Level Up Generosity

Generosity

You might walk away from today thinking that I preached on financial giving. I hope not. We are going to talk about financial giving today but financial giving is a part of generosity and not the whole idea.

Financial giving is part of generosity like romantic love is part of marriage.

Financial giving is a part of generosity like quality time is a part of friendship.

Financial giving is a part of generosity like paint is part of a car.

It is an important part, it is a necessary part, it is often the seen part, but it is a part. The whole is greater.

When we make generosity all about financial giving we muddy the waters and make it an act instead of a life style and a response to God’s grace. People often fall into one of two errors when generosity is all about the financial aspect.

Transactional Christianity

The error of transactional Christianity is that we come to God with a give and take mindset. We see our faith and actions as I do you do.

We assume that if we do something God must then do something of equal or greater value.

I give financially so God is bound to bless me financially.

I give financially so God is bound to keep me safe.

I give financially so God is bound to keep me healthy.

This is false. God is not bound by anything. He is Lord and we are the sheep of His pasture. We cannot force Him to do anything any more than a sheep can tell the shepherd what to do. Yes there are biblical and spiritual truths but we often redefine them to fit our wants and desires.

A transaction is an agreement where two parties are equal and decide on a cost for goods and services or labor.

For example, I will work for this company giving my time talent and energies for X amount of money.

Both parties are obligated to comply. If one does not then there is a breach of trust or contract.

I will give you X amount of money for this property.

Both parties are obligated to comply. If one does not then there is a breach of trust or contract.

We do not have this with God.

Acts 8:19–21 CSB

[Simon] saying, “Give me this power also so that anyone I lay hands on may receive the Holy Spirit.” But Peter told him, “May your silver be destroyed with you, because you thought you could obtain the gift of God with money! You have no part or share in this matter, because your heart is not right before God.

Yes we have covenants but the error with transactional Christianity is that we have decided the terms and then when God fails to meet the expectations we have created we feel He has broken the contract.

That is simply not true. We created rules to a game God is not obligated to play.

Overvaluing Wealth

A second issue is that we can overvalue wealth. When we think that generosity is only about financial giving then we can fall into the issue of thinking that money or wealth is the most important thing.

This causes us to think money or stuff is the sign of blessing.

This causes us to see those with wealth as being blessed.

This causes us to see those with wealth as good people.

This causes us to see a lack of money as punishment.

The problem happens on both sides of having or not having money. Being poor does not mean you are free from this issue. Often those without feel like they are without the good things in life. Both those with and those without can overvalue and obsess over money.

Overvaluing money can say those who give more are better people and those who give little are devalued. When we place financial giving as the end and be all of generosity we can start to place value on people as well. We can start to associate a persons worth with their financial worth. These two things are not the same thing.

Luke 21:1–4 CSB

He [Jesus] looked up and saw the rich dropping their offerings into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow dropping in two tiny coins. “Truly I tell you,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For all these people have put in gifts out of their surplus, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.”

Financial giving is part of generosity but it is not the whole.

Generosity is the opposite of our natural inclination to be self focused.

It is when we have the heart of the Father in us and desire to do as He did.

John 3:16 CSB

For God loved the world in this way: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life.

1 Peter 1:18–19 CSB

For you know that you were redeemed from your empty way of life inherited from your ancestors, not with perishable things like silver or gold, but with the precious blood of Christ, like that of an unblemished and spotless lamb.

The cost of our salvation was high, higher than money could have ever bought. God gave His only Son. Jesus gave His perfect blood.

Generosity then is about having a heart that is inclined towards another for their good and being moving to action.

Philippians 2:5–7 CSB

Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man,

Being generous is doing what God did and does.

What are we to be generous with?

We are called to be generous with things that have value. Generosity is tied to value so if something has value we are called to be generous with that thing. When we are generous God sees that and repays us with His blessings.

Proverbs 11:25 CSB

A generous person will be enriched, and the one who gives a drink of water will receive water.

The word enriched is dāšēn (da shane) and it means to be made fat or anoint. It means God will take care of you. This does not mean like for like. Water in this verse is an example. God says be generous and I will take care of things. This is not transactional because the fattening is left up to God. We live in a material world where finances matter so often it is done by taking care of us financially but it does not have to be that.

God can and does bless us with so many different things.

Because of this.

We are called to be generous with

Time

Talent

Resources

Gifts

Blessings (i.e. affirmation)

Money

Etc.

Let’s look at a few of these

Time

Time is an easy one for a few reasons. One, we only have so much of it. We know time has value because we say things like

Time is money

Spending time with the family

Wasting time on whatever

Time is probably one the most valuable things on the planet because we cannot make more of it. What we have is what we have and we do not know how much of it we get. Time is finite. There is only a small amount of it.

James 4:14 CSB

Yet you do not know what tomorrow will bring—what your life will be! For you are like vapor that appears for a little while, then vanishes.

Some day we will have used up our allotted time and then it will be no more. If we have trusted Christ we will be with Him for eternity but time will have no more use.

How we spend our time matters. Will we be generous with it, will we spend it wisely?

When we give our time to something we are also giving our talent and attention to it. It is a multifaceted gift.

We can be generous with our time when we give it to those who cannot give us something in return. You go to work and they pay you, that is transactional.

You serve in kids, student, prep, tech, worship, first impressions and it is being generous with your time because you could be investing that time into something else. Generosity.

You can come in early next week at 8 and help setup for Father’s Day.

Serving in the church is an awesome way to be generous with your time.

We can be generous with our time when we serve in the community. By serving the community in some way, food banks, boys and girls clubs, feeding the poor, and so on we are giving our time away that could be used for something else.

Civic service is finding some way to serve the community in a way that benefits the whole. Serving with your time and praying for the city.

Jeremiah 29:7 NLT

And work for the peace and prosperity of the city where I sent you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, for its welfare will determine your welfare.”

Civic Service and serving the city in some way is awesome way to be generous with your time.

Blessings (i.e. Affirmation)

Romans 13:7 CSB

Pay your obligations to everyone: taxes to those you owe taxes, tolls to those you owe tolls, respect to those you owe respect, and honor to those you owe honor.

There is honor and blessing that is due and then there is going above and beyond.

Matthew 5:41 CSB

And if anyone forces you to go one mile, go with him two.

We should be free with our blessings and affirmation. Tell people they are doing good ad nauseam. We should be so free with our praise and love for others that it boarders on annoying.

When you see someone doing good encourage the good. When you hear of someones success tell them you are proud of them. Do not give out flattery for flattery sake but when there is something praise worthy call it out.

When you are taking quiet time to pray and do a devotion and God puts someone on your mind reach out to them and tell them you are praying for them. And pray for them.

Tell your kids you love them.

Tell your spouse you love them.

Tell your friends you love them.

People should not have to guess or assume we love them and are proud of them we should be free with these things.

Verbally Blessing others is an awesome way to be generous.

Resources

Proverbs 3:27–28 CSB

When it is in your power, don’t withhold good from the one to whom it belongs. Don’t say to your neighbor, “Go away! Come back later. I’ll give it tomorrow”—when it is there with you.

Sometimes we have things that can bless another person. It can be something small or something larger. But sometimes we have something that will bless another person.

John the Baptist said,

Luke 3:11 CSB

He replied to them, “The one who has two shirts must share with someone who has none, and the one who has food must do the same.”

St Basil the Great said,

“The bread in your cupboard belongs to the hungry man; the coat hanging unused in your closet belongs to the man who needs it…”

This does not mean we need to give everything away. I am not advocating for socialism but what I am saying is there is a strong biblical precedent for blessing others with what we have when we can.

Sometimes we have to say no and that is ok. I have people ask me for stuff all the time. Sometimes I cannot help but we often know when we can and we chose not to. We have to be wise but we also have to be generous.

If I have a closet full of stuff that I do not use, I can bless others with it.

I can also sell it for money to buy different things. It is not that one is right and the other is wrong it is about the motivation of the heart.

Being generous with resources when we are able is an awesome way to bless others.

Money

When we spoke about stewardship two weeks ago, I said

We are called to be wise with money. Do not love it, do not crave it, but be wise with it as a tool.

Money is a tool and it is the common tool of us all. Whether you have $50, $500, or $50 million dollars you have this tool. So what are you doing with this tool?

We are called to be generous with our money.

We can be generous with our money is so many ways.

Giving to charity.

According to studies by organizations like Giving USA and the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy:

Around 70–75% of all charitable donations in the U.S. come from individuals who identify as Christian (across all denominations).

Christians are the most generous people when it comes to giving financially.

Giving financially to community projects, homeless shelters, and so on is a an awesome way to be generous.

Giving regularly in the church is a good thing.

Regular giving in the church is good for a multitude of reasons. Let me also clarify that regular is defined by your life and your job. I know realtors who only get paid when they sell. Regular means consistent based on whatever your life happens to look like.

One is that if we come here on a Sunday we expect certain things like lights, words on the screen, A/C in the Summer and Heat in the winter. We want a roof, room for the kids to learn, space for the teens to engage in meaningful ways. You want to be able to hear the message without me yelling so I have a microphone. You don’t want cracks in the floor. You want it to look nice. All of these things and more cost money. If you do not give financially then we do not have these things.

1 Timothy 5:17–18 CSB

The elders who are good leaders are to be considered worthy of double honor, especially those who work hard at preaching and teaching. For the Scripture says: Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain, and, The worker is worthy of his wages.

We want people here who can make these things and more happen. You want me and others to be available to visit you when you are sick. You want to hear the Word of God preached and proclaimed.

The reality is the majority of things only happen in the church because someone gives to the work. This happens because you give regularly.

In our church the average right now is 45.7% of people give. That means if you giving you are making things happen. If you are not giving then you are receiving because someone else is making it happen.

That is not emotional manipulation. I hate that especially when it comes to giving. We are talking about generosity as a lifestyle not as guilt.

But the truth is that less than half of the people in this room are giving. I know of at least a few people who give to the mission of Journey that do not actually come here so that percent is actually lower.

So if you are not one of those people who give and you are thinking the church should be doing X Y or Z then perhaps if you gave we could.

Some people ask me should I tithe? A tithe is 10% and I think that is a good number. I see nothing wrong with that. But the heart is what counts. A tithe is an Old Testament principal and I think it is a good number but I want to partner with people who have a cheerful heart.

2 Corinthians 9:7 CSB

Each person should do as he has decided in his heart—not reluctantly or out of compulsion, since God loves a cheerful giver.

Maybe you cannot give 10% that is fine. When my wife and I started we did 1% and we grew that number over the years because we want to honor God with our money, we want to trust God with our money, and we want to put our money where our mouth is.

Matthew 6:21 CSB

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

I cannot say I love and support this church or any other church or organization and not support it financially. My money is an evidence of my attachment.

Generally speaking look at your bank statement and see where you spend your money. See where you spend your time. That is what you care about.

I do not care much about how much you give, I care more about the heart behind it and if it is regular.

When we give financially it should be a reflection of our heart devotion to God and not out of obligation.

When we give financially on a regular basis we are saying I am committing to this place and this mission.

That is what I as a pastor want to see. People who are committed to the mission.

Financially Giving on a regular basis is an awesome way to be generous.

Then there is giving to things in the church that you personally connect with.

If you give online or in the Church Center App you can always chose the drop down and see what we have for things to give to that are not general items. General items are things we spoke about like mortgage, payroll, well water, lights, etc.

Specific giving it when things get real fun. It is finding something that personally excites you and then giving to that thing.

If you are really into missions then you can give financially to help that happen. Four of us are going to Kenya in November to check it out and plan a larger church wide trip. You can give to help cover the cost of that. We have already bought the tickets. We are going. My Capitol One bill tells me this is true.

If you want to help kids cover the cost of camps you can do that. If you want to help cover the cost of camp sponsors you can do that. We pay for that out of general unless someone gives to help with that.

If you are really into benevolence and being a part of helping families in need you can do that.

If you want to see the new building get done you can give to Shift. Side note I should have a quote back soon for the student wing.

If you want to support Amarillo Angels which helps foster kids and foster families you can do that.

If you want to help a missions organization that shares the Gospel in East Africa you can do that.

If you want to give to a specific ministry in the church you can.

I really want to see the church van wrapped with a cool wrap job so when we drive it around people take notice. We need $4k for that. There is no limit what you can give to. If you don’t see something and want to give to that just give to general and let me know. I can make sure it goes there.

Generosity is just as Spiritual as it is Spatial

Generosity is about a towards the Lord. A response to His Grace

A response to His mercy

A response to His love.

A response to Him.

When we are generous with what has value we are not just doing something nice to do something nice. We are not just being good people. We are practicing a spiritual truth and showing that the Lord, He is God.

Proverbs 19:17 CSB

Kindness to the poor is a loan to the Lord, and he will give a reward to the lender.

Again we have to be careful not to fall into Transactional Christianity.

It is not always a one for one or like for like. I have received some amazing blessings from God that have nothing to do with what I have given to Him.

I have seen Him repay being generous with time, with peace that makes no sense.

I have seen Him repay financial giving with bills disappearing.

God will give us whatever we need when we need it.

Being a generous person is about a heart posture toward the Lord. It is saying even in this, you are the Lord.