00adans 1:3\u20135; 18\u201323 can pro\u00advi\u00adde sug\u00adges\u00adti\u00adons. Howe\u00adver, this is not a com\u00adple\u00adte list)
\n\tTell each other how you expe\u00adri\u00adence the divi\u00adne bles\u00adsing and the hea\u00adven\u00adly riches in your life.
\n\tHow do you feel about the idea that giving is not about the impact on others, but about you and your faith? Does it trig\u00adger free\u00addom in you or does it per\u00adhaps even increase the pres\u00adsu\u00adre you feel on this topic?
\n\tHow can you prac\u00adti\u00adse ges\u00adtu\u00adres of gene\u00adro\u00adsi\u00adty in your ever\u00ady\u00adday life? Per\u00adhaps espe\u00adci\u00adal\u00adly in tho\u00adse are\u00adas whe\u00adre you find it dif\u00adfi\u00adcult to be generous.
\n\tWhat does gene\u00adro\u00adsi\u00adty have to do with disci\u00adple\u00adship? You can read the sto\u00adry of the rich young man and the fol\u00adlo\u00adwing ver\u00adses again in Mark 10:20\u201331.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Worry\u00ading about fal\u00adling short our\u00adsel\u00adves and not having enough can pre\u00advent us from living a gene\u00adrous life. The\u00adse worries often come from being blin\u00added by earth\u00adly riches and losing sight of the hea\u00adven\u00adly riches we are bles\u00adsed with. Gene\u00adrous giving is an expres\u00adsi\u00adon of being awa\u00adre of the abundant\u2026<\/p>","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":7953,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","wpfc_preacher":[97],"wpfc_sermon_series":[98],"wpfc_sermon_topics":[],"wpfc_bible_book":[],"wpfc_service_type":[12],"class_list":{"0":"wpfc_preacher-cornelia-roth","1":"wpfc_sermon_series-folge-du-mir-nach","2":"wpfc-sermon-single","3":"post-7948","4":"wpfc_sermon","5":"type-wpfc_sermon","6":"status-publish","7":"has-post-thumbnail","8":"hentry","11":"wpfc_service_type-gottesdienst"},"acf":[],"sermons_blog_filters_topics":"\t\t\t\t