The Joy Of Generosity -
Generous Giving
Bible Reading:
2 Corinthians 9: 6-15
PREPARED BY
KEN GEHRELS
PASTOR
CALVIN CHRISTIAN REFORMED CHURCH
NEPEAN, ONTARIO
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Ever found yourself really inspired to do something after watching another person?
Perhaps someone who struggled with a weight issue and managed to work a diet/exercise program that
brought them back into great shape. You went home, looked in the mirror and tried to suck it in...... and
resolved that this time, this time, you were going to do it! No more fooling around.
Or a colleague at work takes time out to attend some professional training, and comes back with a
sharpened skills set. You resolved that this year, make no mistake, you’d be sure to do the same.
You hear the call go out to donate blood, turn to your husband and say, “It’s so right. Let’s make an
appointment.” And you determine to work it into the calendar that very week..... or maybe early next week, at
latest.
And then - well - you know how it goes.
Tim Horton’s is awfully inviting. And you start to nibble away at your diet plans.
Work gets busy. Kids need extra time. Garden could use a bit of work. And you’re not quite so sure
where that course is going to fit.
And the blood donation thing? Well, they’ll still be in need next month. Maybe then.......
Like dry ice sublimating - woof, up in a cloud of smoke.
Seems like the best of intentions often go that way.
Ever find that true for yourself?
Or is it only me?
Well, me...... and a bunch of Corinthian Christians.
Some time around 50AD a bunch of folk who’d gathered together as a church community in Macedonia
heard about suffering that was happening in Jerusalem – a terrible famine had hit.
The Macedonian believers were very poor. But out of the little they had, a substantial gift was scraped
together and sent to relieve those worse off than themselves.
It was an amazing thing to see. At least, that’s what another group of Christians thought, a bunch living
just to the south of Macedonia, in a town named Corinth. As they watched the Macedonians make huge
sacrifices and send along a gift that saved lives and gave hope to starving Jews, these Corinthian believers were
inspired to do the same. It was time to organize a relief drive, they decided; time to pull together an aid
package and join in the effort to send help to Jerusalem.
Somehow, though – somehow...... well, like we said:
Sometimes the best of intentions last as long as ice cream in July.
You look up, and somehow -- you’re not really sure how -
- somehow it’s all gone.
The apostle Paul gets wind of that, and decides to prod them on; push them to re-gather their once passionate
intentions, and translate them into action;
to open their wallets and pantries
to engage in some joyful, generous giving.
So he writes a letter, with some remarkably blunt and yet diplomatic language -
- smiling at them, while at the same time landing an elbow square in their ribs as he reminds them about
their earlier pledge and challenges them to pick up this ball they’ve dropped; to turn inspiration into perspiration -
thoughts into action.
He also takes some time to restate some central elements that these Corinthian folk needed to remember if
they were ever going to establish any sort of decent, regular pattern of giving and sharing in their personal and
communal lives.
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It’s those central elements that I’d like to share with you this morning as we put the wraps on our three-part Fall
series about Stewardship,
about handling the wealth, resources, time and potential that is in our lap.
Because, you know, being generous and sharing our wealth with others can become for us exactly what
it had become for Corinthian Christians — something that seems like a really good idea; something we never get
around to actually practising.
SERIES REVIEW
Before we dig into what the Bible has to say about motivation for giving, though, let’s quickly review
where we’ve been in previous weeks.
We’ve through our Fall series on a Christian approach to stewardship, to handling the resources and
opportunities that God has placed in our lap.
Beginning with week one, something we called Trees, Time, Talents and Treasures...... point being that
all these things:
our experience of nature
the times and seasons in which we live
the talents and abilities we find within ourselves
the resources, materials and wealth that’s in our lap
All these are not ours.
God is Creator; we are the Created
He is Landlord; we are the Tenants
He unveils the times; we respond to them
He gives abilities; we exercise them
His wealth is loaned; we may use it.
Last week we paused to do a double-check about what’s going on in that pipeline between our hearts
and our VISA cards.
We talked about some in-your-face temptations that challenge each of us; temptations to live and die as
hard core consumers; spending, using and enjoying – and making that the centre piece of our life.
It’s very tempting.
We were reminded that it’s not something that anyone aims for intentionally, at least, not too many folks
aim for that. And yet – how easily it happens; how easily we all get sucked in and taken off-line in our faith;
distracted from having the central focus in life priorities being our relationship with, and service of the Creator, our
Lord God.
How deliberate we need to be in keeping the focus, keeping the faith, keeping our wallets where they
belong - as a servant in our life, a tool..... not the master;
keeping consumption as something deliberate, careful, controlled and done in full awareness
that there are a lot more people on this planet, people in desperate need, people with whom
God calls us to share.
And that, folks, plops us right down square at today’s concluding point:
Joyful, generous giving -
what are some of the key issues that make it happen;
that turn it from the best of intentions
into active reality.
Three things we’ll consider:
attitudes of giving
dynamics of giving
results of giving.
What do you think, can we work that on this Thanksgiving Weekend?
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Let’s hear, then, what the Bible says in:
2 Corinthians 9:6-15 p.1307
ATTITUDE OF GIVING
Did you catch the attitude advocated in this passage?
I call the attitude of the open hand and happy heart - v.6,7:
sowing generously
giving deliberately
doing so cheerfully.
L’Oreal used to tell us, “You’re worth it.”
And in varying ways, others continue to preach this message - the Freedom 55 message that tells you
to save, plan and accumulate and then go on a happy, self-centred spending binge. When you do, the band will
play, the sun will shine and life will be, as Tony the Tiger used to say, “Grrrrrrrrrrrreat!”
That sort of an attitude begins to squeal when folks come looking for a handout. Because it may mean
the 55 thing may have to wait till 58, or 60 or more. It may mean that I’m not the only one who’s worth it, and
that I may not be quite as worth it as I thought.
The Bible suggests an about face;
that we begin considering giving in a place and time like today -
- Thanksgiving...... to the One from whom all blessings flow.
Who makes grace to abound
Who scatters His gifts
Who supplies seed and bread
Who enlarges the harvest
Who does all this...... NOT because we’re so “worth it”
But just because He wants to give.
He loves to see our lives restored, enriched, renewed.
Start the journey of giving at the Cross.
Considering the One of whom the Bible says, “He who gave Himself up for us...... He who emptied Himself,
making himself a servant.....”
I tell you, it’s hard to stand with fists clenched around our stuff; it’s hard to keep a hoarding attitude if you linger
at the cross of Jesus;
at the feet of the Saviour who gave His life for your eternity.
The longer you stay there - the more open your hands will become.
Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8).
That’s what can provide that attitude of the open hand and happy heart.
It makes joyful, generous giving possible.
Even easy!
Financial planners tell me that precious few people in Canada contribute more than the first level threshold on
our income tax forms, a measely $250. They don’t come close to that amount. Way under.
No surprise, really.
They have no real inner motivation to give.
Nothing to open the hand and gladden the heart.
May that never be said of any of us who follow Jesus!
DYNAMIC OF GIVING
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Along with a Christian attitude towards giving, comes the dynamic of giving.
And if ever there was an area ripe for abuse or misunderstanding - here it is!
Unscrupulous religious hucksters and fraud artists have used the words of v.10 to cheat millions from people.
“Send me your $50, and God will make sure you get $250 in return for supporting my organization.”
I came across one message this week of someone who said, “Give generously, and your bank account will fill
up. If the returns haven’t come in yet, don’t quit.”
I mean - give me a break.
That’s the talk of Investment Consultants who are telling us these days, “Invest in the market, and hold -
think long term and the returns will happen.”
Christian giving is NOT an investment strategy.
God is NOT a divine stockbroker.
The whole motivation behind giving is not getting from God, but trusting God.
We give in a spirit of love;
a spirit of gratitude for what Christ has done for us;
a spirit of thankfulness for God’s blessings already provided -
NOT in a spirit of greed; a desire to get more.
Hey, the dynamic is real:
YES - the Bible does teach that as we grow in giving, the blessings of God somehow seem to grow in
our lives. I’ve seen it happen in the lives of faithful, generous Christians over and over and over again.
Just remember what v.11 says; it’s crucial:
“You will be made rich in every way.........”
......WHY?????.....
.......”SO THAT.......
you can be generous on every occasion....”
The extra blessings we get belong to God just as much as the first blessings -
and they are entrusted to our care; we are given responsibility for it just in the same way as our first
blessings..........
that the purposes of God would be served.
As I show myself trustworthy, God increases my responsibility and I reach deeper into this needy world.
Sure is hard, though, to remember that when L’Oreal ads keep blaring at you.
Don’t you find?
“YOU’RE worth it!!”
....... yeah, right.
RESULTS OF GIVING
The attitude of giving - the open hand and happy heart
The dynamic of giving - give and be given more to reach deeper into the world
Finally - the results of giving.
What happens when we practice joyful, generous giving?
The answer is found in v.12-15
For a start some very basic human needs - life is improved for people who are struggling. Often even small gifts
make huge improvements:
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- a few hundred dollars digs a well and provides clean drinking water for an entire Liberian village, freeing
children of life-threatening diseases
- just a couple of dollars provides a Thanksgiving dinner to a homeless person at the Mission
- an hour devoted can cheer a lonely senior
Our world can be a pretty bleak, dismal place.
Jesus said that He came to provide life, life more abundant (John 10:10).
Giving allows His followers to do the same.
And when you do that with open faith, saying, “Hey, I can share this because of what Jesus Christ has first
given to me” then another result is increased thanksgiving and praise to God.
Praise from the one who receives your gift.
And then, perhaps surprisingly,
also increased praise from the one who gave the gift.
There’s no better feeling than knowing that the sacrifice you made has contributed directly to
the well-being of another.
Second thing giving does is increase your faith and trust in the Lord.
A basic psychological truth about the human race is that the more people have, the more they want.
And the more they get, the tighter they seem to hang on to it. That just seems to be how the human mind
works.
But when you give away your energy, your time, and especially money, it loosens your grip and
fascination on your wealth; it is an antidote to the soul poison of greed.
Someone said to me, “No one ever ruined their character by being too generous, but many people have ruined
their character because they got all wrapped up in their wealth.”
Another thing - as you see the dynamic unfold of God responding to your giving, it makes you realize even more
how everything we have
everything
is a gift.
It’s not in our control, anyway.
And we end up with a deeper trust in the Lord;
a fuller confidence in Christ to be our Shepherd and daily provider.
Allowing us to say, as the closing words of this series
say it with me:
“Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift!”
