Bob Russell, retired pastor of the Southeast Christian Church in Louisville, Kentucky, recalls a sermon he preached years ago on hoarding. In that sermon, Pastor Bob pointed out the foolishness of waiting until we die to give our children their inheritance. He explained, “When we die, our children will be in their 50s or 60s. They likely won't need our money then! And so, until their deaths, they hoard it from our grandchildren.
“The time to help our children is when they're young and need the money. Our children will actually benefit from it, and we can hear them thank us instead of wondering if they quietly hope we croak early! And since we can transfer as much as $10,000 per child annually without the recipients paying taxes on the gift, it's wiser to transfer resources when we're living.”
Several weeks after the sermon, Pastor Bob received a thank you letter from a young couple whose parents happened to be visiting that weekend. The wife explained that after hearing the sermon, her parents sent her and her brother checks for $6,000. Nothing even close to that had ever happened before! The young woman wrote, “My brother and I call that the $6,000 sermon! Please preach more sermons on stewardship—especially when my parents are in town!” (Bob Russell, Leadership, Fall 2002; www.PreachingToday.com).
I don’t know that I’ve ever had anybody ask me to preach more sermons on stewardship. Probably, because no one ever received $6,000 after such a sermon. The fact is most people usually resist sermons on stewardship, because they don’t like feeling guilty or manipulated.
Now, I’m getting ready to preach a sermon on stewardship. But I promise you I will not make you feel guilty, and I certainly won’t try to manipulate you into giving more. So relax. I just want you to feel happy to give when God gives you the opportunity.
In their book, Happy Money: The Science of Happier Spending, researchers Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton provide five principles for what they call "Happy Money." Money can't really buy happiness, but it can bring a lot more fun into your life if you spend it in the right way and on the right things. Based on their research, here are the five principles of happy money:
Buy experiences, not just things. We can find happiness in experiences and are often disappointed by things, such as dream houses and dream cars.
1) Make it a treat. Having a house full of chocolate bars is a good way to lose the joy of chocolate, but anticipating a special chocolate treat makes your money go a long way.
2) Buy time. We are "time poor" people, so slow down and avoid expenditures that devour time. Recapture the pleasures lost by living in an all-consuming rush.
3) Pay now, consume later. Reverse the established order of our consumer society by having the money before you do or buy something, not after.
4) Invest in others. Whether we give to friends and family or make charitable donations, studies show, most people find more happiness in sharing than spending on themselves (Elizabeth Dunn and Michael Norton, Happy Money, Simon & Schuster, 2014; www.PreachingToday.com).
How very true! Happy Money is the money you share rather than spend on yourself. So, how can you turn your giving into a happy time, rather than a time you begrudge? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Exodus 35, Exodus 35, where the people of Israel happily gave so much, the leaders had to tell them to stop.
Exodus 35:4-9 Moses said to all the congregation of the people of Israel, “This is the thing that the LORD has commanded. Take from among you a contribution to the LORD. Whoever is of a generous heart, let him bring the LORD’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze; blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen; goats’ hair, tanned rams’ skins, and goatskins; acacia wood, oil for the light, spices for the anointing oil and for the fragrant incense, and onyx stones and stones for setting, for the ephod and for the breastpiece (ESV).
God asks His people to bring their treasures for the building of His tabernacle and for the clothing of His priests. But more than that, God asks them to bring their talents, as well.
Exodus 35:10-19 “Let every skillful craftsman among you come and make all that the LORD has commanded: the tabernacle, its tent and its covering, its hooks and its frames, its bars, its pillars, and its bases; the ark with its poles, the mercy seat, and the veil of the screen; the table with its poles and all its utensils, and the bread of the Presence; the lampstand also for the light, with its utensils and its lamps, and the oil for the light; and the altar of incense, with its poles, and the anointing oil and the fragrant incense, and the screen for the door, at the door of the tabernacle; the altar of burnt offering, with its grating of bronze, its poles, and all its utensils, the basin and its stand; the hangings of the court, its pillars and its bases, and the screen for the gate of the court; the pegs of the tabernacle and the pegs of the court, and their cords; the finely worked garments for ministering in the Holy Place, the holy garments for Aaron the priest, and the garments of his sons, for their service as priests” (ESV).
God asks His people to bring their treasures and their talents to build a structure for His glory! So, how do they respond?
Exodus 35:20-29 Then all the congregation of the people of Israel departed from the presence of Moses. And they came, everyone whose heart stirred him, and everyone whose spirit moved him, and brought the LORD’s contribution to be used for the tent of meeting, and for all its service, and for the holy garments. So they came, both men and women. All who were of a willing heart brought brooches and earrings and signet rings and armlets, all sorts of gold objects, every man dedicating an offering of gold to the LORD. And every one who possessed blue or purple or scarlet yarns or fine linen or goats’ hair or tanned rams’ skins or goatskins brought them. Everyone who could make a contribution of silver or bronze brought it as the LORD’s contribution. And every one who possessed acacia wood of any use in the work brought it. And every skillful woman spun with her hands, and they all brought what they had spun in blue and purple and scarlet yarns and fine twined linen. All the women whose hearts stirred them to use their skill spun the goats’ hair. And the leaders brought onyx stones and stones to be set, for the ephod and for the breastpiece, and spices and oil for the light, and for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense. All the men and women, the people of Israel, whose heart moved them to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD (ESV).
God’s people gave willingly and generously, so much so that Moses had to ask them to stop giving. Look at Exodus 36, starting at verse 2.
Exodus 36:2-7 And Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every craftsman in whose mind the LORD had put skill, everyone whose heart stirred him up to come to do the work. And they received from Moses all the contribution that the people of Israel had brought for doing the work on the sanctuary. They still kept bringing him freewill offerings every morning, so that all the craftsmen who were doing every sort of task on the sanctuary came, each from the task that he was doing, and said to Moses, “The people bring much more than enough for doing the work that the LORD has commanded us to do.” So Moses gave command, and word was proclaimed throughout the camp, “Let no man or woman do anything more for the contribution for the sanctuary.” So the people were restrained from bringing, for the material they had was sufficient to do all the work, and more (ESV).
Did you ever hear of any spiritual leader saying to God’s people, “STOP GIVING!” Usually, they’re asking people to “GIVE MORE!” But here, the people are giving so much, there is too much.
The Bible says, “God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7), and this is what cheerful giving looks like. So, how can you give cheerfully, not reluctantly or under compulsion? How can you joyfully share what God has given to you? How can feel happy to give whenever God gives you the opportunity?
Well, I want you to notice some key phrases in Exodus 35.
Verse 5—Whoever is of a GENEROUS HEART, let him bring the Lord’s contribution…
Verse 21—And they came, everyone WHOSE HEART STIRRED HIM, and everyone WHOSE SPIRIT MOVED HIM brought the LORD’s contribution…
Verse 22—All who were of A WILLING HEART brought brooches and earrings…
Verse 26—All the women WHOSE HEARTS STIRRED THEM to use their skill spun the goats’ hair… And
Verse 29—All the men and women, the people of Israel, WHOSE HEART MOVED them to bring anything for the work that the LORD had commanded by Moses to be done brought it as a freewill offering to the LORD.
The people gave, because their hearts moved and stirred them to give. So, if you, like them, want to be a happy giver…
GIVE WILLINGLY FROM YOUR HEART.
Refuse to give out of guilt. Refuse to give out of obligation. Instead, give from a heart full of gratitude for what God has given you!
Think about it. The people of Israel had just committed a grievous sin with a golden calf. God threatened to destroy them all, but Moses interceded for them, and God relented. Then God renewed His covenant with them. And now, God asks them to build His tabernacle, so He can dwell with them.
Warren Wiersbe says, “What grace that God would accept gifts from a people who had disobeyed Him and grieved His heart” (Wiersbe, Expository Outlines on the Old Testament).
No wonder they happily gave so generously!
Now, think about what God has done for you and me! We were all rebellious sinners, deserving of God’s wrath. But God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8). Now, instead of His wrath, He blesses us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places (Ephesians 1:3).
When you put your trust in Christ, God relents from His righteous wrath against your sin. He makes a new covenant with you, promising you unconditional blessings along with His Holy Spirit. And He invites you to help build His Kingdom with the resources He gives you. How can you not have a heart filled with gratitude? How can you not want to give back to Him joyfully and from the heart?
Pastor Ken Shigematsu talks about his wife Sakiko and her family, which loves animals. They regularly take abandoned cats or dogs or even an abandoned ferret into their home. In the city of Osaka, Japan, her family's home has become the neighborhood's de facto pet refuge. At one point she even took in a wild chipmunk. This chipmunk had been the runt of the pack and the veterinarian had said it would probably only survive for a few days. She named him Forte—with the hope that he would grow strong. He not only survived but he began to thrive.
When Sakiko came back to her apartment in the evening after work, Forte would wake up and run excitedly around her apartment doing figure eights. Or if Sakiko was working on her computer at home, he would scamper up and down the keyboard, pressing on random characters. She noticed that Forte would take his most treasured possessions—his walnuts—and place them where he slept. Apparently, this was a kind of hibernation instinct for him. But as his relationship with Sakiko developed, he began to take half his walnuts and put them under her pillow. He somehow came to understand that Sakiko was the one who provided for him and was his family. So out of gratitude, he wanted to share with her what he had so freely been given (www.PreachingToday.com).
When you know how much God in His grace has blessed you, you can’t help but want to give back to Him. So, if you want to be a happy giver, remember God’s grace and give willingly from your heart. Then…
GIVE GENEROUSLY FROM YOUR HOARD.
Give from the resources God has already provided for you. Give out of the abundance of God’s supply.
You see, everything the people of Israel gave for the tabernacle, came from the Egyptians.
Exodus 12 says, “The people of Israel had also done as Moses told them, for they had asked the Egyptians for silver and gold jewelry and for clothing. And the LORD had given the people favor in the sight of the Egyptians, so that they let them have what they asked. Thus they plundered the Egyptians” (Exodus 12:35-36).
God moved in the hearts of the Egyptians to give the Israelites whatever they asked for. In that way, God repaid them for their years of slavery in Egypt after working hundreds of years with no pay.
God generously supplied all their needs and more! That is why this is called “the Lord’s contribution” (vs.21, 24). For they not only gave their offerings TO the LORD, but they also received their offerings FROM the Lord, as well. Everything they gave to God, they got from God Himself.
J.R.R. Tolkien, author of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings, was a devout Christian who wanted his books to awaken people to the biblical struggle between good and evil. Tolkien also humbly believed that all his creativity was a "supreme gift" which came straight from God. While he was working as a university professor, Tolkien had an experience, which he claimed was the beginning of The Hobbit and then eventually The Lord of the Rings. He says:
“I was doing the dull work of correcting exam papers when I came upon a blank page someone had turned in—a boon to all exam makers. I turned it over and wrote on the back, “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit.” That sentence would become the first line for The Hobbit, even though Tolkien says, “I'd never even heard of a hobbit or used the word before.”
Later on, he would also say, “I have long ceased to invent [my stories]. I wait till I seem to know what really happened. Or till it writes itself.” And in a personal letter he described his writing process: “The Other Power [God] then took over: the Writer of the Story (by which I do not mean myself), ‘that one ever-present Person who is never absent…’” (Bradley J. Birzer, J.R.R. Tolkien's Sanctifying Myth, ISI Books, 2009,, p. 26; www.Preaching Today.com).
Tolkien recognized that God had given Him a gift, and he determined to give that gift back to God. He used what God had given Him to bring Him glory.
What gift, or gifts, has God given you? Don’t give something you don’t have. That will only make you miserable. Instead, give what you do have for the glory of God. That will energize you and make your giving fun!
Albert Lexie is a shoe-shine man. And for more than 30 years, he set up shop in Pittsburgh's Children Hospital and knocked the dirt off other people's shoes. He buffed. He polished, and charged a mere $5 for his labor.
Often, a satisfied customer left a tip. Most gave an extra dollar, some gave two. Once, during the Christmas season, a doctor gave him $50 for shining one pair of shoes.
But big tips like that were few and far between. On top of that, people just don't care about the condition of their shoes like they used to. Albert was a relic left over from another era, a different world.
But when Albert shined his last shoe and put away his shoe-shine kit for good, he was not forgotten at the Pittsburgh Children's Hospital. In fact, Albert left behind a legacy.
Since the day he shined his first pair of shoes, Albert donated more than a third of his earnings to the Children's Hospital Free Care Fund, which helps parents who can't afford to pay for their sick children's medical costs. In addition, Albert also gave the hospital every tip he has ever received. Every single tip.
But Albert was just a shoe-shine man. How much could he give? According to the hospital administration, he gave just over $200,000. It's a seemingly impossible number. 200 grand is what professional athletes give, not shoe-shine men. And yet that is the correct number (“Pennsylvania shoeshine man gives hospital $200G in tips,” Associated Press, 2-21-13; www.PreachingToday.com).
You may not have much, and that’s okay. Just give what you can, and God will use it in a big way for His glory.
If you want to be a happy giver, give willingly from your heart, and give generously from your hoard.
For years, basketball star David Robinson fed the homeless through his Feed My Sheep program and he helped needy families get diapers and baby food through a charity called The Ruth Project. Here's what he said about his giving: “These aren't sacrifices for me. If I'm clutching on to my money with both hands, how can I be free to hug my wife and kids?” (Rick Reilly, “Spur of the Moment,” Sports Illustrated. 6-23-99; www. PreachingToday.com).
In other words, his giving helped him to enjoy life a whole lot more!
Winston Churchill once said, “We make a living by what we get. We make a life by what we give” (Winston Churchill, quoted in USA Today, 11-10-00, p. 3B; www.PreachingToday.com).
So go ahead! Make a life starting today.
