Defeating Greed With Generosity

AVOIDING GREED THROUGH GENEROSITY

LUKE 6:38

Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”

P.S. Generosity is more than the state of your bank account, it is the openness of your hand and heart.

INTRODUCTION

There was a guy who died and was being given a tour of heaven, and he saw a friend of his drive by in a beautiful Mercedes. He said, "Boy, this is great!"

"Oh, yes," St. Peter said, "your friend was really generous on earth; we had a lot to work with. Your transportation up here depends on your generosity down there." Then Peter gave him his transportation: a Honda motor scooter.

He said, "Wait a minute, he gets a Mercedes, and I get a scooter?"

"That's right, it's all we had to work with." So the guy drove off in a huff.

A week later Peter saw this guy all smiles and said, "You feeling better now?"

The guy said, "Yea, I have ever since I saw my preacher go by on a skateboard!"

When it comes to generosity, most people automatically think of money. The excuse becomes,”Well, God understands that if I had more money, I could give more. Generosity responds, would you?”

P.S. Generosity is more than the state of your bank account, it is the openness of your hand and heart.

When it comes to giving to world need, did you know that Canada ranks third highest in the world?

According to the Christian Science Monitor, Canadians are the third most generous people in the world — slightly ahead of Americans and behind Australians, according to an international Gallup poll.

The survey of residents of 153 countries attempted to find out how much they donated to charity, volunteered their time and were willing to help a stranger. Their findings, nevertheless, have Canadians appearing quite kindly. In regards to Canada, the pollsters found:

• 64 percent of Canadians say they donate.

• 35 percent volunteer.

• 68 percent help a stranger.

Here are Gallup’s leading six countries, starting with the most “generous” citizens:

- Australia

- New Zealand

- Canada

- Ireland (tied with Canada)

- Switzerland

- U.S.

Residents of developing countries such as China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and India (which send many immigrants to Canada) do not rate highly on the generosity index.

Whatever the case, the related story in the Christian Science Monitor said:

“Canada’s World Giving Index (WGI) score – an average of these three percentages – was 56 percent, 1 percentage point higher than the US’s 55 percent.

“Canadians’ higher rank than Americans is based largely on their giving more money to charities. Canada has more government-led charity campaigns than the US, said a Gallup spokeman.

“Looking at the region more generally, North Americans are most likely to help a complete stranger, averaging at 67 percent. Aiding a stranger is defined as aiding someone in need, whom you don’t know, in any dollar amount.

I think those are pretty good numbers. Pat your neighbor on the back and say, GOOD JOB!

Now what about our church specifically? I asked Donna to provide me the specific giving of our church to missions this past year.

Would you like to know how our church has been a part in bringing change to the world?

Over the past year we have been privileged to join hands with the following world changing ministries,

The Drisners in China through Global 180- $1000.00

Our PAOC Missionaries the Radnors- 500.00

Empower Ministries Bible distribution in China- 820.00

Our PAOC Missionary in Cuba, Bonita Abrams- 300.00

Training nationals for the ministry through Operation Timothy- 600.00

Masters College and Seminary- 500.00

This brings our mission giving to $3720.00. When we add our District tithe of 2416.36 the total becomes 6136.36.

Can I hear someone shout Hallelujah!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When we hear the word generosity, our default reaction is to think about money and ficnces.

Money along with religion is a topic which people do not feel comfortable talking about; especially in church.

The Bible however, does not shy away from the topic of money. Money, and how our attitude towards it is a practical issue we all face.

Did you know that money is the number one cause for marriage conflicts? It is one of the major sources of conflict in churches, and of course how our government handles finances has a direct impact upon our livlihoods.

There are three very prevalent attitudes about money and giving. The first is, What’s yours is mine and I’m going to take it.

This is the attitude which believes my money is mine to do with and the more I get the better I will be. It also follows the worldly philosophy, “Get all you can anyway you can.’