June Spivey in Christian Reader writes about how the elementary school in her town collects lunch money from the new kindergartners at the beginning of each year. This solves the problem of lost money during the year, but for nervous 5-year-olds, it can take a few days to understand the system.
One year, the school secretary came into the room two days in a row and asked in a loud voice, “Does anybody have any lunch money for me?” The kindergartners stared at her blankly.
On the third day, one little boy came in at the bell, walked hesitantly to the teacher's desk, held out his hand and whispered, “Here is lunch money from my piggy bank for the poor lady nobody gives money to” (June Spivey, Christian Reader, Vol. 34; www.PreachingToday.com).
You have to appreciate that little boy’s heart. He was willing to give his entire life’s savings to help someone he thought was in need.
Don’t you wish you had a heart like that? Well, by the grace of God, you can! If you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to 2 Corinthians 8, 2 Corinthians 8, where the Apostle Paul describes God’s grace empowering His people to give generously even when they don’t have much to give.
2 Corinthians 8:1-5 We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us (ESV).
Paul was taking up a collection for the poor believers in Jerusalem, not expecting the believers in Macedonia to contribute, because they too were very poor. Even so, they begged Paul for the favor of taking part, literally, for the grace of taking part in helping those in need.
You see, it’s a privilege to give, an unearned blessing from God Himself. So the Macedonian believers, after giving themselves first to the Lord, gave generously to Paul and his companions for the needy believers in Jerusalem.
God’s grace empowered them to give beyond their means, and God’s grace will empower you to give more than you think you can, as well. So, by the grace of God…
GIVE GENEROUSLY.
Give extravagantly. Like the Macedonians, “push your giving past the point where the figures add up” (Randy Alcorn). That’s what Paul urgers the Corinthian believers to do.
2 Corinthians 8:6-7 Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also (ESV).
That is, by God’s grace, give more than expected. Give above and beyond what we asked you to give. After all, that’s what the Macedonian believers did, and that’s what Jesus did for you, as well.
2 Corinthians 8:8-9 I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich (ESV).
Paul does not command them to give. He only hopes that their genuine love for God constrains them to give, because God loved them so much!
Jesus left the wealth of heaven to live in poverty, so you could leave your poverty for the wealth of heaven. Jesus left the throne to become a servant (Philippians 2:7). He laid aside all His possessions so that He did not even have a place to lay His head (Matthew 8:20). Ultimately, on the cross, God treated Jesus as a sinner so He could treat you as saints (2 Corinthians 5:21).
So don’t give because you HAVE to give. Give because you WANT to give in response to all that Jesus gave for you.
Scott Lewis attended a conference where Bill Bright [evangelist and founder of Campus Crusade for Christ] challenged people to give one million dollars to help fulfill the Great Commission. This amount was laughable to Scott—far beyond anything he could imagine since his machinery business was generating an income of under fifty thousand dollars a year.
Bill asked, "How much did you give last year?" Scott felt pretty good about his answer: “We gave seventeen thousand dollars, about 35 percent of our income.”
Without blinking an eye, Bill responded, “Over the next year, why don't you make a goal of giving fifty thousand dollars?”
Scott thought Bill hadn't understood. That was more than he had made all year! But Scott and his wife decided to trust God with Bill's challenge, asking [God] to do the impossible. God provided in amazing ways. With a miraculous December 31 provision, the Lewises were able to give the fifty thousand dollars. Again, God provided. Since then, they have passed the one-million-dollar mark in their giving! (Randy Alcorn, The Treasure Principle, Multnomah, 2001, pp. 67–68; www.PreachingToday. com).
By God’s grace, you can do the same! You can give far beyond anything you could imagine right now. Just ask God to do the impossible through you and trust Him increase your generosity. By the grace of God, give generously. Then, by the grace of God…
GIVE EAGERLY.
Give with an earnest desire to meet the need as soon as possible. Give willingly as if you can’t wait to give.
2 Corinthians 8:10 And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it (ESV).
A year previously, the Corinthian believes started to take up a collection for the needy believers in Jerusalem. Now, Paul urges them to complete the task.
2 Corinthians 8:11-12 So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have. For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have (ESV).
In other words, go ahead and give what you have right now to demonstrate your readiness, or your eagerness, to give.
2 Corinthians 8:13-15 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. As it is written, “Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack” (ESV).
Paul quotes Exodus 16:18 where, where in providing manna for the Jews wandering in the wilderness, God gave each family exactly what they needed, no more and no less. In the same way, God wants to use your surplus to supply another’s need today, because there’s coming a day when God will use their surplus to supply your need. That way everyone is treated fairly, or equally. In the end, no one bears the burden or realizes the benefits any more than anyone else. So, as God supplies your need, give eagerly to others in need.
In America, “fat” is nearly always a dirty word. We spend billions of dollars on pills, diet books, and exercise machines to help us loose excess fat.
However, Dr. Paul Brand, a medical doctor who has worked with lepers in India, sees it differently. He says, “Fat is absolutely gorgeous. When I perform surgery, I marvel at the shimmering, lush layers of fat that spread apart as I open up the body. Those cells insulate against cold, provide protection for the valuable organs underneath, and give a firm, healthy appearance to the whole body.
“But those are just side benefits.” He continues, “The real value of fat is as a storehouse. Locked in those fat cells are the treasures of the human body. When I run or work or expend any energy, fat cells make that possible. They act as banker cells. It's absolutely beautiful to observe the cooperation among those cells!”
Then Dr. Brand applies the analogy of fat to the body of Christ. God calls each individual Christian in a relatively wealthy country like America to be a fat cell. America has a treasure house of wealth and spiritual resources. The challenge to us, as [American] Christians, is to wisely use those resources for the rest of the body” (Philip Yancey, “World Concern Update,” January 1982, Leadership, Vol. 4, no.1; www.PreachingToday.com).
When you give, don’t concentrate on how you could have used that money differently. Instead, contemplate your privilege to funnel those resources back into Christ’s body to help accomplish His work all around the world.
Several years ago, the American Ad Council produced a series of commercials for their “Don’t Almost Give” campaign. Take a look (show Don’t Almost Give video).
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” (www.youtube.com/watch?v= yocD93yGEOk; www.youtube.com/watch?v=uihDAE7BETs; www.youtube.com/watch?v=iwn5lWtdS9c).
My dear friends, don’t almost give. Give. Give right now, today, before you lose the opportunity.
By the grace of God, give generously, give eagerly, and finally…
GIVE RESPONSIBLY.
Give only to people or organizations you can trust. Give only to those who open themselves up to public scrutiny. Give only to those who hold themselves accountable to their givers.
When Paul asked the Corinthian believers for money, he handled their money with open accountability, so no one could accuse him of stealing some of that money. Take a look.
2 Corinthians 8:16-24 But thanks be to God, who put into the heart of Titus the same earnest care I have for you. For he not only accepted our appeal, but being himself very earnest he is going to you of his own accord. With him we are sending the brother who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. And not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of the Lord himself and to show our good will. We take this course so that no one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us, for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in the sight of man. And with them we are sending our brother whom we have often tested and found earnest in many matters, but who is now more earnest than ever because of his great confidence in you. As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker for your benefit. And as for our brothers, they are messengers of the churches, the glory of Christ. So give proof before the churches of your love and of our boasting about you to these men (ESV).
Paul does not handle the money himself. He entrusts it to Titus and two other men, known for their integrity. In the same way, give your money only to those you can trust.
Many use Facebook as a way to keep in touch with friends and acquaintances, but others use it to play games that involve virtual farms, virtual pets, and virtual wars. What's fascinating is that in some of these games, a person can buy virtual goods—fertilizer or additional pets or guns. But these items don't actually exist. They are just little computer pictures from little pixilated stores. Nonetheless, if a person wants to have these virtual guns or virtual tools for their virtual farms or virtual pets, they actually pay real money!
Newsweek magazine's Daniel Lyons wrote about this bizarre phenomenon in a column titled, “Money for Nothing.” When researching virtual games, he discovered that the total U.S. market for virtual goods was 500 million in 2008 and $1 billion in 2009. More recently, Americans have spent $19.61 billion as of 2022 for virtual items and $20 billion as of 2023.
Kristian Segerstrale, a Finnish economist who has studied this phenomenon, says, “You can learn a lot about human behavior and how people inter-operate in an economic environment. There are a lot of valuable lessons.” One of those lessons is that people will spend real money for something that isn't really there at all (Marko Dimitrievski, “33 Evolutionary Gaming Statistics of 2024,” TrueList, 2-17-24; Daniel Lyons, "Money for Nothing," Newsweek magazine, 3-29-10, p.22; www.PreachingToday.com).
Please, make sure you know your money is going towards legitimate needs, and refuse to give real money for something that isn’t really there at all. Give responsibly, handling your money with absolute integrity.
In his book The Christian Businessman, Author Larry Burkett writes about an antique dealer named Roy, who bought what he thought might be Jefferson's desk, which disappeared during the Civil War. However, upon further examination, Roy concluded the desk was simply a good reproduction, so he put it up for auction. At the auction, a woman came in, loved the desk, and promised to pick it up and pay for it the next day.
Tom, another bidder had examined the desk before the auction. After the auction, he asked, “Did you get a good price for that desk you have a hold on, Roy?”
Roy responded, “Just what I had in it—at least I will tomorrow.”
Tom said, “I'll give you twice what you paid right now!”
“You're crazy, Tom,” Roy replied. “That's not an original, just a good copy.”
“No, Roy,” Tom said. “Only the insides of the drawers have been replaced. The chestnut is 18th century; the craftsmanship is definitely original.”
When the woman arrived next morning, Roy explained what he'd learned. “Then you won't sell it?” the woman asked dejectedly.
“Yes, I will,” Roy replied. “I gave my word.”
But after weighing the responsibility of owning a Jefferson desk, she told Roy she'd settle for a good reproduction. Roy sold the desk to a museum. He presented the woman with a beautiful reproduction—plus a check for $100,000. He realized his integrity was worth more than a short-term profit (Larry Burkett, The Christian Businessman, 1-2-99; www.PreachingToday.com).
My dear friends, your integrity is worth more than any short-term profit you might gain through dishonest means. So handle your money honestly.
By God’s grace, give generously, give eagerly, and give responsibly.
In recent years many studies have focused on what's taking place in Communist China among Christians. That’s because when the Communists took over China there were several hundred thousand Christians. The churches were closed, the Red Guard went on a rampage, and anywhere they found a cross, they tore it down. They put Christians in prison and drove them to the countryside.
However, in recent years, the Communist Chinese government has given Christians more freedom and allowed them to reopen their churches. When that happened, people were shocked to learn that the number of Christians had grown to multiple millions. The Christians had multiplied under severe persecution.
Paul Kaufman, in his book called China: The Emerging Challenge, writes about why that happened. He describes the Jesus Family of northern China. In 1942 there was a tremendous drought in northern China. Aid began to pour in from the outside to help those people who were starving. The Jesus Family refused to take the aid. They continued to feed their people—not only that, but to give away the harvest. They worked up from 10 percent to 20 percent, and finally they worked up to where they gave away 90 percent of what they harvested. They supplied the food for five hundred people from 43 acres of land, while the Communists could do only one family per acre.
Somebody asked the leader of the Jesus family, “Why would you refuse aid when others were starving?”
The leader responded, “Those foreign churches would have robbed us of our anchor. It is our financial needs that drive us to our knees and force us to cry to him” (Phil Lineberger, “Great People Do for Others,” Preaching Today, Tape No. 62; www. PreachingToday.com).
Even in their need, they gave generously, eagerly, and responsibly. As a result, God used them to greatly multiply His family even in a hostile environment. You do the same and see what God by His grace can do through you.
