Like a parent giving their children money so they can experience buying someone a present, God gives us gifts so we can experience generosity by experiencing being generous. We not only experience generosity from God as recipients. We experience generosity as God allows us to be in on the giving. We become channels through which God pours resources to meet the needs of others. When we give generously, we will never lack anything. The more we give the more we get. Our generosity not only gives God thanks, it honors Him and shows we trust Him. When we give, we truly get so much more of what we wanted in the first place.
Like a parent giving their children money so they can experience buying someone a present, God gives us gifts so we can experience generosity by experiencing being generous. We not only experience generosity from God as recipients. We experience generosity as God allows us to be in on the giving. We become channels through which God pours resources to meet the needs of others. When we give generously, we will never lack anything. The more we give the more we get. Our generosity not only gives God thanks, it honors Him and shows we trust Him. When we give, we truly get so much more of what we wanted in the first place.
Who’s excited for a sermon about money? Thank you to all of you who were willing to give some nervous chuckles. It’s a pretty well-established fact that Americans don’t like to talk about money. I read an article from The Atlantic this last week that talked in detail about this “taboo” we have with money talk and research has found that as a culture we would rather talk about things like marriage problems, mental health struggles, addiction, race, sex, and politics than talk about money. Of course, there are a ton of theories trying to explain why in our culture asking someone, “How much do you make?” is so offensive, but there is one that rises to the top. It’s this idea that your and my value as human beings is somehow made material in our pay and our net worth. In other words, our worth is found in what we own. Even though we feel awkward about engaging in the topic of money, our infinitely generous God doesn’t hesitate to enter the awkwardness. In fact, there are roughly 2,350 Bible verses that talk about money, and nearly 15% of everything Jesus spoke related to money and possessions. Why does God spill so much ink and speak so many words about money? He does so because he knows the value confusion we often have as sinner-saints. He wants us to see that our worth is not in what we own. God wants to turn the conversation about money on edge! Can you imagine a lifestyle where we are excited to talk about the gifts the Lord has given to us, and how we can experience the otherworldly gift of the grace-motivated, generous Christian life? That’s the lifestyle Paul was so eager to share with the Corinthian Christians!
When Paul first started their church, their motivation for giving was sky-high! They were one of the first churches wanting to give to the poor Christians in Jerusalem. Their hearts were on fire to share the generosity of God they had experienced! But as time went on, the fire grew dim. They began to see Paul as inferior to some Christian-like motivational speakers who talked about how true Christians are destined to be wealthy, influential, and powerful. This was a far different message than the Christian life Paul had taught them, a life defined by selfless giving, taking up the cross and following Jesus, a life focused on God’s generous gifts seen especially through weakness. The idea of giving to poor Christians seemed like a loss, not a gain. In their culture especially, it was assumed that giving to the poor was pointless since the only repayment they could receive was praise which was seen as worthless. This is what made the Bible and the Christian faith so counter-cultural. But for the Corinthians, a super-wealthy culture, such giving felt like nothing but a loss.
That’s how giving feels sometimes to you and me too, doesn’t it? Whether it’s when the offering plate comes around, or when you see someone in need, and you see your checking account number drop, we so often experience sadness, grieving over what Satan and our sinful nature try to convince us is a “loss.” That’s what Paul is getting it at when he writes, “Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly.” Why do we experience this form of grief instead of experiencing the generous grace of God who in love has given us the opportunity to give? It’s so often because we feel like we won’t receive something in return. We feel like in a way we are losing some of our value. We feel like the Corinthians did that such giving results in loss. But the Corinthians show us a different struggle too. Sometimes the “loss” doesn’t result in sadness but instead leads to bitterness.
Another giving-stalling tactic Satan loves to use is pressure-packed giving, or as Paul puts it, giving “under compulsion.” Such compulsive giving happens when we think, “I guess I’ll give an offering because I don’t know how else our church can survive” or “If I don’t help that family member or friend, I’ll feel bad or they’ll be disappointed in me.” We forget that all that we have is God’s alone. We put this pressure on ourselves that without our money the church can’t march on, or that person or people will continue to struggle. It’s in this sadness and pressure to give that the forces of evil begin to show their hand.
Whether we feel reluctant to give or under pressure to give both reflect what Satan wants more than anything: a distrust in God. In both giving scenarios, we are communicating, “God, I’m not sure you will take care of me.” It’s the trust issue you and I in our sin struggle with. Wealth is material. We can see the dollar bills, the coins, the checks, the statements, and the bank app. When we give, we have no idea if or when our giving will be replenished. Satan tries to persuade us that by white-knuckle gripping our wealth however much that may be we have a guaranteed source of security. But like we heard last week and studied in our Connect Groups this week, Paul in 1 Timothy 6 says the truth point-blank, hope in money is the epitome of uncertainty. Satan wants to clam up our talking about money, giving, and God’s generous grace. But the reality is…Satan can’t clam up God or his Word! What God tells us about why we have money is indescribably amazing!
As we reflect on our often reluctant or pressure-induced giving, we can’t help but repent and see that often we have “sowed sparingly.” But here we experience the generosity of God’s forgiveness! Like we heard from 2 Corinthians 8, despite our spiritual poverty, Jesus chose to become poor, so that we through his poverty would become rich! Rich, not in fading and temporary things like money, but rich in value. Your worth has nothing to do with what you own. It has everything to do with the Son of God who considers you so valuable in his eyes, that he gave his life so you could never forget how much he loves you. It’s knowing where our value truly lies that we begin to understand the amazing gift God gives us in being “cheerful givers.”
By faith, we know the infinite level of grace God has given to us and it fills us with joy and excitement to give! We know what God’s Word says is true: “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and…your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.” Are you starting to see why the opportunity to give is a God-given gift? We have the guaranteed promise of God that he will provide for our needs, and even though God doesn’t need our wealth, abilities, or time, in his love he opens doors for us to give what he’s given us and lead others to see the deep compassion and love of our God. Because we know the value God places in us, we have the amazing gift of being able through our wealth to show the value God places in others too. How can this not give us the cheerfulness to give?! We have nothing to lose! This cheerfulness happens completely out of a free heart of faith that is beyond excited to see what the Lord will do with the gift!
We have no pressure to give! The beautiful truth is this: God chose to give us the gift of giving! He could’ve chosen to do everything without any of our participation, but instead, he chose to let us experience the joy-filled Christian life of generosity. A life that began because Jesus chose to give up literally everything so you could experience the wealthiest life ever: knowing how deep your worth is to God. Because Jesus bought you back from Satan, sin, and death, do you see how deep your wealth is? You have heaven! Heaven, where you won’t need to pay for anti-depressants, hospital bills, or house repairs, but instead you’ll experience the infinite wealth of being in the presence of God, and experiencing pure joy. You’ll get to throw your head back and laugh with Jesus every single day, living the most cheerful life ever imagined. The money you have or don’t have doesn’t define you, it’s not the measure of your value. Your value has been determined by the precious blood of the Son of God who gave his life for you to give you the greatest family and home ever known. You have experienced God’s generosity which is far greater than gold and now you have the freedom to live in his kingdom and “sow generously!” Because we have experienced the infinity of God’s generosity, our purses, wallets, and Apple Pay cannot help but be opened up and become a deep source of joy! How so?
Because we know our worth is not in what we own. We know who has given us worth, our gracious God! We see everything we own from money to abilities, to time, as gifts our God has given to us. Nothing we have belongs to us. It all belongs to him and we trust that what God’s Word says is true: “Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness.” Now, this isn’t an inspired investment strategy saying if you give all you have materially, God will bless you with more material wealth. This isn’t prosperity gospel. This is so much better! This is gospel-motivated thanks-living.
We live as Christians who know that God will provide for our needs. He gives us opportunities to give toward the life-changing, eternal-wealth-giving mission of his church, and we thank him for that gift! We give because we have received the indescribable gift of God’s grace! What’s our goal in our giving? Paul tells us: “This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of the Lord’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God.” Through our generosity, we get to lead others to sit back and have their breath taken away by our amazing God! Just think about the number of prayers and praises given to God all over the world, whether we know or not, as Christians thank Jesus that he has moved our congregation to give more than 10% of our offerings to support mission churches in the US and throughout the world. Last year, we gave $36,000 in those gospel-spreading efforts! That good news is spread as missionaries talk about Jesus as wells are made in Africa, and as food is given in Thailand. That’s amazing and through your giving, you are a part of that life-changing gospel story too! You have a guaranteed return on your giving: You have the smiling face of your heavenly Father who takes pride in you as his cheerfully giving child! You and I get to sit down and look at our budgets, and before we do anything else, we get to set aside the best of the best to give to God. Why? Because we know the eternal impact such gifts can make. The impact of seeing the faces of people in heaven who wouldn’t be there if not for grace-motivated Christians who gave of their time, ability, and wealth so more and more could experience the infinite self-giving love of Jesus.
Forget cultural taboos, let’s turn the conversation about money on edge! With laughter and joy, let’s live our lives of faith, empowered by the Spirit, never hesitating to show that in God we truly trust. He has given us the grace of giving, the gift of living the generous Christian life, and the opportunity to join him on his mission to bring his family home. Talk about an indescribable gift! And all God’s people said, Amen!