Tag: offerings

What We’re Given Guides Our Giving

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(1 Chronicles 29:1-2, 10-18)

It could have gone differently. We know it because we see it repeatedly in rulers and kings throughout history. We know it because we see it repeatedly in rulers and kings in Scripture. Nebuchadnezzar fell into the trap of thinking his kingdom was his own doing. “As the king was walking on the roof of the royal palace of Babylon, he said, ‘Is not this the great Babylon I have built as the royal residence, by my mighty power and for the glory of my majesty?” (Daniel 4:29-30). Nebuchadnezzar wasn’t the only one. About a century later, in Esther 1, we read that “For a full 180 days [King Xerxes] displayed the vast wealth of his kingdom and the splendor and glory of his majesty” (v.4).

So it isn’t uncommon in history that, anytime a ruler is showered with exorbitant riches and wealth, he falls into the trap of thinking that it’s a reflection of his own magnitude and achievements. And, he wants to let others know. Why? To show off their wealth. To display their success. To prominently display all they had achieved to ascend to such greatness.

But David, who was not a man of meager means by anyone’s estimation, strikes a different tone. Oh, the opulence is there, the wealth and riches were definitely a part of the picture. “With all my resources I have provided for the temple of my God—gold for the gold work, silver for the silver, bronze for the bronze, iron for the iron and wood for the wood, as well as onyx for the settings, turquoise, stones of various colors, and all kinds of fine stone and marble—all of these in large quantities” (v.2). He spared no expense! 

But David wasn’t self-aggrandizing. He was God-adorning. David explained to the assembly gathered on the occasion, “My son Solomon, the one whom God has chosen, is young and inexperienced. The task is great, because this palatial structure is not for man but for the Lord God” (v.1). None of this was “for man but for the Lord God.” This wasn’t about David. This was about David magnifying God. In all of these words, David directs the attention to God, not himself. The praise belongs to God, not himself.  

What accounts for the difference? Why is it so common for kings and those in power to make their wealth about them, while David rightly makes his wealth about God? Because David recognized and acknowledged this about his wealth: it was all God’s. “But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand” (v.14). “Lord our God, all this abundance that we have provided for building you a temple for your Holy Name comes from your hand, and all of it belongs to you” (v.16). It’s all God’s! David clearly acknowledges that there is no discussion about his giving or contribution toward the temple apart from an awareness of what he had already been given. 

This is not a natural concept for us to grasp on our own in this fallen world. We think that what we have is ours and we deserve credit for all it took to acquire it. A person looks at his own situation and wants to claim responsibility for his successes. He can probably detail for someone else all the hard work and steps it took to get to where he is and to have what he has. We don’t hesitate to claim credit for anything we’ve achieved or accumulated. 

And this isn’t just a nonbeliever thing; believers struggle with it, too.

For some believers, this is a new concept to consider, that it’s all God’s. If we’re newer to the faith or not used to talking about how to manage our finances and belongings, we may have always thought of our stuff as our stuff. But the Bible has pretty clear reminders that everything is God’s, and he simply entrusts it to us to manage and care for. So nothing is really ours.

For others, perhaps those who have been life-long believers, or who are more familiar with the Bible’s topic of stewardship – a word that simply refers to the management God’s blessings – this isn’t a new concept at all. We have been taught and understand that everything is God’s, and we gratefully manage it to the best of our ability.

But… if we stick with this thought for a little while and assess our relationship with our belongings, isn’t it true that there are maybe a few things that, while we pay lip service to everything being God’s, we kind of think of as more of our own? In other words, this thing or that thing which we aren’t quite so willing to part with? Don’t touch my phone or laptop. That’s your car and this is mine – drive your own. Don’t eat my __________ in the pantry or fridge – those are my thing. This gift of money or gift card was given to me to use, so I don’t have to share. So yes, we know it’s all God’s, but when it comes to managing the use of it, we can be quick to claim full ownership of certain things.

Now some of you are reading this and thinking about someone else right now that you think is too stingy because they won’t share with you. This is not an invitation for you to argue that “since it’s all God’s, you have to let me use your thing.” No – there may be a very good reason someone has not let you use their thing – because you yourself haven’t managed it well in the past! You’ve lost it, broke it, or damaged it, which leads others to think twice about letting you borrow anything. In that respect, you’re guilty of the same wrong – caring poorly for something as if it were yours to mistreat instead of God’s possession that he entrusted to you through someone else letting you borrow or use it.

All of these challenges to managing God’s blessings to us make David’s relationship with his wealth stand out all the more. He did not only pay lip service to the truth that all that he had was God’s, but he also to reflected it in how he actually lived. To help us see things the way David did when he stated, “we have given you only what comes from your hand” (v.14b), maybe the following imagery helps.

Picture it like this. God has two open hands extended to David. His left hand is empty. His right hand is filled with all of the wealth and possessions he was entrusting to David. What did David do? He simply took some of what was in God’s right hand, and he placed it over into his empty hand. So then, what did David actually give to God? Nothing that wasn’t already his! He simply moved it from one hand to the other, but it was all God’s the whole time.

Do we view giving that way, that we are doing nothing more than giving God what was already his in the first place? That shift of perspective on giving has to happen if we are ever to “let go” of what we mistakenly consider ours in the first place. We need to start with the understanding and hold to the truth that everything is God’s. And, in order for us to follow in David’s footsteps with the level of generous giving that he demonstrated, we always start with looking first at what we’ve been given.

Isn’t it so much easier to zero in on what we don’t have instead, as we compare ourselves to those around us? Someone always has more, has better, has newer. And we convince ourselves we’re struggling, we’re just not well-off, we’re maybe even victims or definitely got a raw deal.

But, if we took the time to compare our situation with the vast majority of the rest of the world’s population, we’d have a better grasp of and appreciation for how good we have it and how generous God has been to us! Guess what percentage of the world’s storage units are in the U.S? 90%! And did you know that it’s been figured that we have enough storage unit to place the entire U.S. population inside of one. Only in America would we understand and laugh at George Carlin’s joke about a house just being a place to keep your stuff while you go out and get more stuff. We have such a high standard of living that we easily take it for granted and overlook how generous God is to us.

Now we could certainly keep going down this path, but we haven’t even hit the real treasure yet, have we? Think of what we have in Jesus. Really think about it.

From the moment you wake up until you hit the pillow at night, you could have the absolute worst day. Everything imaginable could go wrong. Yet all day long, you are able to remind yourself that no matter what, you are loved by God. When overwhelmed by all of the distressing local, national, or international news stories, you can find peace in Jesus’ promise that he has overcome the world. If you don’t fit in, struggle to make friends, or worry about the opinion others have of you, you know that Jesus’ perfection on your behalf means that God always cares about you and is always delighted in you. When you don’t have the answers or feel like you’re in control, you can relax knowing that God does and is. When you are stuck on that sin that you thought or said or did that made a royal mess of things, you can reassure yourself as often as necessary that you are fully and freely forgiven in Jesus. How can we possibly put a price tag on this treasury of rich promises from God? 

Of course there was a price. But you and I didn’t have to pay it. Jesus did. And as a result of his willingness to serve as both our Substitute and Sacrifice, we have treasure that is real, genuine, and eternal. 

David didn’t just know from first-hand experience how generous God was in providing him with an abundance of wealth. Remember that David had experienced something far greater, a gift that was lovingly wrapped up and delivered by the prophet Nathan long before the events recorded for us this morning. That gift was a story that served as a call to repentance for David. When that gift did its work, David’s crushed spirit confessed his sin – his scandalous sexual encounter with Bathsheba, his murderous cover-up, and all of the fall-out that followed. At that point, through Nathan’s promise of God’s forgiveness, David’s crushed spirit received the approval and acceptance from God that will always surpass any amount of wealth or possessions that a person could ever accumulate. 

We have to understand that about God. Even when he chooses to lavish a person with worldly wealth, it is never just the wealth – the stuff – that leads a person to stand in awe of God’s goodness. Rather, it is always the incomprehensible, mind-blowing reality of grace and forgiveness which opens my eyes and my heart to how good God is, and then appreciates God’s temporal blessings, too. Take it from David, who penned these words of Psalm 32: 

1 Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered.

2 Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit.

3 When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long.

4 For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer.

5 Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, “I will confess my transgressions to the Lord.” And you forgave the guilt of my sin.

6 Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them.

7 You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

8 I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you.

9 Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you.

10 Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord’s unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him.

11 Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

Everything David expressed in this psalm is true for you and me, too. Brothers and sisters in Christ, look at what we’ve been given. And let that always guide your giving. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Give Thoughtfully

Heavenly Father,
Sundays are sacred. When we gather to worship you, we do so primarily to be on the receiving end of your rich blessings. However, your grace and generosity to us also generate in us the desire to express our gratitude and think through our offerings. In this day and age, convenient digital options have often replaced the collection plate and other physical, in-person methods of giving offerings. As a result, it’s easier than ever for us to forget or neglect our offerings. I am grateful for the many different means by which I can give, but I seek your guidance both to work in me a generous spirit, and also to reflect on and act regularly regarding my offerings. Thank you for blessing me with the resources to give back to you and to support the important work of your gospel in and through your church.

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

DAILY PRAYERS FOR GUYS

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To Strive for Growth in Giving

Dear Lord,
Everything that you’ve generously blessed me with is a trust to be managed. You give to me so that I can provide for my family, help others in need, and support the government. Included in all of these privileges is the opportunity to express my gratitude by returning back to you a portion of what you’ve so kindly given me.

One of the most difficult ways for us to grow in our faith is in the grace of giving. We quickly forget that all that we have is yours and apart from your gracious providence, we would have nothing to our name. Just as you have been so generous to us, so you want us to be generous in return. Help me see that generosity isn’t something that requires large sums of money, but rather a generous and giving heart. It starts not with what I might have some day in the future, but with what you have entrusted to me in the present.

Free me from any unhealthy attachment to money and possessions and open my heart to give freely and cheerfully. Not because you need it from me, but because I love you, because I want to help your kingdom come through my offerings, and because I crave your blessings that accompany generosity. 

In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen. 

Live a Life of Startling Generosity

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(Mark 12:38-44)

When you see the brightly colored “Caution” or “Slow” or sign posted as while driving on the highway, you know that means there is a potential danger or risk ahead, so you pay attention to the warning. You do the same thing as you are navigating through a store or mall and see the yellow sandwich sign that alerts you with a “Caution: Wet Floor.” These warnings are intended to alert you and keep you safe from injury or danger.

Jesus gave a warning sign to his listeners. He told them to “watch out for the teachers of the law” (v.38). But why? Were they a threat to his disciples? Jesus didn’t follow up his warning by pointing out any specific false teachings that the teachers of the law were promoting. Jesus didn’t appear to be emphasizing any physical threat that they posed, at least not here, and not to his disciples. He didn’t alert them to any death threats or assassination plots. So why were they supposed to watch out for the teachers of the law?

So that the disciples wouldn’t become them. The overall picture Jesus paints is that of a group concerned with optics and outward appearance. They were more worried about how others saw them than they were about how God saw them. After all, if they were going to enjoy religion’s version of celebrity status, they had to look the part. The upscale clothing, the special treatment, the constant performance – it was no small thing to pull it all off! They couldn’t dare come off looking like, well… a poor widow, for example. How serious is Jesus’ warning? “These men will be punished most severely” (v.39). Those words really require much explanation, do they!?

It’s a good reminder for us. Yes, we know and believe that it isn’t our outward works, but our faith in Jesus alone which saves. Yes, we know and believe that every sin has been forgiven. These are most certainly true.

However, while all our sins have been forgiven and we are no longer slaves to sin, there’s that lingering part of the old us that will always be attracted to sin and still tempted by it. And perhaps no other sin is more attractive to us than pride. Jesus was essentially warning his disciples to watch out so that their religious piety isn’t corrupted by religious pride. This warning is especially appropriate regarding the topic of giving – especially giving generously – so that we don’t allow our generosity to become tainted by pride and its desire to be recognized.

While Jesus began this section of his teaching referring to the teachers of the law and mentioning the rich people and their gifts, these weren’t the only ones who would serve as his teaching illustrations. There was also a widow. 

Wouldn’t it be nice if we had some more details about the widow? Something that could cement for us that her gift was purely given, cheerfully and willingly, and prompted solely by her love for Jesus, whom she knew loved her so deeply? When we come up with the deep theological questions in Scripture and wonder about the details of different accounts in the Bible, I can’t recall anybody ever asking about more of the background on the widow from this account. But would’t that be helpful if we could get more of a snapshot of her life, something that would fit more neatly with the rest of the Bible’s teaching on giving and generosity? Would’t that be something?

Perhaps we don’t need it. Perhaps Jesus is allowing us a sneak a peek into the window of her life by contrasting her so sharply first with the teachers of the law, and then with the rich people throwing in large amounts in their offerings.

She obviously wasn’t concerned about the optics – “Hey everyone, redirect your eyes away from the piles of cash everyone else is putting in the offering boxes and get a load of these two copper coins I’m about to drop in!” Neither did she make excuses or promises to be more generous down the road when she might have more to give. No, her gift was quietly and generously given, for it was everything she had. And that kind of gift is the kind of gift that faith gives. Not to be seen or recognized, but simply because that’s what faith does.

Jesus commended her. “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put more into the treasury than all the others. They all gave out of their wealth; but she, out of her poverty, put in everything—all she had to live on” (v.43-44). 

What can we learn from Jesus’ commendation of the widow and his thoughts on generosity? Generosity is not about your money; it’s about your heart. Admittedly, I don’t imagine it’s the first time you’ve ever heard that. Giving and generosity are not matters of amounts, but are a matter of where our heart is at. So when giving and generosity are a struggle for the believing child of God, it is rarely because we are unaware of the fact that it’s a heart issue. Instead, it has more to do with our inability or even refusal to diagnose the heart issues unique to each of us. So let’s work through some of those.

Since no one likes junk mail, whether it’s in your physical mailbox or your email inbox, let’s refer to some of these deceptions that can keep us from growing in the grace of giving as “generosity junk mail.” If God is wants to change our hearts in regard to giving (remember, giving is always a heart issue), then we have to get good at identifying the junk that fills the inbox of our hearts so that we stop believing it and perpetuating it. Let’s consider a few of the more common ones.

    1. “Offerings (or “treasures”) aren’t the only thing God cares about – he also wants us to give him our time and talents.”

    I know what you’re thinking. “Wait, that’s not wrong; it’s true that God also wants our time and talents to be used to serve him.” Technically, you’re correct. But I have to point out the problem with how that statement is used. You know who doesn’t ever make it? Generous people. What I mean is, while it’s true that God has given us so much more than just financial blessings to manage and to be generous with, there is typically a reason people are quick to redirect to time and talents: because they struggle with being generous financially. And again, not because it’s an issue of dollar amounts, but of the heart. So be careful before you share such a statement, and do a little digging into your own heart to make sure you aren’t expressing it as a spiritual sleight of hand to hide your reluctance to grow in the grace of giving.

    Here’s another piece of generosity junk mail we need to discard:

    2. “I’ll give more when I have more.”

    Look back at the widow again. If she had taken that approach to giving, Jesus wouldn’t have this story to tell! She would have waited until those two copper coins added up to something much more. Instead, she gave what she had – all of it. When is the last time you gave all that you had to God? It’s been awhile for me – like never!

    Here’s a question to consider that lines up with some of the promises God gives in Scripture. While we’re sitting back on the “I’ll give more when I have more,” mindset, what if God is saying to himself, “I’ll bless him with more once he starts giving from what I’ve already given.”? So while we’re waiting on God to bless us with more to give, he’s waiting on us to give right now so that he can bless it. 

    This next one is a piece of generosity junk mail that is probably more common outside the church, but Christians still struggle with it, too.

    3. “All the church cares about is money.”

    It’s a statement typically spoken by those who refuse to acknowledge their own unhealthy attachment to money. It’s not easy for them to let go of it, so they turn the church into the bad guy, and whenever giving is mentioned, it’s blown out of proportion as “all that’s ever talked about.”

    To provide a balanced perspective, however, certainly churches and pastors have mishandled or mismanaged that trust; of course it has. And, there are certainly some who resort to legalism rather than gospel-generated giving. But these churches don’t represent all or even most churches by any means. So let’s discard that piece of generosity junk mail.

    And one last piece of generosity junk mail:

    4. “I just don’t have enough after all my expenses to give more than I’m giving.”

    And you never will. This junk mail exposes two possible issues: one, a spending issue, or two, a priority issue. When is the last time you’ve tracked your expenses and evaluated where unnecessary or frivolous spending was present? Perhaps that should be more of a cause for concern than it is. Could our “expenses” include purchases that we could still live quite comfortably without?

    The other issue with this attitude is that it turns giving upside down. When we give our left overs we’ll never have enough left over to give more. That’s because giving needs to be realigned to the top of the list. When giving comes first, we see how God keeps his promise to provide for everything else that we need. Until giving tops the list of priorities, it’s impossible for us to rise up to the level of being a generous giver. 

    As believers, we can have open conversations about giving, because we know that we’re the ones God is trying to grow through this process. We also know that the widow wasn’t the only one who gave everything. Jesus did the same thing, but on a scale that impacted far more people. With her two copper coins, she “put in everything.”

    So did Jesus. Jesus went a step further and “put in everything” with his whole life. He went all in. He didn’t hold back. Jesus gave it all by giving his all.

    “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). There is nothing of greater value that could ever be given than Jesus’ life, and he gave it up for you and me. The widow’s two copper coins were her “everything”: Jesus’ life was his “everything,” and he generously gave it so that we could benefit eternally; so that we can live forever. 

    Let’s live right now like we’ll live forever and use what he gives us here and now so that we can help as many others as possible live forever. Let’s discard the junk mail and give with startling generosity.

    God Calls Me to Manage His Gifts Faithfully

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    (2 Corinthians 8:1-15)

    I may have lied last Sunday. After touching on the topic of discipleship, we reviewed some of the characteristics of disciples of Jesus – holding to his teachings, loving others, fruit-bearing, and disciple-making, for example. That’s when we got into the challenge of bearing one’s cross. Now if I made the point that cross-bearing was the most challenging aspect of discipleship, I may have to take that back. Cross-bearing may have some competition: giving. 

    Have you noticed that none of Paul’s letters start out with, “Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, I am writing to you to address the matter of offerings and your giving”? If you have been through the first 15 lessons of our membership class, you may have noticed we didn’t even touch the matter of giving and offerings. That doesn’t come until the second half of the class. If the matter of giving and offerings is so important – and it is extremely important – then why don’t we touch on it sooner?

    There is a reason. Well, there are a number of reasons. But, there is one that stands out among all the others. Godly, generous giving is built on a solid foundation of grace, and a solid foundation of grace takes time to build. It isn’t a foundation that is poured in one shot, like the foundation for our storage building north of the school. It is a foundation that is made solid by continuous amounts of grace poured into it over time. So if the topic of Godly, generous giving makes you uncomfortable, leads you to roll your eyes or tune out, be patient – your foundation of grace is still being poured. But please don’t give up – keep pouring more and more grace into it, and eventually your foundation will be sturdy enough to experience the genuine joy of generous giving. 

    Paul’s encouragement to the Christians in Corinth demonstrates that growing in the grace of giving requires ongoing attention. In our verses today, he is revisiting the matter of a special offering that was being taken up to support ministry. He concluded his earlier letter to the Corinthians with encouragement and directions on how to proceed with that special offering (cf. 1 Cor. 16). Now, as he reports on the status of that offering here in 2 Corinthians, he cheers on the Corinthians with more grace to equip them to finish what they had started. He is reminding them of their calling to manage God’s gifts faithfully. As he does this, we want to take note of how Paul encourages the Corinthians. 

    One way: He points them to other givers, the Macedonian churches. “And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we had expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will” (v.1-5). Paul held up the cluster of congregations in Macedonia as examples of godly givers. What made them stand out? They overcame an obstacle – a pretty significant one when it comes to giving! – they turned poverty into generosity. They pleaded to participate. They exceeded expectations. 

    Turning poverty into generosity would seem to be impossible. It would be, but God is in the business of doing the impossible. If you aren’t familiar with it, there’s a great book you should read that provides examples: it’s called the Bible. Whether providing an abundance of food out of nothing for the Israelites wandering in the desert or miraculously multiplying bread and fish to feed families by the thousands, God can turn poverty into generosity. The Macedonians were examples of this. 

    They also pleaded to participate in the offering. If you’ve been around long enough, you know that isn’t natural. When someone approaches me and asks how they can go about directing an offering to this or giving a gift for that, such a request doesn’t come from coercion or law-driven duty; it is rather a reflection of the same attitude present in generous giving, an attitude that realizes that in Jesus Christ we have everything we need and more. That realization compels a person to seek out opportunities to thank God through giving, to express gratitude through giving.

    That in turn results in exceeded expectations, just as it did in the Macedonians. If we limit generosity to something that can only apply to the well-off, then we might as well write-off a significant portion of Christ’s church! But the Macedonians are evidence that anyone can exceed expectations when it comes to giving. From a giving standpoint, this is also perhaps easier to understand when we consider that generosity isn’t solely defined by amount, but by attitude. The widow in the temple didn’t give much in terms of amount, but her attitude was more generous than anyone else there – she gave all she had (cf. Luke 21)! Attitude – not merely amount – has as much to do with generosity. Remember that God is the one who enables anyone to manage his gifts faithfully. For that reason, it shouldn’t surprise us at all that Paul used the Macedonians as an example of turning poverty into generosity, pleading to participate, and exceeding expectations. 

    How did they achieve all of these? They gave themselves first to the Lord. When we decide not to let greedy hearts govern our giving, but instead give ourselves to the Lord, there is no limit to what he is able to accomplish. In terms of giving, he made the Macedonian churches into a rags-to-riches story, taking their poverty and transforming it into generosity. How does that happen? It’s easy for God to do, for when we give ourselves first to the Lord, he transforms our attitudes, and generosity flows from there in all kinds of amounts. So when we give ourselves to the Lord, perhaps he’s eagerly waiting to make modern-day Macedonians out of us. 

    In addition to pointing the Corinthian Christians to other givers, there is a second method of encouragement which Paul uses: he reminds them of their gifts. “But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving” (v.7). Paul had touched on the matter of spiritual gifts extensively in his first letter, which would lead us to conclude that the congregation had been richly blessed an abundance of such gifts. In that case, not only did Paul encourage them to use their gifts to build each other up, but to continue pursing them and growing in them. In the same way here, then, he parallels the matter of giving with their gifts. “You excel in the area of spiritual gifts,” Paul was saying, “now apply that same pursuit of excellence in the area of giving. Just as God blessed you exceptionally with gifts, so also he can bless you exceptionally in the grace of  giving.” 

    Really, in pointing to givers and gifts as encouragement for Godly giving, Paul is appealing to the same underlying ingredient in both examples: he appeals to grace. If you’ve been paying close attention to all of these verses, you’ll see that grace isn’t just one aspect of giving – it’s really woven throughout the whole conversation. Grace is so overflowing in abundance in these verses that you can see it seeping through the cracks of everything Paul writes! Here’s what it sounds like: “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (v.9). I don’t need to know what your gross income was on your last tax return was – I already know you are rich! No matter how a shaky stock market affects your investment portfolio – I already know you are rich! Regardless of what your checking or savings accounts say tomorrow or twenty years from tomorrow, I already know you are rich! It doesn’t matter how much – if any – your family member leaves you in the inheritance – I already know you are rich! But here’s the question: do you? Do you know how rich you are when you have everything you need in Jesus Christ? Because when you know that, you will give generously as you manage his gifts faithfully. 

    If you’re not there yet, here’s why: even though you might love the idea of grace and think it’s the best thing in the world (it is!), and be absolutely thrilled that grace means you have a place in heaven (it does!), still… you haven’t let grace into your wallet. You haven’t let grace into your purse. It hasn’t yet made its way into your bank accounts and your investment accounts. Because when grace makes its way into those places in our lives, God makes sure that it multiplies into rich generosity. 

    Do you notice a common theme here when it comes to this important matter of offerings, of managing his gifts faithfully? God is not a groveler, he’s a giver. God has not, does not, will not, ever come to you begging for money. He doesn’t desperately need your giving to make ends meet. No, God is the one who gives. But as long as you view this spiritual matter of offerings as God taking something from you instead of God giving everything to you, you’ll continue to miss out on experiencing the joy of the grace of giving. You may give, but that’s not the same as enjoying it.

    Suppose someone had never experienced the joy of sleeping on a feather pillow. Once the idea of sleeping on feathers had been explained to him, he grabbed a handful of them and placed them beneath his head before going to sleep for the night. After a restless night and a headache in the morning, he was frustrated that he had actually believed that sleeping on feathers would provide him with a good night’s sleep. 

    What was his problem? He had not gathered nearly enough feathers! Had he gathered fistful after fistful of feathers and held them together in a bag or a sack, he would have experienced the joy of sleeping on a cloud-like feather pillow! So it should not surprise us that giving for many Christians is not a matter of joy because they cheerlessly give so little. 

    Grace, however, changes that. Paul pointed to the Macedonian churches as a prime example. The final question is this: will you let grace make an example of generous giving out of you, too, as you manage his gifts faithfully?