Giving Matters (AND is Better)

Watch this video and answer the following questions in  your head:

What made this woman so generous?

• Was it the amount she gave?
• Was it the fact she was a poor widow?
• Was it the fact she gave everything she had?

My answer to the above questions is NO!  It was because she already had a generous heart. Jesus was telling this disciples, “that woman is the richest person on earth. Why? Because she has a generous heart.”

We have such a warped view of what it means to be rich. Just because you have a lot of stuff or can afford a lot of stuff doesn’t make you rich. We equate richness with money and owning stuff.

If you live in America, from a money point of view, there is no doubt that each of are rich.

• If you make $37,000 a year you are in the top 4% of wage earners
• If you make $42,000 a year you are in the top 1% of wage earners.
• If you are on fixed income you are in the top 40% of wage earners.
• If you  make at least $50 a week you are in the top 50% of wage earners.

Our problem is, according to Andy Stanley in his book BE RICH, we don’t feel rich. We have an appetite for status and security. To make us feel rich we become stuff-aholics, status-a-holics, and security-acholics. Because we are not satisfied with the stuff we own, the status we have, or the lack of security we feel – we FEEL poor. Warren Buffet, who is a billionaire a few times over, always lets others pick up the check. Why? Because he always thinks he’s poor. He always feels poor. 

As we learned in the last blog entry, we are to be rich in our relationship with God. But…..  if you are a stuff – aholic, a status-alolic or a security – aholic, well, it is impossible to have a rich relationship with God. As Christ followers, when you have a rich relationship with him – He gives you a generous heart. You invest in others. You trust that he will provide everything you need. 

A generous heart was the hallmark of the 1st century church. This is why they were so effective. They weren’t rich in resources but they were generous with what they had. They would care for the sick when a plague came. In pagan (unbelieving) nations, the pagan priests would leave their sick behind when a plague would strike. Mean while the Christians would come in and  take care of them. And as the pagan’s (unbelievers) health returned, many of them abandoned their idolatrous ways to Christianity. To put it simply they (the other religious leaders) didn’t help their own sick. Many Christ followers came into the plague invested country and risk their own health. Many would die. The news of their generosity (the Christians) spread like wild fire. They gave time, money, and resources all for the sake of making more and better disciples. They invested in people’s lives being transformed. The generosity of the Christians in the 1st century changed the world. It was not their stuff that changed the world. It is what they did with their stuff that changed the world.

The church in 2015 (especially evangelicals) have earned the reputation of being anti – this and anti – that. To those on the outside looking in were a bunch of “antis”. It is easy being anti. You can close your heart off and not care. Wouldn’t it be great for the church in 2015 to be remembered for their generosity towards those who don’t believe the same way? In the first century, they changed the world because of their generous heart.

How does one become generous?

• It begins by having a rich relationship with God.

This all that matters to God. Our stuff, our money, and our schedules don’t really matter to God. What matters to Him most is the condition of your heart.

• You become generous from understanding everything you own has been giving to you by God.

Your car(s), your house, and your money has been given to you by God. It is God who open doors, shuts doors, create doors of opportunity. He controls it all.

• You become generous by understanding that there is  no way you can pay god back for the job you have, the car you own, the money you make, and the stuff  you own.

We can’t pay God back but we can invest our resources in the life of others. When you tangibly invest in the life of others they begin to experience the love of God.

Being generous is not something you have to do to get into heaven. The scriptures do teach us it was the generosity of the 1st century church that began to turn the world upside down. The bottom line is we need a generous heart if we are at all bothered by the fact not everyone understands Jesus and why He came.

I’ve learned over the past 25 years of ministry that giving generously and tithing have become an option for Christ followers. In 2005 George Barna did a study on why people do not give more. He said this trend is influenced by the following factors:

•  “Some people lack the motivation to give away their hard-earned money because the church has failed to provide a compelling vision for how the money will make a difference in the world.”
• “[Some] see their giving as leverage on the future. They withhold money from the church because they do not see a sufficient return on their investment.”
• “[Some] people … do not realize the church needs their money to be effective. Their church has done an inadequate job of asking for money, so people remain oblivious to the church’s expectations and potential.”
•  “[Others] are ignorant of what the Bible teaches about our responsibility to apply God’s resources in ways that affect lives.”
• “The final category contains those who are just selfish. They figure they worked hard for their money and it’s theirs to use as they please. Their priorities revolve around their personal needs and desires.”

If you don’t give …. how would you have answered that survey?

There are also myths that many people believe which hinder their understanding of why giving matters:

Myth #1 – You are giving to the church

Malachi 3:10 reminds us that the church is just a storehouse. We receive an offering and we invest the offering in the life of the church and the community.

Myth #2 – You are giving to the pastor

Your pastor and  your staff are just facilitators of the offerings received. If you look back through the OT you would discover that the tribe of Levi was responsible for the temple. The taking care of it. The things that happened in it. The other tribes gave a tenth of their resources to them so that they could solely focus on the temple. Our giving helps us to focus solely on the mission which is to make more and better disciples and vision of seeing lives transformed.

Myth #3 – You are giving back to God.

God needs nothing from us. How can you give back the stuff you don’t own?  The church in the first century never looked at their stuff – as their stuff. They knew it didn’t belong to them. That is why they could be so generous to each other and to the pagans (unbelievers) around them. When you give you are giving to invest it back into the lives of others. When you give you are investing it in making more and better disciples. When you give you are investing it in  lives being transformed.

Why does giving matter?

Giving matters because we are part of a much bigger story.

Keeping the story of Jesus’ birth, death, resurrection, and ascension in to heaven was the priority of the early church. They were motivated to give generously because they believed in what Jesus said. Otherwise, why would they give? When you tithe or give generously , you are joining with the millions of people before you who believed in this message. They believed the message was important. They believe the message gave hope to a dark world.

Giving matters because it demonstrates in a tangible way that He is truly Lord of our stuff.

James 1:17 tells us, “Whatever is good and perfect comes down to us from God our Father, who created all the lights in the heavens. He never changes or casts a shifting shadow.”

Even our stuff belongs to God, God still knows we are attached to our stuff. He knows we find security in our money. To give it away is an outward sign of an inward commitment of making Jesus the Lord of your life.

How do you know who or what is the Lord of life? If y our money and stuff are the Lord of your life you believed you are entitled to more. If Jesus is the Lord of your life, well, giving 10% or giving generously to others is not a big deal. It’s the norm.

Giving matters because “it is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)

Think about this more moment ….. when you give a gift to someone, who is more blessed? The one who receives it or the one who gives it? Unless you are a scrooge, the one who gives it is always the one who is blessed. Why is it that way? It is because you willingly made a sacrifice to bless someone. It’s more than just a feel good feeling. It’s a “satisfaction- of -the – soul – feeling.”  When you don’t give, you are the one who missed the opportunity to be blessed.

How many of us has never bought or given a present to someone else?  If you are a parent, grandparent, aunt, uncle , cousin ,or just a food friend you know when you buy a gift for your child, grandchild, niece, nephew or good friend at Xmas, easter, or a Special occasion it is only stuff. Why do we do it?  Because we are the one who receives the blessing. The excitement in their eye. The joy in their face makes our heart skip a beat because we are experiencing the blessing of giving.

When giving matters, you plan accordingly. You just don’t hope the money will be there. You make a plan to make sure the money is there. Paul gives us a plan, “On the first day of each week – set aside a portion of the money you have earned.” A portion, according to the other scriptures is 10%. And that is just the starting point.

Giving matters because when you freely give, you receive freely from God.

Luke 6:38 says, “Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”

Proverbs 11:24 says, “Give freely and become more wealthy;
be stingy and lose everything.”

Give AND you will receive.

Give freely AND you become more wealthy.

AND is definitely better – watch this 30 second clip.

I think everybody would agree that AND is better.

The generosity of the 1st century church changed the world and our history. They took care of unbelievers who were abandoned and left to die AND gave freely of their resources to others.  AND means going the extra mile. AND means giving the extra dollar.  We go the extra mile and we give the extra dollar because of God’s generosity towards us.

God’s generosity towards us changed our life.

• God loved AND sent His son.
• God freely gave to us AND will not  let those who believe in Him perish.

In return He tells us

• to go the first AND the second mile.
• to love our neighbor AND our enemy.
• give up everything AND follow Him.

Giving matters because we need to do it.

All throughout scripture (OT to NT) you read about giving, sacrifice, generosity, sharing, kindness to others, looking to the interest of others, and sharing with one another.

Why were these first century believers (and others before us) so generous? They knew they were part of something much bigger. They believed Jesus mattered. Not only did they give up resources but some of them literally gave up their life because they believed Jesus mattered. They believed that Jesus could make a difference in the life of others.

Giving matters. It doesn’t just keep the church doors open, the lights on, or keep ministry going. It keeps the story of Jesus moving forward and changing lives. It keeps the Good News in the face of others. It matters because lives are continually being transformed.

Does it matter to you?