IN GIVING, WHERE IS THE "ENOUGH" LINE? Many Christians would say, “Tithe and you’re good.”
- There is a natural tendency in almost all of us to want to know where the line is. It might be so we don’t cross it. It might be so we can cross it. But we want to know where the line is.
- When you’re dating, where’s the line? What’s appropriate and what’s too far?
- When you’re disciplining your kids, where’s the line? What’s appropriate and what’s too far?
- And, to go with our subject for this morning, when it comes to giving, where’s the line? How much should I give – whether in a dollar amount or a percentage of my income – that’s enough? Where’s the line?
- For many Christians, the answer would be to tithe. Tithe and you’re good. And, let’s be brutally honest, most churches would see a substantial increase in income if all their members tithed, so it’s easy to think of that as a golden standard.
- But what Paul shares here points us to another standard. What does he point us toward?
THE "GRACE OF GIVING": Grace is getting something you don’t deserve (while mercy is not getting something you do deserve).
- 2 Corinthians 8:6 (“act of grace on your part”), 7 (“grace of giving”), 9 (“grace of our Lord Jesus Christ”).
- It’s striking to me that the word “grace” appears three times in this passage on being generous. It’s not a word that we normally associate with financial things. So why is it in there?
- Let’s start by unpacking the definitions I just shared of grace and mercy.
- Grace is getting something you don’t deserve. For instance, as a Christian, through the grace of God, I get to go to heaven when I die. I don’t deserve that – I’m getting something I don’t deserve. That’s grace.
- Mercy is a complementary idea. Mercy is not getting something you do deserve. To stick with the idea I just shared, as a Christian, through the mercy of God, I am not going to hell when I die. I do deserve that - I am not getting something I do deserve. That’s mercy.
- So what does grace have to do with this financial stuff?
- Going back to the earlier part of the chapter, the Macedonians had given generously and sacrificially to the needs of other Christians. Paul praises them for that. Now as he shifts his attention to spurring the Corinthians toward those same brothers and sisters in Christ.
- Verse 6 says this is an “act of grace.”
- Verse 7 encourages them to “excel in the grace of giving.”
- Verse 9 reminds them of the “grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
- The repeated “grace” references are a reminder that the Corinthians are not giving because the recipients deserve it. They have not merited this response. Rather, it’s an act of grace. They are getting something they don’t deserve. Let me repeat that because it brings together what we’re talking about: they are getting something they don’t deserve.
THREE STANDARDS OF FINANCIAL GIVING:
1. “The least I can get away with.”
- You drop a dollar or maybe even a five when the offering plate is passed, but only because it looks bad to let the plate pass without putting anything in. We don’t want to be embarrassed, but we certainly don’t want to give more than we have to.
2. “What’s expected of me.”
- This might be said by your “duty” Christians, your “obligation” Christians, your “faithful” Christians. This is not to be degraded because obviously this is a big step ahead of #1, even though it’s not our final stop.
- For some established Christians, this passage is a challenge because we have been giving our tithe (or whatever) but not anything that makes us uncomfortable. This teaching calls us beyond that.
- This passage is a challenge to be more generous than we are initially comfortable with.
3. “Excelling at the grace of giving.”
- 2 Corinthians 8:7b (“see that you also excel in this grace of giving”), 8a (“I am not commanding you”).
- Romans 14:12-16; Galatians 5:13.
- “So what’s the percentage?” If it’s not a tithe, give me the number that I give to be alright.
- That misunderstands what Paul is getting at. This is not a legalistic command, but an invitation to excel at giving.
- The Pharisees were always looking to nail down the exact standard. That fed legalism. It also allowed you to fulfill the standard and then forget about it. You didn’t continue to be drawn to greater levels of faithfulness or obedience. You were done with it at that point.
- While most churches have a good number of people under #1 and #2, there aren’t many under #3.
- Maybe we should take our inspiration from Emeril: “Kick it up a notch.”
- Note in v. 8a that Paul says, “I am not commanding you.” In other words, he’s not saying that every Christian is always obligated to given in this situation or that situation. He’s not establishing a legalistic standard. He is encouraging them to look at the situation and “excel in the grace of giving” (v. 7b).
- It might be helpful here to speak for a minute about “liberty in Christ” (Romans 14:12-16; Galatians 5:13).
- While there are certainly commands that the Bible gives us and we are to obey, there is also an idea that Paul unpacks in Romans 14 (and other places) that we call “Christian liberty.” That’s the idea that there are many decisions within the Christian life where there is not a specific command guiding us, but instead we are to seek direction from the Holy Spirit. In those situations, there may not be a single right answer to how to respond, but we are try to discern with the Holy Spirit the right path of action.
- That’s what is Paul is calling us to. When you find yourself in a situation where there is a financial need, there is not a default amount or percentage to give. Rather, we are to figure out what it means for us (in our financial situation) to “excel in the grace of giving.” It’s not a predetermined legalistic standard – it’s listening and walking with the Spirit as He directs us in the specific situations God places us in.
- What does it look like living this out? Some of the pieces:
a. We are confident in God’s provision for our lives so we can give without fear.
- Matthew 6:33.
- We know that God is ultimately our provider, so we are able to give with confidence when we sense His leading because we know that God will take care of us.
- In Matthew 6:33, Jesus said that when we put the Kingdom first God will take care of our financial needs. That’s a promise to live in.
b. We are eager to see opportunities to share with those around us.
- Rather than avoiding situations where there is a need to fulfill, we embrace them. Why not since we know that our financial security is in God’s hands?
- We get enormous joy from the opportunities that God gives us to share. We know that this is a much better place to invest our money than buying more junk from Walmart.
WHO CAN INSPIRE ME? The grace-filled hearts around me and, most of all, Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 8b, 9.
- There are two places we’re pointed toward to gain inspiration for this.
1. Those grace-filled hearts around us.
- v. 8 concludes with “by comparing it with the earnestness of others.”
- We’ve all been in churches where the spirit of the congregation was lukewarm on a good day. That affects us. We slack in our own devotion to God. We settle for less. After all, we’re still doing better than most.
- On the other hand, hopefully you’ve been part of a church that was on fire for God. Among those passionate people your passion is further enflamed. You see others excited to dig into passages and your interest in the Scriptures grows. You see others sharing their faith and you find yourself looking for opportunities to talk about what Jesus has done for you when you’re at work.
- Paul walks a line here. On the one hand, as we’ve discussed, this is not a commandment (v. 8a). On the other, he does want them to find inspiration in the actions of his Macedonian brothers and sisters. I don’t believe this is meant as a guilt complex, but rather allowing yourself to be lifted up by their example.
2. Christ.
- Verse 9 starts with the grace that we talked about earlier. It then goes into what Jesus did for us. We know that He was infinitely rich in heaven and yet He became poor to come here to earth for us. That brought us immeasurable benefit – through His poverty we became rich.
- Now we know from the first five verses of this chapter than the riches Paul speaks of are not financial. The Macedonian Christians were very poor (v. 2).
- So what’s the riches he is speaking of? Spiritual riches. We now have a relationship with God. We are children of the King. We can talk to the ruler of the universe anytime we want and He’s promised to help us. Again, though, this all plays into our ability to be freely generous. I’m a child of the King. He’s watching over me. He’s pleased when I respond with an open hand to my brothers and sisters’ struggles.
- If Jesus was willing to go to the great sacrifice of coming to earth, don’t you think that He’ll take care these smaller needs that arise from our overflowing generosity toward His other children?
WHAT'S IT PROVE? Our financial generosity is one test of the sincerity of our love for Christ.
- 2 Corinthians 8:8 – “but I want to test the sincerity of your love”
- John 14:15.
- One final thought as we close. It’s tempting to put this out of our minds. Maybe we compartmentalize our lives and see money and faith as separate rooms on different floors. Maybe we think of this as a nice idea but one that isn’t necessary.
- If we have those thoughts, v. 8 is a good place to finish. He says that our financial generosity is a test of the sincerity of our love for Christ.
- You may remember that in the gospels Jesus says that one of the tests of our love for Him is our willingness to obey Him (John 14:15). It’s easy to think that our love for Him is true just because we say it out loud, but He boldly states that those who truly love Him will obey Him.
- We see a similar thing going on here. It’s easy for us to divorce money and faith in our minds, but our willingness to give sacrificially is a proof of the sincerity of our love.
- A similar idea is shared in James 2:14-17 where it speaks about someone in church who doesn’t have clothes or food to eat. Can we just wish them well and go on our way, knowing that we are ignoring their need? No, that’s unacceptable. Our actions have to show our faith. And so, going back to 2 Corinthians, a truly deep faith will be expressed in generous sharing.
