Quiet Generosity Series

Genia Obal, from Montrose, British Columbia, talks about the time her 7-year-old daughter had just won $2.00 for her memory work in Sunday school. After the morning service, the pastor's wife congratulated her.

The little girl proudly announced, “And I put it all in the morning's offering!”

“My, how wonderful!” the pastor's wife exclaimed. “I'm sure God will be pleased.”

“Yes,” the child replied. “Now maybe God will let me do some of the things I want to do!” (Genia Obal, Montrose British Columbia, “Kids of the Kingdom,” Christian Reader; www.PreachingToday.com)

People give for all kinds of reasons, often to get something in return, whether its recognition from others or some kind of reward from God. Now, it’s not wrong to look for a reward from God, but God only rewards the right kind of giving.

So what kind of giving does God reward? What kind of generosity does God repay? What kind of offering does God prize? Well, if you have your Bibles, I invite you to turn with me to Matthew 6, Matthew 6, where Jesus describes the kind of giving God rewards.

Matthew 6:1 Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven. (ESV)

God does not reward those who wish to impress others, so...

DON’T PUT ON A SHOW.

Don’t show off your good deeds. Don’t flaunt your righteous acts.

Now, the religious leaders in Jesus’ day recognized three disciplines as true acts of righteousness: giving to the poor, prayer, and fasting, and Jesus doesn’t necessarily dispute that in this chapter. He just disputes the way in which they did it. They did it to flaunt their righteousness. They did it to impress others with how “good” they were.

Well, God does not reward such so-called “righteousness.” You see, truly righteous people don’t care about what others think about them. They just want to live their lives in such a way that others think well of their God. They don’t want to put on a show. They just want to shine a light on Jesus! (Matthew 5:16)

Christian author and theologian, Paul Metzger, talks about one of his greatest living heroes: John Perkins. Now, Perkins is an African American Christian leader from Mississippi who was nearly beaten to death in the '70s for his work in promoting racial justice.

Metzger talks about driving the now-elderly Dr. Perkins to a benefit dinner in Portland, Oregon, 12 years ago (2007). Perkins was the keynote speaker at the dinner, which was raising money for an inner-city ministry that brought jobs and housing to ex-offenders and youth. As they drove along… Metzger asked Dr. Perkins what it was like for him now in Mississippi.

Dr. Perkins replied matter-of-factly, “I'm kind of a hero now in Mississippi. It seems that every time the state newspapers write something about reconciliation, they quote me. It's as if I created the word,” he said with a laugh.

There was a pause in the conversation. And then as he was looking out the window, he [said], “But when I think about how many homes my fame has built for the poor in Mississippi, I realize that my fame hasn't built any homes for the poor. So I don't put no stock in my fame.”

There were no television or newspaper reporters in the car—just Dr. Perkins, his daughter Elizabeth, and his young chauffeur (Paul Metzger). Well, that young chauffeur almost lost control of the car. Metzger says, “I rarely come across such a value system—in others or in my own heart.”

Then he goes on to say, “The Christian celebrity leverages the gospel for his or her own benefit. The saint asks God to leverage his or her own life and "fame" for the gospel and for people. The celebrity wants to be famous. The saint wants to be influential so that others might meet Jesus.” (Paul Metzger, The Gospel of John, Downers Grove: InterVarsity Press, 2010, pp. 50-51; www.PreachingToday.com)

That’s the difference between shining and putting on a show. Please, don’t put on a show to impress others with yourself. Just let the light of Jesus shine through you to impress others with Him.

Besides, that takes all the pressure off! You no longer have to be afraid of what others think.

I like the way Jessie Rice expressed it in a letter to “Fear-of-What-Others-Think.”

Dear Fear-Of-What-Others-Think, she writes:

I am sick of you, and it's time we broke up. I know we've broken up and gotten back together many times, but seriously, Fear-Of-What-Others-Think, this is it. We're breaking up.

I'm tired of overthinking my status updates on Facebook, trying to sound more clever, funny, and important. I'm sick of feeling anxious about what I say or do in public, especially around people I don't know that well, all in the hope that they'll like me, accept me, praise me. I run around all day feeling like a Golden Retriever with a full bladder: Like me! Like me! Like me!