Habits of the Holy: Generosity

Intro

Good morning everyone! I’m DJ Palmire, one of the elders here at Pillar and I’m glad to be with you this morning. This morning we’re wrapping up our summer series called Habits of the Holy. In this series, we’ve been identifying and encouraging the habits that the Bible talks about which help us walk in holiness as followers of Jesus. The series started with few weeks on Scripture and prayer, then we moved to community, evangelism, serving, and last week Cody encouraged us in fasting. This week’s habit of the Holy is generosity.

Giving and generosity often come with emotional baggage, manipulation, and guilt. Because of that many pastors don’t want to touch it with a ten-foot pole. There’s something strange about the one who benefits most directly from the giving preaching about the need to give. We as an elder team recognize the uncomfortable position that could put Cody in, and we suggested that he ask someone else to preach the week on generosity, to which Cody promptly responded, “Hey DJ, do you wanna preach on generosity?!” So here we are!

My goal today is not to browbeat, manipulate, cajole, intimidate, guilt, or otherwise force you to give money to the church. My goal today is to encourage your discipleship by spurring you on to generosity as a response to God’s generosity with us, not some pressure that I can put on you. My aim is generosity as a habit of the holy leading you to Christ-likeness and nothing more.

I think that since the fall, humans have an instinct to believe in scarcity of resources. I can’t give away what I have otherwise I won’t have enough. This is instinctual. Even as adults, we often feel this way. In our fear of not having enough, we withhold from those who may be in need. Our selfishness, believing there are scarce resources, leads to an aversion to generosity. More often than not, we don’t give because we don’t think there’s enough to give.

Jesus wants us to think otherwise. In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus talks about generosity as an alternative to retaliation in Matthew 5:38ff. He assumes generosity to the needy in chapter 6:1ff. He talks about anxiety about resources, which can prevent generosity, in chapter 6:25ff. In Matthew 7:12, Jesus reminds us that what we want others to do to us, we’re to do to them. Jesus multiplied a few loaves and fish to feed 5,000 and 4,000. Luke 8:16ff teaches that we are to be light that is shared with others. In a teaching on the final judgement Jesus says in Matthew 25:31-39

Matthew 25:31–39 CSB

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate them one from another, just as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will put the sheep on his right and the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. “ ‘For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink; I was a stranger and you took me in; I was naked and you clothed me; I was sick and you took care of me; I was in prison and you visited me.’ “Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and take you in, or without clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick, or in prison, and visit you?’

Jesus taught and lived a life of generosity to friend and enemy alike, those what seek to be like him, his followers, are to cultivate those characteristic as well.

Saint John the Merciful was the leader, or patriarch, of the church in Alexandria during the seventh century. He was known for generosity entrusting God with the results. He is commemorated for his generosity and the following are just some of the ways he demonstrated it.

He considered his chief task to be charity and to give help all those in need. At the beginning of his patriarchal service he ordered his stewards to compile a list of all the poor and downtrodden in Alexandria, which turned out to be over seven thousand men. The saint ordered that all of these unfortunates be provided for each day out of the church’s treasury.

Twice during the week, on Wednesdays and Fridays, he emerged from the doors of the patriarchal cathedral, and sitting on the church portico, he received everyone in need. He settled quarrels, helped the wronged, and distributed alms. Three times a week he visited the sick-houses, and rendered assistance to the suffering. It was during this period that the emperor Heraclius led a tremendous army against the Persian emperor Chosroes II. The Persians ravaged and burned Jerusalem, taking a multitude of captives. The holy Patriarch John gave a large portion of the church treasury for their ransom.

One day, when the saint was visiting the sick, he met a beggar and commanded that he be given six silver coins. The beggar changed his clothes, ran on ahead of the Patriarch, and again asked for alms. Saint John gave him six more silver coins. When, however, the beggar sought charity a third time, and the servants began to chase the fellow away, the Patriarch ordered that he be given twelve pieces of silver, saying, “Perhaps he is Christ putting me to the test.”

Saint John the Merciful had cultivated a heart of generosity like Christ and it was demonstrated in how he gave generously. Saint John is an example of a life like Christ particularly in his generosity.

Today we’ll be looking at generosity as described by Paul in 2 Corinthians 9. As always, I want to make sure that we’re looking at Scripture in its context. The letter to the church at Corinth is a letter written about specific issues that the church had been working through as Paul had directed before and through other messengers.

One of the themes of the letter is the temporary nature of what we see now and the eternal value of what is to come. Chapter five may be the hinge on which this all hangs. Listen to 2 Cor 5:14-15

2 Corinthians 5:14–15 CSB

For the love of Christ compels us, since we have reached this conclusion, that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all so that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for the one who died for them and was raised.

All of the practical application that Paul is about to give in the letter is tied to the conclusion that because Jesus died for all, we should no longer live for ourselves but for the one who died for us. If we think back to Jesus teaching in Matthew 25 from earlier, we see that living for Christ is demonstrated in how generous we are with his people.

The topic of giving and generosity really starts back in chapter 8. We learn in Romans that Paul had made it a point to take up a collection for the church in Jerusalem from all the churches he was associated with as a way of honoring them and providing for them during a time of famine. Paul, here, tells the church in Corinth about the sacrificial giving in the church of Macedonia even during extreme trials and affliction, they gave "according to their ability and even beyond their own ability, or their own accord" (2 Cor 8:3). He's using the church in Macedonia as a model of what it looks like to give generously. The church in Corinth had apparently made a financial pledge of some sort and Paul is reminding them of it and encouraging them to complete it according to what they have.

With that in mind, our main idea for today is this:

Generosity is God's work done by his grace, through us, and for others.

Let’s read the passage and we’ll see how that is worked out

2 Corinthians 9:6–15 CSB

The point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously. Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work. As it is written: He distributed freely; he gave to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. Now the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will also provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us. For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the proof provided by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone. And as they pray on your behalf, they will have deep affection for you because of the surpassing grace of God in you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!

O God who has given the indescribable gift of his Only Begotten Son, may we through the work of the Holy Spirit, hear the Scriptures today and do according to your words. Make our hearts soft and ready to receive your work in us today. Amen

Generosity is personal (v.6-7)

Paul continues his teaching on generosity where we pick up with a proverb, 2 Cor 9:6

2 Corinthians 9:6 CSB

The point is this: The person who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the person who sows generously will also reap generously.

Paul uses a parallelism intensify his point to the Corinthian church. There is a direct correlation between what is planted and what is harvested. There is a direct correlation between what is planted and what is harvested. I’m going to state the obvious, Paul is using the metaphor of seed to describe what we do with our money.

Now, looking at the word for seed there, we’re talking about a grain seed of some sort. So maybe wheat, barley, or another grain is in mind here. There are a couple ways to go about planting seeds at the beginning of the growing season. After plowing the ground and preparing the soil a farmer can go out and place individual seeds, appropriately spaced, to minimize the amount of seed used. He might have a good crop, but as I’ve learned, just because a seed is planted does not mean that it will grow. In fact, in my experience, of a handful of seeds planted, only a couple may actually turn into plants. That will limit the return of the farmer’s harvest. Whereas a more liberal approach of scattering handfuls of seeds across that plowed ground means that more plants will actually survive, increasing the farmers overall harvest. The generous sower reaps a bountiful harvest because of he entrusted a generous amount of seed to the ground. The stingy sower receives a stingy harvest because he was unwilling to entrust more seed to the ground.

This grain presents a dilemma for the farmers: the seed is the way to produce more crop, but unlike an apple or grape seed, this grain seed is also what is used to make the food. So the farmer has a choice, I can either plant the seed or I can eat the seed. That is the dilemma Paul brings to our attention this morning. I can either plant the seed or eat the seed.

This is important for us to remember the rest of the morning whenever Paul is talking about generosity. This physical reality is directly related to the spiritual reality that he’s discussing. Paul is connecting this idea with the Macedonian church he mentions in the previous chapter. They didn’t have much because of the trials they were experiencing, yet they trusted God that he would provide as they gave over and above what they were able to. They didn’t have much seed to eat, yet they planted it in the ground knowing that God would provide the harvest.

So, having encouraged them to generosity, Paul concedes that whoever gives is to do so with firm conviction and without the feeling of compulsion. Verse seven tells us that what is more important than how much we give is the attitude we have when we give. Giving out of reluctance or compulsion does not honor him, rather its the cheerful giver that honors him because he wants to give.

We can see this in our children. For those of you who have more than one child, you have dealt with the reality that children are selfish. And they exhibit that attitude multiple times per day. Often one of my children will be playing with a toy that another one wants to play with and a fight breaks out over who gets to have the toy. Quite frankly, it doesn’t make my heart happy to have to make one of my children share. To put them under compulsion to share means that someone loses and then goes away angry and sad. On the other hand, there are times where one child has a toy and freely offers it to another to play with. What a difference that makes in my heart and it turns out that both of the children are happy too. It’s the same with us and our giving. For us to be under compulsion or to feel reluctance to give means that we “lose” something and our attitude is on what we lose. But when we give cheerfully, we have a heart of joy that gets to share in the joy of the one receiving and God delights in that gift too!

When we give cheerfully it is a disposition of trust that we have enough and that even if we don’t, God will still supply. When we see Christ who gave up the glory of heaven to come and put on flesh and die a cruel death and to do all that with joy, we see the model of what it means to be generous. Our rightful response is to be generous in kind.

Dane Ortlund says this:

A gospel-formed person does not have generosity dragged out of him, even by himself. That is no generosity at all. Giving is something one does delightedly. That is, giving is simply what a gospel-formed life looks like. Even more deeply, it is what a Christian does because it reflects who we now are. A stingy Christian is a contradiction in terms. We ourselves have been gifted into new life in Christ. We have been gifted into becoming givers.

By way of application, let me say that giving is not something that is prescribed to you by God, by the elders here at Pillar, or by anyone else. Your giving is a response to God who has in Jesus given us all things. Generosity is personal.

Generosity is also a work of God

Generosity is a work of God (v. 8-11)

Right smack in the middle of the passage today we have what I think is the key set of verses for understanding Paul’s teaching on generosity. If I had to sum it up, it would be that God provides what is necessary for us to be generous and blesses us in various ways when we follow through.

Verse 8 is an underutilized verse when it comes to our understanding of the work of Grace in our lives. Check it out.

2 Corinthians 9:8 CSB

And God is able to make every grace overflow to you, so that in every way, always having everything you need, you may excel in every good work.

Grace is the power we need in order to good works.

But wait DJ, I thought grace was the unmerited favor of God that forgives our sins and brings us salvation? Yes, and. The way that Paul uses Grace here in 2 Corinthians and elsewhere is more about grace that empowers our living. Graces is the gas that runs your engine. Without it, there is no movement. There’s no movement toward God, there’s no movement toward people, there is complacency. Listen to how Paul uses grace in 2 Corinthians

2 Corinthians 1:12 “Indeed, this is our boast: The testimony of our conscience is that we have conducted ourselves in the world, and especially toward you, with godly sincerity and purity, not by human wisdom but by God’s grace.” Paul’s conduct toward them was empowered by God’s grace

2 Corinthians 8:1–2 “We want you to know, brothers and sisters, about the grace of God that was given to the churches of Macedonia: During a severe trial brought about by affliction, their abundant joy and their extreme poverty overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” Grace empowered the giving of the Macedonian church

Later on in 2 Corinthians 12:9 “But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.” Grace gives Paul power that he doesn’t have because of his own weaknesses.

But Paul doesn’t talk about Grace as power only in 2 Corinthians, but he also does it in:

Ephesians 2:4-10; Romans 12:6; 1 Corinthians 15:9-10; and 1 Timothy 1:12-14.

Grace is the power we need in order to do the good works God has set before us and one of them is with respect to generosity toward others.

Paul turns to Psalm 112 as his prooftext for how this plays out. Now without checking the actual context, and depending on the translation that you use, the way Paul uses the quotation seems to mean he’s talking about God, but if we take a look at Psalm 112 we actually discover that the Psalm is about the righteous man who lives by God’s instruction.

Psalm 112:1 CSB

Hallelujah! Happy is the person who fears the Lord, taking great delight in his commands.

The person who fears the Lord is the subject of the Psalm, he’s called the righteous man.

Later we read about that righteous man in verses 6-8 Psalm 112:6-8

Psalm 112:6–8 CSB

He will never be shaken. The righteous one will be remembered forever. He will not fear bad news; his heart is confident, trusting in the Lord. His heart is assured; he will not fear. In the end he will look in triumph on his foes.

Then we get to the verse that Paul quotes, Psalm 112:9

Psalm 112:9 CSB

He distributes freely to the poor; his righteousness endures forever. His horn will be exalted in honor.

Following Paul’s logic, we see that God empowers us by his grace to good works. We trust God and delight in him and the result is generosity.

God’s Grace + Trust and delight = Generosity

Paul then moves to reinforce that logic with verses 10-11.

2 Corinthians 9:10–11 CSB

Now the one who provides seed for the sower and bread for food will also provide and multiply your seed and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for all generosity, which produces thanksgiving to God through us.

Paul says that it isn’t the farmer that provides seed, but that God is the one who has provided the seed in the first place. There is nothing we have that hasn’t been given to us by God. Or to say it another way: Everything we have has been given to us by God. There is no life or breath without God giving it to us. There is no food to eat without God providing it for us. There is no job or money without God providing it for us. There is no abundance of any kind without God providing it for us. Stating it another way, everything we have comes from God.

Then, he goes on with you will be enriched in every way for all generosity. The generosity that we receive, we return to God by giving to others. God then enriches us in various ways, spiritually and maybe otherwise that results in more generosity. It is cyclical. In several commentaries, there was a common theme of multiplication. There’s not replacement of what was given, but there’s multiplication. Dane Ortlund says, “the little that we give, in ways we cannot explain, fills up with even more in its place.” Paul wants the Corinthians to understand that their abundance exists for the sake of generosity and results in thanksgiving.

The enrichment God gives is for the sake of generosity toward others, which is how, I think that God set up the world. We weren’t meant to look at the things around us and hoard them, rather we were to have dominion, which is careful management of, the earth. It means to ensure that all have what is needed, and when we walk in generosity, we find deep joy and contentment.

Generosity is personal, it’s a work of God, and it makes impact beyond ourselves

Generosity makes impact beyond ourselves (v.12-15)

It would be enough for generosity to be personal and a work of God, but what Paul looks to next is the impact that generosity has. In the last few verses we see at least 3 ways that generosity makes an impact beyond ourselves.

1. Generosity provides for the needs of others

Now this may be stating the obvious, but when we give generously we are meeting the needs that others have. In the case of the Corinthians and the Macedonians, they were meeting the physical needs of the church in Jerusalem that was experiencing a famine. It supplied money to help sustain the people who were part of the church and the ministries of the church.

George Mueller was an evangelist in England who lived in the early 19th century. His primary ministry was running an orphanage and over the course of his life cared for over 10,000 orphans. The work of Müller and his wife with orphans began in 1836, with the preparation of their own rented home at 6 Wilson Street, Bristol for the accommodation of thirty girls. Soon after, three more houses in Wilson Street were furnished, not only for girls but also for boys and younger children, eventually increasing the capacity for children who could be cared for to 130.

In 1845, as growth continued, the neighbours complained about the noise and disruption to the public utilities, so Müller decided that a separate building designed to house three hundred children was necessary, and in 1849, at Ashley Down, Bristol, the new home opened. By 1870 there were five houses built to care for the kids. Through all this, Müller never made requests for financial support, nor did he go into debt, even though the five homes cost more than £100,000 to build. Many times, he received unsolicited food donations only hours before they were needed to feed the children, further strengthening his faith in God. Müller was in constant prayer that God touched the hearts of donors to make provisions for the orphans. For example, on one well-documented occasion, thanks was given for breakfast when all the children were sitting at the table even though there was nothing to eat in the house. As they finished praying, the baker knocked on the door with sufficient fresh bread to feed everyone, and the milkman gave them plenty of fresh milk because his cart had broken down in front of the orphanage.

George Mueller was the recipient of the generosity of others and it met physical needs. But, not only did it meet Mueller and the orphanage’s physical needs, it also resulted in glorifying God as the provider of the gifts.

2. Generosity results in glorifying of God

Paul expected that the result of the generosity of the Corinthians would be the glorification of God across the world. The gift received by the church in Jerusalem would be told of around the known world and it would result in the praise of God because of how he cared for the church there. It would act as encouragement to other churches recognizing that in their poverty, God would also provide for their needs. And so there would be glory given to God all around.

There’s something to note here in verse 13. Listen to verse 13 again (2 Corinthians 9:13)“Because of the proof provided by this ministry, they will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone.” Did you catch it? They will glorify God for your obedient confession of the gospel of Christ. Wait, what?

We think about confession in judicial terms. A criminal gives confession for a crime committed, or someone confesses a sin to another person. That’s not the sense that Paul is using confession here. Here the confession has to do with one’s association. And more than association, it has a sense of the actions that associate one with another. Paul is saying that the Corinthian’s giving to the church in Jerusalem was an obedient confession of the gospel of Christ. Their act of giving was a physical confirmation of what it meant for them to be followers of Christ.

Do you remember how I said that 2 Corinthians 5 contained the hinge for the letter and that I said it would inform the practical aspects of the letter? Here’s the connection.

The Corinthian’s obedient confession of the gospel was the gift that they gave to the church in Jerusalem. Christian generosity is a demonstration of the confession of your faith. You see, the faith we have is not some set of principles or ideas that we mentally assent to, it is a way of life that encompasses every aspect of our life because Christ died for all, so that all should live for him. The submission of the church in Corinth to Christ, the vertical relationship with God spilled over into how they gave to the church in Jerusalem. Our vertical relationship with God, when it’s healthy, will spill out into the horizontal relationships we have with those around us. Our love for others and how it is worked out is a direct side-effect of our relationship with God.

It’s a side-effect of the realization that God has been abundantly generous with us and so we cannot help but be abundantly generous with others. God demonstrated his own love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. God was generous to his enemies by sending Christ to die on our behalf. If God can do that and then on top of that continue to be generous to us, it only makes sense for us to respond with generosity with those who are part of that family and even those on the outside.

According to Paul, how we give and express generosity is a confession of Christ to those around us. Now, to be clear, generosity is A type of confession, it is one aspect of the life in Christ, but it is not the whole story. Practicing the disciplines we’ve talked about over the summer weeks are also confessions of Christ in various ways as well. It is part of a larger, unified, holistic spiritual life worked out in a variety of areas. When we give, just as when we bask in Scripture, pray, fast, serve, witness to the gospel, and participate in the life of the church, we are making confessions of Christ which glorify God.

Generosity provides for the needs of others, it glorifies God, and it results in growing affection between those who give and those who receive.

3. Generosity results in growing affection between those who give and those who receive

Gary Chapman is the author of the book the Five Love Languages. He identifies the giving and receiving of gifts as one of the five languages. Now there are people who experience love more deeply as they give and receive gifts, my wife is one of them. But, no matter whether one’s primary love language is gifts or not, when someone sacrifices to give you something, it does increase your affection for them and they for you.

Think about it, in your life, can you recall someone making a sacrifice to give you a particularly important gift, or maybe you’re the one who sacrificed? I know as a poor college student, when I went to buy an engagement ring for Julia, it was a sacrifice and giving it to her draw me closer in affection to her as well.

Several years back, we had the opportunity to house a homeless lady that was an acquaintance of a friend. While she lived with us, we sacrificially gave to her by means of providing housing, but also a car. We grew in affection for her and when it was time for her to leave, it was a sad day for our family. Our affections grew as we gave to her.

When we give and receive gifts that are truly gifts and not obligations, we’re tied to one another in affection. The same was the case for Paul and his readers, and it’s true today. Again, we can tie this back to 2 Corinthians 5, God gave us the gift of his love and as we receive his love it increases our affection for him. It increases our bond with him.

And Paul closes this portion of the letter with thanksgiving for God’s indescribable gift. Praise God indeed! It’s his gift that is worked through us for the benefit of others and all of it results in his glory.

Application

Now as we head into some application, I imagine some of you may start squirming in your seats. You may be thinking, “here’s the part where he tells us to make sure we’re giving our tithe to the church.” I’m not going to tell you to do that, but I am going to describe a few ways that you can demonstrate generosity in a way that would be faithful to Paul’s teaching here in 2 Corinthians.

I do want to make a quick note about tithing, though. If you’ve been through our Next Steps class, you’ve heard us talk about Open- and Closed-handed issues of doctrine. Closed-handed issues being those that we are not going to budge on and open-handed issues being those that we see there being freedom for a variety of points of view on the subject, but that we are not going to hold onto as church teaching. Tithing is one of those Open-handed issues. There are a couple of views on tithing, both with apparent support. One is that the tithe, or the ten-percent gift, is still in place for the followers of Jesus and is best given to the church. Another is that the tithe is an Old-Testament command and is not binding on Christians today. Wherever you land on the subject, we have to first agree that all we have comes from God and it is all his, so however we come up with the number for our giving, it should be done recognizing that what is kept back isn’t ours either.

Now, Paul was speaking specifically about financial giving to the Corinthians, so I am going to talk specifically about giving money. Here are three ways to give generously and I would argue that it would be a good idea to give in this order.

Give money generously to the church.

For most of church history, the local church has been the locus of giving because it was through the church that the various needs of the people were met. For those who needed food or clothing, they would come to the church to be fed or clothed. The upkeep of the church building, the payment of pastoral staff, the work of ministry, and the start of new mission work was funded by the local church treasuries. It was the work of the church to distribute to any as they had need. And as such, it needed funding which was where the offerings came in.

Today is no different. We have a building which incurs various financial obligations and we have various ministries that require money to continue. We have a staff pastor who should be paid enough to live on in our area, which Paul addresses in his first letter to Corinth (1 Corinthians 9:13–14) “Don’t you know that those who perform the temple services eat the food from the temple, and those who serve at the altar share in the offerings of the altar? In the same way, the Lord has commanded that those who preach the gospel should earn their living by the gospel.” If you are receiving spiritual benefit here, then Paul would suggest that there is a responsibility to also be giving financial resources here in order to continue the work in the future.

So we can give money generously to the church, we can also give money specifically to ministries or missionaries.

Give money generously directly to ministries or missionaries

Pillar Woodlawn does not currently support any individual missionaries financially as a church. The giving we do as a church to outside sources is particularly for the work of church planting through the NAMB and the Praetorian Project.

Having said that, you have an opportunity to use your money for a ministry or missionary that is close to your heart. Maybe you have a heart for the unborn and want to give to a Christian crisis pregnancy center or adoption agency. Maybe you know some missionaries on the field and want to help them make their fundraising goals. Great! Go forth! Over the years, the Palmires have supported several different missionaries across the world and can connect you with some missionaries if you don’t know any personally. Giving directly to the ministries or missionaries that are close to your heart is a great way to give generously as well.

Give money generously to the people you know who are in need

This is a less specific, but an important aspect of generosity nonetheless. We should have ears low to the ground listening out for brothers and sisters in Christ who are in need and be ready to supply that need. Have you ever heard of someone in your church family come up to an expense, usually car-related, that they just didn’t have money for? That’s a perfect opportunity to give generously and show God’s love for your brother or sister. Does someone you know need a car and you have an extra? Give it to them. Do you have something that someone else needs and you can live without, hand it over!

But don’t stop there, be on the lookout for ways to simply bless those around you. I was in San Francisco for a conference with church leaders a handful of years ago and my car got towed. It cost nearly $500 to get it out of impound. The guys that I was staying with asked me if they could bring it to the attention of the people at the conference and when they did, they pooled money to cover the entire cost of the impound. I didn’t need the money, but it sure was a blessing to have that covered. And you know what, it caused an affection for those people that I can’t explain to this day aside from what Paul says in today’s passage.

Giving generously is an opportunity to respond to the way God has blessed us by blessing others, I encourage you if you haven’t cultivated that habit to give generously. If you have cultivated that habit, continue to exercise it and trust God in exercising it with more vigor! But in giving and keeping, let us remember that it all belongs to God. We can either plant the seed or eat the seed.