This Month

GENEROSITY

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2 CORINTHIANS 9:6-7

The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

DEUTERONOMY 8:17-18

Beware lest you say in your heart, ‘My power and the might of my hand have gotten me this wealth.’ You shall remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you power to get wealth, that he may confirm his covenant that he swore to your fathers, as it is this day.

PSALM 24:1

The earth is the LORD's and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein.

MATTHEW 6:19-20

Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.

PURPOSE

Worship has always included sharing what God has given us with others. Justin, an early Christian teacher and martyr, wrote of the practice of stewardship within the church in The Apology of Justin Martyr:

"The well-to-do and those who are willing to give according to their pleasure, each one of his own as he wishes, and what is collected is handed over to the president [pastor], and he helps widows and orphans, and those who are needy because of sickness or for any other reason, and those who are in prison and the strangers on their journeys."

We recognize that nothing we have really belongs to us. Everything we own belongs to God. We are simply stewards of his wealth, his gifts, his opportunities, his houses, his cars, and his computers. Sharing is to be in our DNA. Yet much of the world identifies the Christian West as consumers rather than people who are good stewards. God intends for the body of Christ to battle consumerism and reach the world with his loving care. He does this through people who steward his wealth by sharing their resources and gifts. The practice of generosity reveals what is in our heart. A commitment to generosity leads us to ask hard questions:

  • What do we need to have to be content?
  • Are we willing to share?
  • Will we live on less so that others might have more?
  • Can we downsize rather than trade up?

The questions of generous living are always aimed at us personally; we cannot read the heart of another. So let us refrain from judging others' choices and attend to our own faithful generosity.

Adele Calhoun Ahlberg, The Spiritual Disciplines Handbook

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.”

C.S. Lewis

PONDERING

  • How does the knowledge that all you belongs to God affect your life?
  • When have you gone without so someone else could have? What was that like for you?
  • What would it mean to you to begin to downsize so you could give more to others?
  • What would it be like for you to consider helping brothers and sisters in your community with their financial needs?

PRACTICES

  1. Take a look at the people you encounter regularly in your life. Do you feel any sort of responsibility to know their needs? How would knowing their needs affect you? Identify a way that you could be the loving hands of God's provision to someone you know. Carry it out.
  2. Think back over your life. When have you given something away that brought you great joy? What did you give? Why did it affect you in the way it did? Identify how you might continue to give in the area that brings you joy. Carry it out.
  3. Decide to give God a percentage of your income rather than a dollar amount. As your income rises and falls, give appropriately. Begin to increase this percentage as you earn more.