"'What If I Don't Want To Give?' How God Turns Tight Fists Into Generous Hearts"

Happy Mothers’ Day to all you moms and grandmoms out there this morning. I am so glad you’ve joined us today because we are here to express our gratitude for the moms who have made our lives what they are.

My own mother is here today. Now all week, this day is growing closer and the sermon series on giving begins to weigh on me. How can I continue the series on giving generously and still honor our mothers? And then it hit me: the ketchup sandwich.

When I was growing up, I went through what you might call a ketchup phase. I would put ketchup on some pretty weird food items — like macaroni, mashed potatoes (who needs gravy when you have ketchup).

But by far, the weirdest thing I ever did with ketchup was have a ketchup sandwich. Yes, that is exactly what it sounds like — two pieces of loaf bread together with ketchup in the middle. I asked my mom to make me a ketchup sandwich — and she did.

And as I took bite after bite and chewed and chewed, I began to think, “Yeah, this isn’t so good…I’m feeling a little sick.” I don’t remember how much of it I ate. What is important to note here is not even the fact that I actually ate it. What’s important to note here is that I asked my mother to make me a ketchup sandwich, and she actually did.

Now she was probably just giving me the sandwich so I could figure out for myself how terrible it would be and never ask for it again. But this ketchup sandwich illustrates my point: in many ways, to be a mother is to be a giver — even when sometimes your kids ask you for things you know they will not really like.

In fact, as I think back on my childhood growing up at home, that’s exactly how I remember my mom. She always gave of herself. I can honestly say I don’t have a single memory of coming to her needing something and not finding her absolutely, unfailingly present and available. If she was physically present, I had her complete attention. My dear wife is also a very present wife to me and mother to our kids and we would be utterly lost without her.

It is true — to be a mom is to be a giver. You moms have my utmost respect. Whether you work outside the home or within your home, you hold it together.

And sometimes we men sit back and watch and wonder — what motivates you to serve and give the way you do?

Of course we know the answer to that question. It’s God who is the source of your strength. But how does He motivate and energize us to give of ourselves and all that we have? This is not just an issue for moms. All of us are called to be givers if we are Christians. How does God motivate us to do that?

And more to the point for this morning, how does God motivate us to give financially? After all, if we’re to be all hands on deck, if we’re going to Be The Church, part of that is giving — giving generously, giving sacrificially, giving cheerfully.

So how does He motivate us when we’d rather spend the money on something else, or when we’re not sure how we’ll make ends meet otherwise? That is the question this text answers this morning. The title of the sermon is: “What if I don’t want to give? How God turns tight fists into generous hearts.”

The apostle Paul is writing to the Corinthians with the purpose of motivating them to give generously and sacrificially and cheerfully. There are four ways we see here that God motivates us to give.

#1: We become motivated to give when we hear how God has provided for others

We become motivated to give when we hear stories of God’s provision for others. Paul opens up this section in chapter eight verse one by informing the Corinthians of something. There is something he wants them to know. What is it? “We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia.”

What is God up to that Paul is so eager to share with the Corinthians? Look at verse 2: “We want you to know…about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia” — and here it is, verse 2 — “for in a severe test of affliction” — now notice every word carefully because this is pretty amazing — “in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.”

The enabling grace of God in verse 2:

“a severe test of affliction”

+ “their abundance of joy”

= an “overflowing wealth of generosity”

“A severe test of affliction”, Paul says. What was this severe test of affliction? Well, I thought you would ask so I did some research. At this time in the city of Thessalonica there was a huge economic depression; on top of that, land and houses and resources were being stolen by the Romans, and the chief industries of the city were being taxed oppressively by the Romans. And on top of all of that, as if that were not enough, they were also being persecuted violently for being a Christian.

Sounds kind of like life in 2022, right? We are going through a global pandemic that has now lasted two and one-half years. On top of that, we are looking at the fiercest ground war in Europe since the end of world war 2. We seem to be hovering precariously at the edge of economic collapse. We’re looking at the continued moral collapse of our nation and our institutions, and we just don’t know what the future holds. And we’re seeing increasingly that Christians are being isolated and marginalized and we wonder what’s next. Does all of that count as a severe test of affliction?

And yet, verse 2 indicates that it is possible to experience simultaneously two things that are seemingly at odds with each other. Did you see that? Verse 2, “in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” “abundance of joy” and “extreme poverty”, in the same person at the same time. God’s word says it is possible for two things that are completely worlds apart, two emotional states that could not be more opposite from each other, to co-exist within the same person at the same time — and those two things are great suffering, and great joy. Who but Christians could ever even say that such a thing is possible?

And yet that’s because we know that it is possible. Many of us have experienced it. Don’t ever say that circumstances are so bad that God can’t possibly be at work. What this shows us here is that God is at work even and precisely in the absolute worst of circumstances. He is at work for His glory, for our good, and for the flourishing and success of His church in the world and in our community.

We see that especially in the next sentence. We would think that those circumstances they were facing would make them say, “You know, now is really not the time to give. Things are fluid, money is tight, the future is uncertain. Let’s taper our giving down.” But that’s not how the text characterizes their giving. Look quickly with me at four aspects of their giving:

They gave despite great suffering (v. 2)

They gave despite great poverty (v. 2)

The gave generously (v. 3)

They gave happily (v. 4)

They gave despite great suffering, as we saw. They gave despite great poverty, as we saw. But they also gave generously at the very time when it hurt the most. Did you notice that? Verse 3, “For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord.” Beyond their means! They gave even when it didn’t seem to make financial sense to do so. And lastly, they gave happily. “Begging us,” Paul says, “begging us” — pleading with us -- “for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints” .

So instead of closing their hands to God out of fear for the future, they open their hands and they give. Not only did they give when things were terrible. They gave all the more generously during this time! Only the grace of God can create this kind of generosity.

And Paul is telling the Corinthians about this experience to motivate them to give — and to motivate us. God will enable us to give, just as He did for them; He will give us the desire to give, just as He did with them; He will provide for us after we give, just as He did with them.

And this leads us to our first affirmation. Say it with me will you, loud and clear.

“If God does this for others, I know He will do it for me”

We become motivated when we hear how God has provided for others. We also become motivated to give when we are challenged to ‘up our game’.

#2: We become motivated to give when we are challenged to ‘up our game’

Here’s a little mothers day info for you. I’m often impressed by the ‘game’ of moms. I read the other day about a study on how well mothers know their babies. Hebrew University in Jerusalem studied 46 moms who had just given birth within the previous 5-79 hours. They blindfolded the mothers and led them into the hospital nursery where their babies were sleeping. True story, reported by the Associate Press.

Do you know how many of those moms correctly identified their babies? Seven out of 10 — 70 percent. When asked how they knew, do you know what they said? Most of them said they knew the texture of their baby’s hand when they felt it. After a mere 1-3 days, that’s how they recognized their child. They had already gained such an intimate of their baby in that time alone. [Larson pp268-69]

There’s something about a mom and her child that makes us men want to up our game.

We see this in verse 7, “But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.” Notice his tact. “Corinthians, you are already so gifted. You excel in so many things, in many important things. I know excellence is important to you. Take that excellence with which you do everything else and apply it go your giving. And contribute generously to the church in Jerusalem that is suffering.” “see that you excel in this act of grace also”, he says.

Well that was in about 57 AD. What about here today in May of 2022? We’re called to excellence. We’re gifted with excellence here. I’ve often just sat and thought about you guys and thanked God for you guys because we really have a lot of talent in our church. God has blessed us with some incredible members.

In our church we have everything from people who build houses to people in healthcare. We have teachers and executives. We have musical talent and ability — in fact we have several people with music degrees. We have people who know sound and media and can build these great presentations that you see behind me on the screen. We have good Bible teachers.

And all of that is good. We thank God for you.

Luke’s gospel records for us a time when Jesus and his disciples were sitting in the temple. Jesus was watching as people filed past him. They’re waiting to put in their financial contribution. Luke tells us that many people in line were rich, and of course Jesus knows this.

But as he watches, he sees an old woman, a widow, obviously poor, and when her turn comes, she puts in two small copper coins. Two tiny coins - these were lepta, which was the word for the currency. Each coin or lepta was worth really a miniscule amount. These two coins are equivalent to about 7 cents each. So almost a dime and a nickel.

Jesus watches as this poor widow puts in these two copper coins. And knowing her situation because as the Son of God He sees and knows and cares about her, just as he sees and knows and cares about each of you. Jesus watches as she puts in these two coins, and He is moved by this. This is what he says to his disciples: “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on” (Luke 21:3-4 ESV).

But wouldn’t it be a shame to excel at so many good things, and yet not excel in the truly great things”

There are a lot of good things to excel at. But excelling at the truly great things, those are the things that we do that prompt Jesus to say to the Father, “Did you see that? Are you seeing what they’re doing? They’re growing, their becoming more like us, we’re seeing the goal of our plan of salvation come to fruition in their lives?”

I strongly believe that our Father and maybe all of heaven rejoices with great joy over the very smallest acts of obedience. Who would think that with such a simple act of just putting money in a box or a plate that we could move the heart of God?

So this leads to our second affirmation: Say it with me loud and clear.

“I want to excel in being useful and helpful to others”

Mothers, thank you for the excellence with which you serve your families. It is never in vain. You are doing what is truly great, perhaps more so than any other profession represented in this room.

Those of you who give faithfully to our church — and there are a lot of you — thank you for excelling in the great things. You are our challenge to up our game, to excel in giving.

We become motivated when we are challenged to up our game. We also become motivated to give when we remember that to love is to give.

#3: We become motivated to give when we remember that to give is to love

Look with me at our text to see this for yourself. Verse 8: “I say this not as a command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is genuine.”

Notice that last word. Did you see that? At the end of the verse? He ciould have said “I want to prove by the earnestness of others your generosity”. But he didn’t. He simply said “your love.” Your love for who? For God and for others. How is one way we show that? By our faithfulness and generosity in giving.

Now, the question many of you are asking is, How much should I give? Do I tithe? Do I give ten percent? Is that commanded in the Bible? If it’s not, then do we give less or more? We’re going to talk more in the next couple of weeks about how you can determine how much you should give, because it’s different for everyone.

But the NT pattern is generosity, not so much an amount. What is generous for one person won’t be generous for another. It really does have to come down to between you and the Lord. And as we see in His word, He motivates us to give. He gives us good reasons to give. He changes our hearts as we grow in Christlikeness so that the amount that you give is matched with the attitude you give it with. And one of the ways He motivates us is showing us that to give is to love.

This leads to our third affirmation. Say it with me:

”I want to demonstrate that I really do love God and others”

The last motivation? The supreme motivation… we become motivated to give when we fix our hearts on the supreme self-giving love of our Savior.

#4: We become motivated to give when we see the supreme self-giving love of our Savior

Look with me at verse 9. This is the climax, the whole paragraph has been building up to this. God motivates us in many different ways to give of ourselves, but this motivation is the supreme motivation; without it the others are just self-help talk.

Here it is:

[SLOW DOWN]

Look at the verse with me closely, okay? “For you know the grace” — the unearned, undeserved goodwill and favor of God — “you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich” - He had everything anyone could ever want in heaven with God — “though he was rich, yet for your sake” - meaning for us, in our place, to benefit us; He stood to gain absolutely nothing for Himself personally — “yet for your sake he became poor” — became human and suffered and died as a human forsaken by God for our sins — “he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich”.

Now you realize, don’t you, that no other religion even comes close to this claim? The Christian story is that God came here to us and became one of us to redeem us and change us right where we are, make us holy over the course of our lifetime, and then take us home to be with Him. And what’s so mind-boggling is that He did all of that as a real and true human being, without for one second ceasing to be God. Only Christianity says that.

Paul is saying that when you understand that not just intellectually but with your mind and heart, you will change. One of the ways you will change is you will become a giver. Not overnight. But you will change.

The famous second baseman for the Seattle Mariners Harold Reynolds tells a story about his mother and how she gave like no one else he knew. He says that when he was growing up in Oregon, one of his heroes was NBA player Gus Williams. He patterned his life after Gus Williams. He wore his wristband like Gus Williams. He tied his shoes like Gus Williams. But he says that he soon learned the difference between heroes and role models.

“One day I was lying in bed and my stomach was killing me. I noticed that it wasn’t my sports her, Gus Williams, who came to my room to take care of me. It was my mother. That’s when I began to understand the difference between heroes and role models. I stopped looking at athletic accomplishments to determine who I wantecd to pattern my life after. Instead, I tried to emulate people with strong character who were doing things of lasting value” — like his mother. [Larson pp466-67]

Reynolds learned that mothers come to us when it hurts, and when we’re unlovable, and ungrateful, and when our attitude stinks. Mothers enter with us into our poverty and pain. They come to us when everyone else is gone and they are present with us in the things no one else wants to see.

And Jesus is an even more faithful friend than the most faithful mother. No matter where you’re at today or how bad things look, Jesus is still Jesus. He is with you now, and He will still be with you when everyone else is gone. Jesus comes to us when everyone else is gone and He is present with us in the things no one else wants to see.

How could this not change us? After all, this is grace, and grace and grace alone can change a person.

[PAUSE]

And this leads us to our last affirmation.

“His love is changing me, so that I want to give to Him and others”

Repeat it with me.

[PAUSE]

Now, don’t misunderstand: it’s not “He’s given so much to me; I must repay Him; I must reimburse Him. I know I can’t do much but I should do what I can to repay Him.” That makes sense but that thought is more American than it is Christian.

When I was in college, my best friend Gary and I would often be broke. Thankfully, we were rarely both broke at the same time and we used that for our advantage. So when I was broke, we would go out to eat and he would pay. When he was broke. This happened so many times at some point we just stopped keeping tabs. At some point it’s like, “Who knows where we stand? I’m sure I owe you for something so I’ll just get yours next time.”

But some people don’t like that, right? They pride themselves on making sure they pay you back every single penny. . “How much do I owe you? $23.17?” “I don’t know, just make out the check for $20.” “No, I’m going to pay you back exactly. I think it was $23.17. Here you go.” Everything is a loan with these kinds of people, right? They don’t know how to receive a gift. Sometimes there’s pride at work there. I pride myself on being the kind of person who always works for my way. I don’t accept hand outs.”

I mean, that’s good for being a responsible citizen. But you better make sure you switch off that mindset with God because you and I will forever be in His debt, and He doesn’t much like it when we try to pay Him back. The very nature of grace is that it will always be undeserved. It will always be unearned. That’s how it is intended. It’s a gift. God will have no person in his debt. And actually your salvation hinges on whether you’re willing to admit that this is a debt you cannot repay.

So, make sure that’s not what you’re doing. When you write your check or when you do the online giving, pause for a minute and remind yourself: “God is not in my debt. This money I’m about to give, you know what it is? This is my grateful response to how God has given to me. God has not given me salvation so that I can repay a debt. He has given me salvation in order to turn me into a generous giver myself, someone who is willing to give what I have without strings attached, the same way God has given to me.

[PAUSE]

I guess this means the point of God’s generous gift to us is to make us generous givers like Him. This is how God turns tight fists into generous hearts.

Conclusion and call for response

We’ve left one very important thing out: verse 5.

I want you to see it for yourself, all eyes up here

2 Corinthians 8:4–5 ESV

begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

When we see how God has loved us in Christ, our love for Him is drawn out. When we see how God has given to us in Christ, we want to give Him ourselves. It’s not “they gave their money to us so we could give to the Christians in Jerusalem”. No, it’s more fundamental than that. What explains how generously the Macedonians gave? Verse 5: “they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.”

We become motivated to give when we hear how God has provided for others, when we are challenged to ‘up our game’, when we see that to give is to love, and we are motivated to give when we see the self-giving love of our Savior. We are changed, and we are motivated to give ourselves to God and then ourselves and all that we have to others.

This is where Christian mothers find their motivation. This is where Christian givers find their motivation.

Moms, thank you. Your work matters. Only in eternity will we see how much you have given; only on the other side of heaven will we see the eternal impact you have made; all the messiness and all the monotony will be forgotten when you see that we would not be the same people today if it were not for our mothers. Mothers, keep going. It’s worth it.

Church, Christian, your gift matters. Do you believe that? And do you believe God will provide for you as you continue to give? He will.

Have you given yourself to Him?

Maybe for some of you today is a day to recommit yourself to Him. That can have several forms. It might mean committing fully to our church by becoming a member. It might mean that you spend time in prayer to God confessing a sin and receiving His forgiveness. It might mean recommitting to being a regular giver.

Maybe others of you have not given yourself to Christ at all. Maybe you’ve never placed your wholehearted trust in Him as your Savior. Our sins separate us from God, but Jesus gave Himself for us in death in order to bring us back to Him. “For Christ also suffered once for sins,” the apostle Peter said, “the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God” (1Pet. 3:18 ESV).

Friend, come to Him today. Don’t wait. Don’t try to clean yourself up first. Just go to Him and be saved by Him and He will take care of all the clean-up. He was rich but became poor so that we by His poverty can become spiritually rich. Will you stand with me as we pray?