Thank you so much for joining us, the Cultivating Growth Podcast, where John and I each week will kind of pick a topic and we'll talk about ways in which we can grow in that topic. Today's or this week's point will be cultivating our growth when it comes to our generosity. Lots to be said biblically about that, what it is, our attitudes towards it.

I'm looking forward to our conversation as we talk about growing and our generosity. 

Jeremy, I think it's very clear as you read through the Bible that God's expectations of his people are that they are a lot of things. One of them being what we're going to discuss today, and that is generous. Uh, as I was thinking about this topic and thinking about different passages of scripture that speak into the importance of being generous, what I realized is that it is just woven through Old and New Testament alike.

There are certainly passages that speak directly. to the importance of being generous, but, but even beyond just those direct passages, it's just a part of the story in so many different ways. And at so many different times throughout scripture, one of them that kind of stood out to me right off the bat, uh, is in Exodus chapter 36.

And again, this is not necessarily a passage of scripture that teaches The importance of generosity or, or give specific instruction to it. But early on in the days of God's people, as Moses is leading them, they're on the precipice of building the tabernacle and they need resources.  And so they call on the people to give gold and silver and materials that can aid in the building of the tabernacle.

And the people respond in such a way, they give so much that the text tells us they have to be restrained from giving any more. I think that's just a little glimpse. Into the kind of people that God expects and wants us to be. And so when we talk about generosity, it's, it's not just the passages that speak specifically and teach specifically about it, but it's really giving us the chance to just see what kind of person God wants us to be.

And he wants us to be people that are generous to an extreme. And that seems to be consistent, whether in the old Testament or the new Testament alike. Yeah, I mean, you know, kind of stick it in the Old Testament, you know, kind of here at the beginning. A couple things, you know, kind of hit me that you see from God, I mean, really throughout, you know, his relationship with his people, even in the law as he delivers the law to them and, and you can read about it in Deuteronomy and Leviticus and even a little bit into the book of Numbers.

But you read the law itself, and the law has a lot of benefits. built in generous things that God is directing his people. He's really getting his people to understand, to think this way, to live this way, to be this way. And so there'll be various laws, certainly about them, uh, being generous to one another.

Uh, there are various laws about them being generous to, uh, the foreigner, the stranger, uh, certainly the less fortunate, such as the widow or the orphan. Uh, you know, there are very specific things built in, but even there are individual.  that are accentuated in the Old Testament that showcase that. The one that came to my mind, to me, that's one of the easiest, is in the book of Ruth. 

The book of Ruth is, in a lot of ways, especially the beginning of it, is all about generosity. I mean, when Boaz comes on the scene, it is his extreme generosity, the overwhelming generosity that he shows to Ruth and Naomi that really rule that story in a lot of ways. Now, there is an incredible parallel, certainly between Boaz and Jesus.

And the generosity that he showcases in giving of himself. But you, you see this story woven throughout scripture of God and the expectation that he has for his people of being generous. You see examples of that in both the Old and the New Testament. Even though we've just primarily talked about the Old Testament.

But I think all of It goes back to the reality that we are, as his followers, to be like Christ, to be God like. And there's just simply no question of the extreme generosity that God has, and the giving of his son, as Paul will talk about in Romans chapter 8, that he didn't even spare his own son. But his generous with his love, with his grace, with his mercy, with his forgiveness, I mean, he is so generous in all kinds of ways.

And so, uh, all that we have to do is look to him.  You know, I think if there is any friction on this topic, I think it comes down to what you just said. And that is the extreme nature of generosity that we're called to. I think everybody understands that even good people, just,  Generically, good people are generous people.

That's a characteristic that is held in high regard in our society today.  But when it comes to the Christian, number one, our generosity comes from a different motivation. We are generous because we have been shown generosity in the same way that we love God. Because we have been loved. We, we are acting in response to what Christ has done for us.

And the generosity that has been shown to us is beyond imagined. Extreme doesn't even do it justice. And so we are responding to that in like manner. But the other part of it is also how we are called to view other people. And we are to love them the way that Christ loved us. That's the standard that we are being held to.

And so even Jesus. In the Sermon on the Mountain, Matthew chapter six, he talks about the importance of being  generous, but he says that generosity needs to be done for the right reasons. You can't be doing this so that other people see your generosity. You need to be doing this from a pure heart and a pure motive.

And I think that's where those two things start to really focus in on the kind of person God wants us to be. He wants us to be generous to an extreme. Because he's been generous to an extreme toward us, and he wants us to do it because of our love for other people and our love for him, that's the motive behind it.

And so we have to make sure that those two things are both true in the way that we show our generosity in the world today, that we are extreme in our generosity and that our motives are pure because if either one of those things falters, then we're not living up to the standard that God has set for us as his people in the way that he wants us. 

I think just digging into what it means to be generous or even to define, you know, the idea of generosity or the word generosity. I mean, built in that is the idea of good motive. I don't think if you're giving something to someone with pure motive, you're just giving something to someone. I don't, I wouldn't in any way, you know, call that being generous.

And I think a good example of that, you look at, you know, As Paul writes to the brethren in Corinth a lot to say specifically about their giving and attitudes pertaining to it, especially in chapter 8. But in chapter 9, there's a really interesting passage where he talks about, in a lot of ways, how generosity can be contagious.

He says that your generosity has stirred up, you know, even the majority. He talks about God's generosity within that same context, but to the point that you had just made in us thinking about just even what generosity is, that it is. Inherently has good motives in second Corinthians, chapter nine and verse five.

He says, I thought it necessary to exhort the brethren to go to you ahead of time, prepare your bountiful gift beforehand, which you had previously promised. And he says that it may be ready as a matter of generosity. And not as a grudging obligation. And so he puts those two things up against one another.

It's not, you're generous, and now check your motives. It's either you were generous, or you did it based on some grudging obligation. Your motive was no good. And so when we talk about generosity, Certainly, when it comes to God and His generosity, motive, in a lot of ways, is everything. You know, we oftentimes, and I think rightfully so, I want to make sure I'm clear about this, we look at those passages in 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, and we apply them specifically to our giving on the first day of the week.

I think that is an appropriate application to make from those passages of Scripture. That is not, however, the only application to make from those passages of Scripture. In fact, what's being done there is there is a need. And that is being met by other Christians. And that really is what Paul is trying to stir up in them is to recognize you have an opportunity to help someone else who is in need, a saint, a brother, a sister in Christ who is in need.

You have an opportunity to do that. And that's something that you should jump at when that opportunity presents itself. And, and he even talks about some of the Christians were even giving out of their pockets. poverty to try and help fulfill that need because they recognize what an opportunity it is in front of them to be able to do such a thing.

And I think for, for us today, certainly we can do that when we give on the first day of the week and we help meet needs within the church, both locally and in other places, but also we can do that privately. We can do that without anybody knowing. What we're doing or what's going on. We can help meet needs of brothers and sisters in other areas that maybe we're the only ones that know about, but we have an opportunity that's presented to us to help them in some way.

It's something that we should jump at because we're now presented with this wonderful opportunity to, to meet a need, uh, that someone else has. That God has given to us and he's given us the ability to meet that need. And it's something that we should be excited about. And certainly not in any way begrudging the fact that we have to part with some of our precious money, but we should be excited that we have the opportunity to help.

Now, I think sometimes what happens, and I've been a part of this at times is sometimes when you are generous, you get taken advantage of. Hmm. And I think as Christians, we need to be perfectly okay with the fact that sometimes we might get taken advantage of. That's okay. We should be so extremely generous that perhaps we may get taken advantage of from time to time.

I'm perfectly comfortable standing before God on judgment and having that conversation. I'm not so comfortable standing before Him on judgment trying to describe why I decided not to help people when I had the opportunity. And the ability to do so. The, the, the picture we have in scripture is one that generosity just pours out of us every chance we have.

And when needs arise, when opportunities are presented, we're excited about that because of what God has done for us. Yeah. And, you know, a lot of times it's not just, you know, those moments, uh, that. are in front of us by way of need, where we have an opportunity to be generous. It's not always just the money that we give, or certainly the amount of money, you know, that's involved with that.

It may be our time, it may be our intellect, it may be our ear that someone needs, right? It may be our prayers, it may be, you know, lots of things. And so, it does come down to, it, it, it,  Cultivating, here's, you know, our word. Cultivating, in a lot of ways, a life of generosity. That I'm generosity with everything, I'm generous with everything that I have.

Because, ultimately, it has that understanding, going back to, you know, reference that you've made in the book of Exodus. Uh, certainly David makes this reference throughout the Psalms, that, you know, he has a good perspective of everything that I have, in any way, isn't mine to begin with. It is God. It is a blessing, you know, from Him.

And so, for me to hoard any of those things  Would be foolish. And so God has called upon us to be generous and it is More than what I'm giving it is a lifestyle It is a choice that I've made to be generous to give to the needs of people Whether it's people that I love people that I don't know people that are enemies to me God has directed us to be generous to all Mankind wouldn't it be amazing if you just I mean You know, just think for a moment.

Wouldn't it be amazing if there's roughly 400 of us here at Trader's Point, if we had to be restrained from being generous, because our generosity was so extreme that somebody finally had to say, that's enough. I mean, we can't, we can't handle any more of this kindness and generosity. And I'm obviously saying that a bit tongue in cheek, but to go back to that story in Exodus 36, wouldn't it be amazing if Christians everywhere were so extremely generous that the challenge was restraining that as opposed to trying to prod people to be generous.

We were having to restrain one another because of our generosity. That would be an amazing thing to see. And I think that's something that we should strive for. And to your point, uh, that does not always mean financial giving. It certainly can, that type of generosity can be a part of it, but there are so many other ways also that we can be generous.

And you mentioned several really important ones. And so if we just have that mindset.  That I am going to be generous and I'm going to do so to an extreme and I'm going to do so until somebody tells me I've got to stop. That creates really a beautiful community and a group of people that really are showing their love for mankind everywhere they go. 

Yeah, I mean, it's simple of thinking, am I wanting to be like Christ or not? If I'm wanting to be like Christ, it doesn't take hard to really take a look to see how generous He was. And that, ultimately, is the kind of life that I need to live. Well, let's go ahead and wrap things up. And I'm going to turn your attention to Hebrews chapter 13 as we close.

The Hebrew writer here writes these words in verse 16 of Hebrews chapter 13. But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased. 

Thank you for listening this week. If you haven't already done so, we'd appreciate it if you would take just a second to subscribe to the podcast, whatever platform you're listening, rate and review the show so we can continue to spread the good news of Jesus widely and effectively as possible. Thanks again for joining us this week and we'll talk again next week.