Being Generous

We don’t talk about money

There are certain topics we know we should avoid.

In the last few years, Donald Trump has got to be close to the top of the list of topics to avoid. You’re never quite sure if you’re talking to some who loves Trump or who loathes him, either way, this conversation topic seems to go down hill quickly.

Actually, politics in general is good to avoid.

When we’re outside of church, we’ve also learnt not to speak about religion. That can always feel like a tricky subject to navigate.

But even within the church, there are certain topic best to avoid. Any doctrine where there is a significant differences of views, such as creation, women in ministry and end times.

But there is another topic that we all like to avoid… any talk of money.

When we start talking about money, things get weird. For the most part, we don’t like to let on to how much or how little we have.

We never tell anyone how much money we earn. We don’t like telling people how much money we spent on purchases like cars and houses.

And look, there is all good reason for this. We don’t want our wealth, or lack thereof, get in the way of relationships we have. Whether we have a lot of money, or very little, we want people to be friends with us for who we are.

Now, while we avoid this topic for a reason, it causes a problem. That is, we don’t really know how to deal with it - regardless of whether we have a lot of it, or not much.

What is an appropriate amount to save for ourselves? When are we being wasteful or when is that luxury spend appropriate? How much do we give to charity? And how much do we give to the church?

Now, I’m not going to answer all of those questions. But it is worth exploring this issue from a Biblical standpoint, and that is what we are going to do today.

Now, it’s worth point out at this point, that while we might have a tendency to avoid the discussion of money, Jesus actually spoke about it a lot. One analysis I’ve seen suggests that Jesus spoke about money about 15 percent of the time. And if you look at the parables, 11 of the 39 parables he gave dealt with the issue of money. And yes, those numbers might vary depending on how you count them.

But the point is, Jesus wasn’t shy about talking about money.

And part of the reason is that Jesus knew that money is part of life, and if it’s part of life we should talk about it. In fact, it’s not just part of life, it’s an integral part of the entire way our society operates. And for this reason, it’s worth thinking about.

So, this morning we’re going to go through the passage we read earlier in 2 Corinthians 9. We’re going to see a call to be generous with our money.

As we go through this, I’m going to be asking three basic questions, which will form the basis of this talk. Firstly, why should we be generous? Secondly, what are the barriers stopping us being generous and how should we overcome these? And thirdly, what should our generosity look like?

Why Be Generous?

So let’s start with the first of those three questions: why be generous?

This is what Paul in his letter to the Corinthians addresses, so let’s turn to what Paul has to say.

But to do this, we perhaps need a bit of context.

So this is the second letter that we have recorded from the apostle Paul to the church in Corinth. I say the second recorded, because based on some of the inferences in the two letters, it would certainly appear there must have been other letters, but these other letters have been lost.

The special thing about the letters we do have, however, is that we get some insight into a church that Paul knows very well. While some of his letters are much more general in nature, 1 and 2 Corinthians addresses very specific issues.

Well, in the last chapter of the first letter to the Corinthians, we get quite a brief mention of a collection which is being taken up of the members of this church which was to be sent to the church in Jerusalem.

In the second letter, however, Paul devotes a lot more attention to the offering that is being made.

He actually starts talking about their offering in chapter 8. Here he starts by talking about the offering of the churches in the Macedonian area. In case you’re wondering which are the Macedonian churches, we’re talking about Philippi and Thessalonica which we also have recorded letters from Paul addressed to them, namely, Philippians and 1 and 2 Thessalonians.

But while at first, it might seem like Paul is describing the gift of these Macedonian churches as a means to guilt the Corinthians into giving, it’s actually not quite what’s going on. It wasn’t meant as guilt, rather as encouragement.

The joy of giving

You see, what we’re going to see from Paul, is that being generous is actually not a burden, it’s actually a joy. Seeing it this way can only occur when we shift the way that we view money.

You see, when material possessions are prized above all else, then being generous will naturally feel wrong. But if we see relationship as more important… or injecting love into the world… then you can actually start to see how generosity actually brings joy.

And I think many of us actually instinctively know this. When we get over the barriers that we will talk about shortly, giving is actually something that does bring joy.

If you look at chapter 8 verse 4, Paul describes the Macedonian church as urgently pleading for the privilege of sharing.

Not compulsory, but expression of love

Now, an important part of the message that Paul gives to the Corinthian church is that the offering is not compulsory. He is not putting a mandate on them that they have to give.

If you go to chapter 8 verse 8, he says: “I am not commanding you, but I want to test the sincerity of your love by comparing it with the earnestness of others”.

Now it’s easy to get caught up with the comparison, but its not the giving that he’s comparing, it’s the sincerity of their love.

Now even still, this might feel confronting, but the idea is that giving should be an expression of love. It does need to be noted, however, that it’s an expression of it, it not love in and of itself.

We cannot act cold and callous towards someone, then give them money and think that we’re showing them love.

Love is an attitude of the heart. When you love someone, it will be expressed in a variety of ways. Being generous towards them is just one possible way to show love.

Now, let me just get back to Paul’s idea of making comparisons between churches in different regions. Making direct comparisons with others can be a dangerous game to play. Everyone has different circumstances and simple comparisons often don’t take them into consideration.

However, where we can spur one another on to bigger and better things, then it can have it’s place. And that is what Paul is doing here. He’s trying to encourage believers everywhere to extend themselves into bigger and better things for God.

So, in the first part of chapter 8, Paul’s been doing this little comparison thing with the Macedonian church, but in verse 10 of chapter 8, Paul actually starts heaping on the praise for the way the church in Corinth were eager to give.

Equality

So, we’ve seen already a few reasons why we should be generous. Firstly, because it’s something that should bring us joy. And secondly, because it’s an expression of our love.

In verse 13 of chapter 8, we also see that being generous in this way brings about equality.

One of the things that is very evident in our society today, is that the rich keep getting richer, and the poor get poorer.

The rich have the influence and the means to generate more and more money. The poor on the other hand don’t.

Sadly, the rich justify this because they somehow think they got to their position because they’re somehow better than others. Now, quite often, the rich actually do work very hard and they’ll look at people who haven’t worked as hard as them. But that’s a fools game to play.

Instead of trying to justify why we have more than other people, let’s instead work towards restoring a better balance between all people. All people are made in the image of God. While their are undoubtedly lazy people out there, the reality is, for the most part, people are trying, and in our generosity, we have an opportunity to help others.

Reap what you sow

But let me jump to where our passage was read earlier. You see, after Paul goes on for a chapter and a half talking about this arrangement for the Church of Corinth to give this offering, he ends chapter 9 with some further motivation.

In chapter 9 verse 6, we get something that would be very easy to take out of context.

He says: “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously”.

Put simply, you reap what you sow.

So does this mean that if you give lots of money, you’ll get lots of money in return?

We could almost think of it as an investment. You know when you’ve got a bit of money and you can make a decision: do you put it in the bank and earn interest? Or perhaps go into shares where you might be able to get a better return? Or maybe the property market?

I’m going to suggest, this is not how we should be thinking.

Giving generously is not a financial investment.

But yet, don’t ever be surprised by God’s ability to be generous to you.

This statement about reaping what you sow should actually be taken more as a general statement, that is to say, when you are generous, you’ll start to notice people will be generous to you.

It’s possible that after you give, you’ll be poorer in a financial sense, but you’ll also start to see that you’ll have what you need.

Warning

Now, before I start painting too rosy a picture, let me just pause a moment because the wider context of 2 Corinthians is going to be instructive.

Let me just give you a few highlights from this letter that we are reading.

In chapter 1 (v8) Paul describes his hardships saying they were “far beyond our ability to endure, so that we despaired of life itself”.

In chapter 2 (v14) Paul uses the image of them being led like captives.

In chapter 4 (v8-9) it describes the hard times and persecutions.

In chapter 6 Paul goes on quite an extended list of the difficulties he has faced. Something he repeats in chapter 11.

I could go on, but the picture is one where Paul is not describing the easy life. It’s easy to look at chapter 9 and say, if only you’re generous, then everything is going to be great for you.

That is not what Paul is trying to say. You see, the reason we’re generous, is not just because we want something in return. It’s rather those earlier things I mentioned. The joy we recieve. The love we can give. And the equality we can create. The fact that generosity can come back at us is an added bonus.

The barriers

Okay, I want to shift gears now. Because as I mentioned earlier, I want to think about some of the barriers that we can put in place that stop us being generous.

Now, I’m not going to offer these as an exhaustive list, rather these are some observations that I’ve made from various means.

My money, I deserve it

The first one I’ve already touched on briefly. It’s the idea that the money I have is mine and I worked for it hard and I don’t want to give to people who haven’t worked hard.

I want to suggest that one of the big problems with this attitude is that you’re making a lot of assumptions about someone else when quite likely you know very little about their circumstances.

But let me add a further thought - everything you have, has come from God.

Yes you may have worked hard for it, but it all came from God to start with -he created this world and everything in it. Besides, he made you and your ability to work hard. He has given you the knowledge and the skill to do what you need to do to make money.

Ultimately, everything comes from God. So to think of it as yours, well, this is a bad assumption.

My circumstances don’t allow me to be generous

The next barrier is our circumstances. Many of you might be sitting here thinking - well, this is all well and good for the few people in this room that might have a bit of money, but not me. I’ve got next to nothing. How am I to be generous?

Or possibly, you are so financially stretched that there is nothing to give.

Well, first of all, this is not about how much you give, it’s rather about the attitude of your heart.

Do you remember when Jesus commended the poor widow who put two small copper coins in the offering and how he said she gave more than all those who put large amount in.

Materially speaking, those two copper coins were not going to make any noticeable difference in the temple treasury, yet this is the offering Jesus commends.

Don’t get fooled with the idea that you’ll start giving when you have money. Practice generosity in what ever circumstances you are in.

Now, this being said, you do need to put a roof over your head, and put food on the table. It’s wise to do a budget, but allow room for generosity in that budget.

Lack of trust

I want to suggest that a further barrier is actually a lack of trust that God will actually provide for you.

In the passage that was read earlier, it says “God is able to bless you abundantly” (v8), “He [God]… will.. supply and increase your store of seed” (v10), and “you will be enriched in every way” (v11).

Again, we’ve got to be careful that this is not God saying that your life is going to be easy and you’ll be rich. But it is God saying he’ll look after you.

Do you actually believe that?

Sometimes, God just wants you to trust him… to give a little more than you might have otherwise thought, and trust that God will supply what you need. This is not calling for recklessness. But it is calling for a deep trust.

What generosity looks like

Okay, well, so far I’ve been speaking about generosity, however, I’ve been speaking in quite general terms.

So it’s worth thinking about what this actually means.

Let me start by reading chapter 9 verse 7: “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver”.

Now this might be helpful, but it might also leave you thinking - but I want more guidance.

Well, let me make some suggestions, but let me just highlight where it said, it’s not under compulsion.

Tithe

Many of you might be familiar with the concept of the tithe. The word tithe, literally means a tenth.

In the Old Testament, we see the practice of giving a tenth of the produce, or a tenth of the revenue given to the church. It then becomes part of the Mosaic law.

When you get to the New Testament however, Christians are not mandated to give a tenth, in fact, as I highlighted a moment ago, when we’re asked to give in the New Testament, it’s never as a mandate.

However, I want to suggest that giving a tenth of what you earn is a good principle. I also want to suggest that giving that money to the church is a good practice.

Do you have to? No. But if we believe that the church is Christ’s hands and feet working in our community, then shouldn’t we be generous towards this?

I will also declare an interest in this. I do take a salary from the church, and it entirely comes from the offering. But this is not me trying to get rich. If being rich was my aim, I might have stayed being an engineer.

But let’s come back to the tithe.

You might think - but how do I calculate a tenth. Is it pre-tax or post-tax? What if you’re a self-funded retiree and not really earning money as such?

To be honest, these are not questions for me to answer. This is not like doing a tax return where there are strict rules about what you can and can’t do. This is rather sitting down and thinking, this is how much God is giving me, and this is how much I’ll give in return.

But let me add a warning to this. It is wrong to think - a tenth belongs to God, and 90% belongs to me. Actually, it all belongs to God, but 10% will be given for the church.

And beyond

If you choose to practice a tithe, I want to suggest that this shouldn’t be the end. There might be other causes you want to support. Some might be Christian groups or individuals, but they might also be other charities.

How much do you give? Well, that’s actually something you need to answer for yourself. As I mentioned earlier, it is worth doing a budget, but challenge yourself to stretch yourself a little, and see how far you can go.

Generous by other means

But I also don’t want to limit this all to just money. Yes money is part of our society, and we should not neglect it, but we can also be generous with our time and resources. This might be in the form of hospitality or acts of service. It could also be in giving time, just sitting down with someone in need and listening to them. Let’s be generous with everything God has given us.

Conclusion

God is a generous God.

His generosity comes to us before we even deserve it.

What if we did the same to others?

How far can we go with our generosity?

Challenge yourself.

This is not about rules and regulations. This is rather about love.

Here’s a question I want to leave you with. If an accountant or financial adviser went through all of your finances, would they know that you were a Christian?

Because Christianity should not just be a small component of our lives. It should be something that completely affects every part of our lives.

I know we don’t like talking about money. But yet, it is there, and what we do with it matters.

How generous are you being?

Let me pray...