Tag: offering

Undeserved Generosity Generates Unparalleled Gratitude

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(2 Corinthians 9:10-15)

Ihope October is not too early to start talking about gift-giving. Yes, reminders about Christmas being only 74 days away or that there are only 9 Fridays left until Christmas cause many to cringe.

But I’m not one of them.

I love Christmas, so without apology I never find that it’s too early to start thinking about gift-giving and all things Christmas. I mean, if we can start cluttering front yards with two-story tall skeletons and inflatable Halloween displays two-plus months ahead of time, then surely starting to think about Christmas gifts can’t be a crime. After all, remember the whole reason behind giving gifts at Christmas was originally intended to be a reflection of THE Gift of all gifts: Jesus.

If you’re wondering what all this talk of gift-giving has to do with anything, it’s really what Paul is writing about in the verses from 2 Corinthians: a gift. The early church in Paul’s day was taking up a special gift offering from congregations for the purpose of being taken to Jerusalem to help those in need. The congregation in Corinth had pledged a generous gift. In chapters 8 and 9 of this second letter, Paul is following up on their commitment and using it as an opportunity to teach about godly giving, previously highlighting biblical principles to guide their giving. Now, he was wrapping up the topic in his letter by encouraging them to follow through with their good intentions and bring their offering to completion. So Paul is talking about a gift.

But one does not have to be a biblical scholar to read between the lines and see that their offering is not the only gift to which Paul is referring in these verses. No, Paul, as he so often does, beautifully weaves together the subject matter of the Corinthians’ gift offering and God’s gift to them in and through Jesus Christ. Any effort to address the topic of gift offerings or giving in the church apart from God’s gift to us in Jesus Christ is not just a missed opportunity; it misses the point altogether. The whole life of the believer – including giving – has the gift of Jesus Christ as its foundation and purpose.

As we being to look closely at Paul’s words, take note of the tone and type of language he uses in this section – words like “increase, enlarge, enriched, generosity, overflowing, surpassing.” Without going any further, just pause on that and consider what conclusions we can draw about the relationship between God and believers.

There are many in the world who have negative opinions about God for a variety of reasons in their own mind. Some of those negative opinions are shaped by traumatic or troubling personal experiences, while others are drawn from faulty conclusions about worldly distress that is either pinned on God or attributed to God’s indifference. Still others were brought up in a religion that portrayed God as an exasperating, impossible-to-please, perfectionist who has us under constant surveillance to ensure that no failure goes unnoticed and that every act of disobedience is tracked. That kind of misunderstanding of God leaves crushed consciences that can end up turning against God in bitterness and resentment because of his impossibly cruel burden of expectation.

But do any of those takes line up with the Paul’s description of God in these verses? What do words like increase, enlarge, enriched, generosity, overflowing, and surpassing actually reveal about God? He is a Giver – and a generous one at that!

God is not about getting and demanding from us, but rather giving and distributing to us all that we need for life – both physically and spiritually. And, it isn’t as if this section of Scripture from 2 Corinthians is some stand alone exception in a Bible that otherwise reveals God’s true colors. These ARE his true colors. This IS how God reveals himself repeatedly throughout the pages of the Bible. God is a Giver – and a generous one at that!

How do we come to this conclusion that God is generous? For starters, we look at the scale or size of what’s given. Imagine yourself in a bind needing to get from point A to point B, but you your car is at the mechanic, so you don’t have a ride. A friend hears about it and offers to cover your Uber or Lyft. Your neighbor, who just yesterday pulled into his driveway with a brand new car that he just drove off the lot, tosses you his keys and says, “Take me car. In fact, why don’t you just keep it – you need it more than I do.” Both individuals were very thoughtful, but which one was more generous?

Now consider everything that belongs to you. In respect to all that you have, has God has merely offered to cover the cost of your ride share, or has he given you the keys to a new car? The answer is obvious, isn’t it? God is a Giver – and a generous one at that!

Can’t the same be said of his spiritual blessings to us? God doesn’t just hand out tiny bite-size free samples of his spiritual blessings, like what you might get walking past the food court in a mall. His spiritual blessings overflow! We aren’t promised little pockets of peace here and there on occasion in our lives, but a 24/7 permanent peace that exists between God and us! And that peace doesn’t come from a forgiveness that God reluctantly issues only if we’re sorry enough or do enough to make up for our wrongs, but a forgiveness that smothers every sin ever associated with us! The joy of our salvation that is tied to that peace and forgiveness can never be stolen away from us by a bad day or when things don’t go our way; rather, that joy is always there to buoy us up no matter how down our circumstance or situation may leave us. The size and scale of these spiritual blessings that God lavishes on us cannot even be measured, for they are without limit and never run out!

What’s more, Paul describes the impact our lives can make through the spiritual goods God delivers to us. God will “enlarge the harvest of your righteousness” (v.10). As you grow in your Christian living, he will bear more and more abundant fruit through you! “You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion” (v.11). Through the Holy Spirit, God’s generosity is always enhancing you and upgrading you to follow in his footsteps as a generous giver.

So we see how generous God is simply from the size or scale of his gifts to us!

But there’s also another way that generosity can be measured. Rather than focusing on the size or scale of the gift that is gvien, we can consider the worthiness… or rather unworthiness of the recipient.

When our jaws drop in response to hearing about a generous gift given to someone, yes, it can be because the gift itself is so substantial, but it can also be because the recipient is so undeserving in our minds. It’s why a presidential pardon from prison can be so powerful – the more serious the crime, the more generous the pardon appears to be. This is also why we balk at nice gifts given to people we think are jerks – it’s not the size of the gift that makes it generous, but rather how undeserving the recipient is. We just can’t help ourselves – we are constantly judging not only the magnitude of the gift, but also the worthiness of the recipient. The gift stands out all the more not just when the gift itself is so great, but also when the person receiving it isn’t.

When I realize that is me, when you realize that is you – it reveals God to be even more generous, doesn’t it? His grace sees to it that not only do we not get the punishment or consequences we deserve, but that we do get so much more than we deserve.

This has a lot to do with why we start out worship with confession and absolution. We are not mandated by God to worship that way. But, doesn’t this matter of God’s generosity and our unworthiness help us understand one of the benefits of it? When we are reminded of the sin that ought to disqualify us from so much as an ounce of God’s grace and forgiveness, it reveals to us every week how good and generous he truly is! We deserve nothing; he withholds nothing. We deserve punishment; he took our punishment. We are completely unworthy; he makes us worthy. 

How generous is God?!? The size and scale of his goodness to us is beyond measure. That he gives anything to undeserving us is beyond comprehension. Only faith can grasp such a truth… and only faith will respond to such generosity with gratitude.

I know it’s not Thanksgiving just yet, but isn’t every day? Do you wake up every single morning, grateful for the abundance of God’s goodness to you in meeting all of your physical needs, and then surpassing all of that with his treasury of spiritual blessings? That kind of gratitude can’t help but express itself. 

How? I suppose I could provide a list for you. But maybe we turn it around. You tell me. How do you normally express thanks to someone who is generous to you? What do you naturally desire to do for them to let them know how grateful you are? Do you treat them differently? Do you send them a thank you card? Do you more readily look for ways to serve or help them? Do you tell others about their generosity? Do you want to do nice things for them? Do you find yourself simply being in a better, positive, pay-it-forward type mindset when on the receiving end of someone’s generosity? 

Can’t we do those same things for God? And, hasn’t he been exponentially more generous to us, given that every need for this life and for the next has been freely provided to us by him?

I can confidently say that if you find being a believer, being a Christian, belonging to God as his treasured possession, merely “ho-hum” or not something that really makes much of a difference in your life, that you’re missing out on freely embracing the privilege and joy of following in God’s footsteps to become more and more of a giver in all areas of life. Talk to others you consider generous in more ways than one. Take note of their attitude and demeanor. They aren’t grumpy. They aren’t begrudging. They aren’t unkind or uncaring. I guarantee you they are none of those things but are the exact opposite.

Now, do you think they are just generous because they’re the type of people who are that way, or are they that way because they’ve allowed God’s grace to lead them to a place of generosity? What Paul is indicating in these verses is that God blesses generous giving in so many positive ways.

But it isn’t the promise of blessings attached to our giving that prompts our generosity. Paul does a beautiful job of wrapping up his teaching on gifts and giving in the last verses. Our gifts are given in response to “the surpassing grace God has given you” (v.14), Paul concluded, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” (v.15). God is a Giver – and a generous one at that! The size and scale of his gifts to us are and always will be unmatched. And, they are and always will be undeserved.

How can we possibly ever respond? With our own gifts, which express our unparalleled gratitude for his generous giving.

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Be More Kingdom-Minded With My Possessions

Loving Savior,
You praised the shrewd manager who made the most of his situation and worked it to his own advantage. Your praise, though, is not intended to compel us to follow in his footsteps concerning his pursuit of personal gain. Rather, we can imitate his shrewdness in a spiritual sense as we consider how our station in life and the connections we have could be advantageous to the kingdom.

You place worldly resources all around us that can certainly be used in support of gospel ministry. Grant me greater awareness of my own personal connections and the resources at my disposal that can be utilized in kingdom-minded ways. Expand my view beyond the local ministry of my own congregation to also consider how I might be in a position to help facilitate the ministry of other congregations or organizations, on a larger scale or in different ways. Shift my perspective more and more to see all that you have entrusted to me as a means by which your gospel reach can be extended.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Support Kingdom Work with My Gifts

Gracious Gift-Giver,
All that we have is yours. All that you have entrusted to us is intended to be a blessing to us and/or to others. Help me see all the ways I can use all that I have for good in this world and for your kingdom. When my hands and heart are inclined to clutch on to my belongings as if they’re mine, let your grace loosen my grip. Guard my heart from greed by filling it with a spirit of generosity. Move me to eagerly help and support others when I have the means to do so. Lead me to regularly reflect on the offerings I give back to you, and open my eyes to see how I can facilitate and support the work of your kingdom. Grant me the joy of seeing how generous giving can enrich and extend your kingdom, and use the gifts of your people to seek out the lost and serve the found.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Don’t Mistake a Warning for a Challenge

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(Luke 16:1-13)

“Betcha can’t eat just one!” One of the most enduring and successful ad campaigns came from FritoLay back in the 1960’s. Initially featuring the actor who played the Cowardly Lion in the Wizard of Oz, the ads invited consumers to try and stop at just one of their popular potato chips. They knew that if they could convince potential customers to try even just one, they wouldn’t be able to stop there. So they issued the challenge, “Betcha can’t eat just one.”

Jesus’ final words in this section from Luke 16 almost come across like a challenge. He says, “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money” (v.13). Hmmmm… sounds kind of like a challenge, doesn’t it? “Betcha can’t serve both!”

Here’s what’s tricky: we know better. We know Jesus is giving a warning, not issuing a challenge. And as the statement stands, we know what Jesus is saying and we totally agree with him on premise. We know it would be foolish to think we could put God and money on an equal plane and serve them both. It can’t work, just as Jesus stated. 

But that doesn’t keep us from trying to make it work, even if we may not always realize we’re doing it. No, it’s not like we actively plot and lay out a concrete plan as to how we can serve money while also serving God. Actually, though, that’s just the point: when we don’t lay out a plan as to how we’re going to serve God – yes, including with our money – then we inadvertently end up trying to serve them both. 

Consider how this works. Here is some food for thought. Let’s compare two things: our giving and our spending.

When is the last time you thought about your giving? To clarify, I am referring to the offerings believers give to Jesus through their local congregation (offerings are given not earn salvation, but in gratitude for it). So, how frequently do you think about your offerings? Is your giving sporadic, random, or even… non-existent? Or, do you have a plan for your offerings? If it’s guided by God’s Word, then it involves planning, it’s consistent, proportionate, generous, and giving is cheerful. Do all of those apply to your giving? Some of them? Any of them? Chances are, if your giving isn’t planned or thought about regularly, then it’s either not happening at all, or at least not as God encourages it to.

But how about your spending? Whether you follow a budget or not, spending is still going to happen, isn’t it? And, it probably happens whether it’s planned or not. And, it probably happens at a level that would actually surprise us if we tracked it more carefully. Why is that?

There are plenty of reasons, but I think one big one is that we don’t exchange cash like we used to. And, since we don’t literally see the cash leaving our hands as we give it away, we have a different relationship with money. I just Venmo you the money, and either the money is merely a number taken from my Venmo balance or it is just drawn from the bank. I am shopping online, and I just click the button without a second thought, as everything is already connected directly to my bank or a credit card that I may or may not pay off each month. In the store with no cash, checkbook (yes, some still use those), or credit/debit card – that’s OK! I just pull out my phone and hold it next to the reader and “voila!” – my purchase is paid for from some account somewhere – I’ll figure it out later. 

Do you notice the primary difference between the two, giving and spending? One is going to keep happening whether I think about it or not, because of course we won’t stop buying stuff we want. The other, though, is unlikely to happen if we never give it thought. So when Jesus says we cannot serve both God and money, we unknowingly live as if he’s challenged us and we’re trying to prove him wrong on a daily basis. 

But Jesus even pointed out what should be the clear evidence or proof of living such a lie. He said, “Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own?” (v.10-12). If we spend without giving, should we wonder why it’s so tough to make a living? Jesus is telling us to stop thinking we can have it both ways. If we can’t get our spending under control, if we can’t pump the breaks on purchasing and squandering what we have, why would God entrust more to us to squander away?

Or, another way to think about it – why would God enable us? Why would he willingly serve as an accomplice to accommodate our desire to serve a false god? That hits a little differently, doesn’t it? We need to see the word “consume” inside of “consumer” and be aware of when our spending is consuming us. Can you say no to spending? Can you go without purchasing or buying what isn’t planned out ahead of time? Are you controlled by impulse buys? Do you justify buying this, that or the other thing, because “you’re stressed,” or “it’s a gift for someone else,” or you “need” it, or “it’s so cute,” or… the list goes on. Justify it however you want, but when we are enslaved by spending, we need to call it what it is: idolatry. And the Bible is quite clear on what happens to idolaters.

Don’t miss the other important connection Jesus made with these words. He tied the physical to the spiritual, indicating that our management of earthly stuff is a test to determine the degree to which we will be entrusted with “true riches,” as Jesus calls them. In other words, the spiritual stuff. If we can’t manage our physical blessings, don’t expect God to heap on us the spiritual blessings, the stuff that is actually valuable. Why would he do that if such blessings will only end up mismanaged or under-appreciated?

And let’s not forget what it took for God to be able to extend those spiritual blessings to us. Paul described how those blessings came to us through Jesus. “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).

Jesus’ parable of the rich man and shrewd manager was just that – a parable. But what we have in reality is a rich Savior who didn’t merely reduce our debt or leave us on the hook with some payment plan to secure our salvation. Instead, he gave himself up, becoming poor so that we through him might become rich.

And that is what we are! Rich in grace and forgiveness, so much so that we never have to worry about our account running dry. Every sin on our ledger is crossed out and cancelled with more grace! Every compulsive purchase, every greedy grab, every single cent that we have spent in service to the idol of money – all has been forgiven through the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We are free from slavery to spending. We can say no to impulse purchases. We can save. We can bless others. We can give. We can turn the idol of money into our servant, using it to serve our Savior and his purposes.

The parable Jesus told guides us in how to do that. He told the parable of the rich man and his manager. The rich man discovered that his financial guy was crooked, so he canned him. “There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions. So he called him in and asked him, ‘What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer’” (v.1-2). The guy suddenly found himself without a job, and of course, when you get the pink slip for being dishonest when managing finances, who else is going to hire you? No one! So, knowing that his job prospects were very slim, he made the most of his current situation to earn favor with others who could then end up as valuable assets for him in the future. He reviewed their accounts and slashed what they owed by fifty and twenty percent. 

The real shock in the parable, however, isn’t found in his actions, but rather in the commendation of his manager, and ultimately, of Jesus. “The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light. I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings” (v.8-9).

Is Jesus praising or advocating dishonesty here? No. But he is encouraging us to be opportunistic. And no, not just to advance our personal financial portfolio, but to advance his kingdom. That was clearly what Jesus had in mind by his reference of being “welcomed into eternal dwellings.” So Jesus laid out one of the many God-pleasing ways to manage his gift of money: to be resourceful with it in seeking to build up his kingdom, to extend the reach of the gospel, and to see a population increase of souls saved as a result of spiritually shrewd efforts. 

Do you see the double benefit of being spiritually shrewd in managing God’s gift of money? One, it curbs us from falling into serving the god of spending. Two, it can do exponentially more eternal good when we are deliberate and opportunistic regarding kingdom-minded ventures. 

Jesus’ words to us today aren’t a challenge, but a warning. We can’t serve both the god of spending and the God of our salvation.

But we can serve the God of our salvation with his gift of money. 

Indeed, let’s shift Jesus’ final words around just a little bit, and we see another side of what Jesus is encouraging. Rather than, “you cannot serve both God and money,” let’s rephrase it into a challenge: “Betcha can’t serve God with money.” By God’s grace, that’s a challenge we can accept! May we eagerly accept that challenge and marvel at how God is able to bless our handling of his gifts for his kingdom.

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Be Mindful of Our Offerings

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. The primary reason we gather in your house is to receive from your generous hand what our faith needs both to survive and to thrive: your gospel in Word and Sacrament. We delight to be fed the spiritual food you fill us with to follow you in faith. You serve us graciously and generously.

Your grace and generosity to us spurs on our generosity in return, so when we gather in your house, we do not do so empty-handed. Rather, we come bearing gifts of gratitude, not only through the songs and speech that make up our worship, but also through our offerings. Whatever we bring to you pales in comparison to how richly you lavish us with your gifts! Nevertheless, we bring our gifts thoughtfully, cheerfully, generously, and gratefully. Guide us to keep growing in the grace of giving, not because you are interested in deepening our pockets, but because you long to deepen our dedication to you.  

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.