Title: Asking for Money
Text: I Corinthians 8:7-15
Thesis: God loves the person who gives cheerfully. II Corinthians 9:7
Introduction
On their way to church on Sunday, a mother gave her child a one-dollar bill and a quarter. "Sweetheart," the mother said, "you can place either one in the offering plate. It’s entirely up to you."
As they were driving home, the mother asked the daughter what she had decided to give.
"Well, at first I was going to give the dollar," said the daughter. "But the man behind the pulpit said God loves a cheerful giver, so I felt like I would be much more cheerful if I gave the quarter instead."
Phillip Yancey tells of a friend who says the bible asks three things of us about our relationship to money:
(1) How did you get it?
(2) What are you doing with it? and
(3) What is it doing to you?
At the heart of our ability to be generous is what our money is doing to us. Is it withering our hearts and making us stingy? Or is it making us big hearted and benevolent? The intent of the message today is to encourage us to let God give us big and benevolent hearts.
The first thing we learn about giving is that God wants us to excel at it.
I. Giving is a ministry and God wants us to excel at it.
“…now I want you to excel also in this gracious ministry of giving. I am not saying you must do it, even though the other churches are eager to do it. This is one way to prove your love is real.” II Corinthians 8:1-9
When we speak of excelling at something we think of surpassing a goal or for being superior at something or scoring a noteworthy accomplishment or being known for or distinguished for something. The word used in the bible that we translate “excel” does not merely mean to be superior at or better at than another person, it means to “abound” or “overflow.”
Overflowing in generosity does not exactly come naturally to us. In a survey conducted two years ago, Forbes Magazine identified 946 billionaires in the world. Warren Buffet was named among them and Warren Buffet is duly credited with giving away 44 billion of his dollars. However Forbes Magazine noted in their survey that billionaires donated only 1.2 percent of their earnings to charitable causes. (Luisa Kroll and Allison Fass, “The World’s Richest People,” Forbes, 3/8/07)
I know that 1.2 percent of a billionaire’s billions is a considerable amount of money. The 1.2 percent of a billionaire’s billions makes the 10 percent tithe of devoted follower of Christ look pretty paltry. However, I assure you that the 10 percent shared by a middle class wage earner is considerably more sacrificially than that of the 1.2 percent billionaire. However, before we begin to feel too smug, 20 percent of all Christians give 86.4 percent of all charitable donations given by Christians to charities. (Ron Sider, “A Lot of Lattes,” Books & Culture, November/December 2008)
The richest people in the world give a huge amount of money yet their generosity is really a very small proportion of their wealth. And apparently the vast majority of Christ’s followers are not exactly excelling their giving either. So what does excelling in generosity look like? What does it mean to overflow with generosity?
In 2005 Thomas Cannon died. He was 79. When he was three yea
rs old his father died, his mother remarried and raised their family in a three room shack without running water or electricity.
As an adult Thomas went to work for the postal service. He never made more than $25,000 a year. Upon retirement he and his wife lived in poverty. Yet over the course of his life he gave away more than $156,000. His gifts were mainly in the form of checks in the amount of $1,000 to people he read about in the newspaper who were going through hard times.
His biographer commented, “Not many people would consider living in a house in a poor neighborhood without central heat, air conditioning, or a telephone, and working overtime so they could save money to give away.” (Thomas Cannon had Little Money to Give,” Omaha Sunday World Herald, July 2005, p. 13A; Margaret Edds, “Cannon’s Canon,” HamptonRoads.com, 7/24/05)
This is the point: When we learn to excel in giving, we will overflow with generosity.
A second thing God wants us to learn is that you can only share what you have.
II. Giving is a ministry that arises from what you have.
“Give whatever you can according to what you have. If you are really eager to give, it isn’t important how much you are able to give. God wants you to give what you have, not what you don’t have.” II Corinthians 8:10-12
In Mark 12:41ff, Jesus watched as people went over to the collection box of the temple and dropped in their offerings. He observed many rich people place large amounts of money in the box and then he watched as a poor widow came and drop in two pennies.
Seizing the occasion as a teaching moment he pointed out to his followers that proportionately, the poor widow had given more than all the others had given. The rich had given away a small portion of their surplus, but the widow had given everything she had.
It is important that we understand that Jesus is not scolding or denigrating the rich people. They gave and their gifts made a difference in the life and ministry of their temple. He is however honoring the poor widow for how she excelled in her giving.
Some of the people in our story today may have been loaded. There may have been a Warren Buffet or two among them. But I suspect most of the people in our story were not wealthy. Paul knew they had already been generous in their giving to the Christians in Jerusalem. And in returning to them to ask for additional generosity on their part, he is not putting a guilt trip on them. Paul is not asking and God does not ask us for what we do not have. Paul is not suggesting that they run out and take out a second mortgage on their homes or indebt themselves on their Visa and Master Cards so they can give to the poor Christians in Jerusalem. Paul is not saying you starve your children or lose your home so you can give to others. Paul is saying, give from what you have.
The first two principles we have unpacked from the text are:
1. Generosity is what overflows when we excel in giving.
2. Generosity overflows from what we have.
Third:
III. Giving is a way of equalizing inequities so that everyone’s needs are met.
“Of course, I do not mean you should give so much that you suffer from having too little. I only mean that there should be some equality. Right now you have plenty and can help them. Then at some other time they can share with you when you need it. ” II Corinthians 8:13-14
One of the most profound insights into the biblical mandate to be generous is that that giving is not just about giving to church. Malachi 3:10 instructs and challenges givers to tithe: “Bring all the tithes into the storehouse so there will be enough food in my Temple. If you do,” says the Lord Almighty, “I will open the windows of heaven for you. I will pour out a blessing so great you won’t have enough room to take it in! Try it! Let me prove it to you!”
In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus warned against laying up treasures on earth while neglecting to lay up treasures in heaven. He encouraged his followers to worry less about things and to trust him more for them.
Jesus taught proportional giving in Luke 6:38 where he promises, “If you give, you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full measure, pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, and running over. With whatever measure you use in giving, large or small, it will be used to measure what is given back to you.”
But by in large, the teaching of Jesus and the teaching of the New Testament in regard to giving is in reference to giving to alleviate the economic needs of others. Hence, Jesus’ concern for the hungry, thirsty, naked and marginalized in our society in which Jesus said, “As often as you do an act of kindness to the least of these, my brethren, you have done it to me.” To the rich man who asked what he must do to inherit eternal life Jesus said, “Go and sell all you have and give it to the poor and then you will have treasure in heaven. And then come and follow me.” Luke 18:18ff
The problem with having resources is not only in managing them but sharing them in ways that lift those who are lower on the socio-economic scale - higher.
Since the 1940s, the Ad Council has been the leading producer of public service announcements. Of the thousands of commercials they have produced, their work for the "Don’t Almost Give" campaign has been particularly powerful.
One ad shows a man with crutches struggling to go up a flight of concrete stairs. The narrator says, "This is a man who almost learned to walk at a rehab center that almost got built by people who almost gave money." After a brief pause, the announcer continues: "Almost gave. How good is almost giving? About as good as almost walking."
Another ad shows a homeless man curled up in a ball on a pile of rags. One ratty bed sheet shields him from the cold. The narrator says, "This is Jack Thomas. Today someone almost brought Jack something to eat. Someone almost brought him to a shelter. And someone else almost brought him a warm blanket." After a brief pause, the narrator continues: "And Jack Thomas? Well, he almost made it through the night."
Another ad shows an older woman sitting alone in a room, staring out a window. The narrator says, "This is Sarah Watkins. A lot of people almost helped her. One almost cooked for her. Another almost drove her to the doctor. Still another almost stopped by to say hello. They almost helped. They almost gave of themselves. But almost giving is the same as not giving at all."
Each ad ends with a simple, direct message: "Don’t almost give. Give." (Ted De Hass, Bedford, Iowa, and Brian Lowery, managing editor, PreachingToday.com; source: YouTube.com (Ad #1 [man on crutches]; Ad #2 [homeless man]; Ad #3 [older woman)
When we excel in generosity we do not almost make a difference… we make a difference by lifting others higher.
The principles we have unpacked from the text are:
1. Generosity is what overflows when we excel in giving.
2. Generosity overflows from what we have.
3. Generosity erases socio-economic inequalities.
The fourth thing God wants us to learn is that the needs of a generous person will be met.
IV. Givers are promised that they will always have enough.
“Those who gathered a lot had nothing left over, and those who gathered only a little had enough.” II Corinthians 8:15
This verse references the Old Testament story of how God promised to supply the food needs of the Israelites as they made their way through the wilderness. He told them to gather two quarts of manna for each person every day and if they did so, everyone would have enough. Well people being people… some gathered two quarts per person and sure enough they had enough. But there were those who weren’t so sure and gathered more but had nothing left over… in fact, those who attempted to gather a little extra found their leftovers infested with maggots and reeking of rot the next morning.
God’s promise was sufficiency. God’s promise is enough.
When Bonnie and I began our ministries. She was director of a Day Care Center in a church in Minneapolis, MN and I was the director of a children’s ministry called South Town Chapel. We were as poor then as we have ever been…
One day I received a phone call from Herb Nehlsen, who was the pastor of our little country church near Winterset, Iowa when I was a boy. He had gone from there to become a missionary in the African countries we now know as Mali and Burkina Faso. He was home on furlough, in Minneapolis, and wanted to have lunch with me. I agreed to meet him at a pizza place in St. Paul.
It was the worst lunch I have ever endured. I went to that luncheon meeting without a cent in my pocket. We were living from pay check to pay check and we were out of pay check that day. All I could think about was, “He’s a missionary (and those were the days when missionaries lived on a shoe string…) and I should offer to buy lunch.” “And, what if he lets me and I have to pay for lunch? “ “What if he tells the server to split the check?”
I need not have been stewing in my juices because when the server brought the check he picked it up and paid the tab.
Outside the restaurant, as we were about to part ways, he reached into his pocket, pulled out some money, and stuck it into my pocket. Quoting from the King James Version he said, “In the book of Proverbs there is a wonderful verse that I have tried to live by.” And then he quoted, “There is that which scattereth and yet increaseth; and there is that which witholdeth more than meet, but it tendeth to poverty.” Proverbs 11:24
The New Living Translation spins it this way: The New Living Translations spins it this way: “It is possible to give freely and become more wealthy, but those who are stingy will lose everything. The generous prosper and are satisfied; those who refresh others will themselves be refreshed.” Proverbs 11:24-25
I know it is clichéish (sic) but what he was saying is that the generous person cannot out give God. God promises to meet the needs of the person who is generous with what he has.
Conclusion
God wants us to become generous people. God does not entrust us with resources so we can hoard them unto ourselves.
Imagine that you have an important package to send to someone who needs it. You take it to a UPS guy or a Fed Express guy for overnight delivery. What would you think if, instead of delivering the package, the driver took it home? Then, when you confront him, he says, "If you didn’t want me to keep it, why’d you give it to me in the first place?"
You’d say, "The package doesn’t belong to you. Your job is to deliver it to the person who needs it." The obvious point is that just because God puts his money in our hand doesn’t mean he intends for us to keep it. (Randy Alcorn, "God’s Money Managers: Letting go of what isn’t mine," Focus on the Family (December 2006), p. 13)
God entrusts resources to us so that our needs may be met and that we may help others as we are able.
The principles we have unpacked from the text are guiding principles to remember in our giving are these:
1. Generosity is what overflows when we excel in giving.
2. Generosity overflows from what we have.
3. Generosity erases socio-economic inequalities.
4. Generosity is backed by God’s assurance of sufficiency.
Now the challenge before us is not so much knowledge of the principles but our penchant for putting them into practice.
