The level of our generosity is reflected by the results...

This week, we have been focusing on the issue of giving. Specifically, we have been asking the questions “why should I give? and "how should I give?” And to answer these question, we have been looking at a section of a letter that a man named Paul wrote to a church that was located in Corinth, Greece called 2^nd Corinthians.

Wednesday, we looked at a statement by the Apostle Paul that provided for us the answer to the question “why should I give?” in that when it comes to treasure, we are to give generously because Jesus is generous. We discovered that Jesus Christ was and is rich. He is the hands of creation. He owns everything. Jesus Christ is rich spiritually, relationally, and materially. And Jesus is generous. Paul explains that Jesus is so generous that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor.

Paul then explained that Jesus left the riches of Heaven for the life of a beggar on earth was so that you through His poverty we might become rich. Jesus entered into humanity to live as a beggar and allowed Himself to be treated as though He lived our selfish and sinful lives by dying the worst death possible by crucifixion so that God the Father could treat us as though we lived Jesus perfect life and bless us with the riches that come from the forgiveness of sin and the relationship with God that we were created for in Heaven.

As followers of Jesus, we are to be generous because Jesus is generous. And when we give generously, we reveal and reflect the generosity of Jesus to others. As a church, we do not ask followers of Jesus to give because we want your money. Instead, as a church, we invite followers of Jesus to respond to the generosity of Jesus by reflecting that generosity in a way that enables us as a church to create environments where people can explore, faith, grow in their faith and experience genuine and authentic community, so God’s kingdom mission can advance and God’s reputation can be enhanced.

Now that leads us to the second question which we are looking at, which is "how should I give?" We see Paul reveal for us the timeless answer to this question just a few verses later in this letter by providing us a timeless principle that most of us have probably heard, but may not have realized that it was from the Bible. So let’s look at it together, beginning in 2 Corinthians 9:6-7:

Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do just as he has purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Paul introduces the members of the church at Corinth, and us here this morning to a timeless and true principle when it comes to generosity by way of a familiar farming metaphor: “he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will reap bountifully”. And even today, this metaphor is still used in our culture. However, we tend to say it this way: “you reap what you sow”. This principle is also referred to as the Law of the Harvest.

Now when Paul uses the word sparingly, he is referring to one who is meager when it comes to giving. The word bountifully, on the other hand, literally means generously. And it is in this metaphor that we see Paul reveal for us the timeless and true principle that the level of our generosity is reflected by the results.

Paul’s point here is that the person who is meager or miserly when it comes to investing their treasure in God’s kingdom mission and to meet the needs of others will produce little or no benefit. By contrast, the person who generously invests their treasure in God’s kingdom mission and to meet the needs of others will see their generosity reflected in the benefits that are produced and flow from their generosity.

Now it is important to understand that this principle is neither good nor bad; this principle simply is. And while you can push back against or resist this principle, the principle is active and at work in my life and in your life. Regardless of whether you like this principle or don’t like this principle, you cannot avoid this principle: the level of our generosity is reflected by the results.

Paul then explained to the members of the church at Corinth that, in light of this principle, that each one must do just as he purposed in his heart, not grudgingly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And so often, in my experience as a pastor, I have seen this verse used as a justification why Christians are not required to tithe.

The conversation usually goes something like this: “Well Dave, I am a new covenant Christian; I am not under the Law. And since God loves a cheerful giver, I am not bound by any percentage when it comes to giving. And since God does not want me to give if I am not cheerful then I only have to give what would make me cheerful. And what makes me cheerful is to simply give God a tip”. They usually don’t say that part; that is my editorial comment.

However, to understand what Paul is trying to communicate here we first need to understand the meaning of several words and phrases. First, the phrase purposed in his heart literally means to make a decision beforehand. In other words, you should not be deciding how generous you are going to be when it comes to your giving as the offering basket is making its way down your row. If Paul was communicating this phrase in the language we use in our culture today, this phrase might sound like this: “You should have already decided what you are going to give and the check should already be written before the worship service begins.

Paul then provides three reasons why we are to decide beforehand how generous we are going to be when it comes to investing our treasure in God’s kingdom mission through giving. First, when we fail to decide beforehand we can find ourselves investing with an attitude of painful reluctance instead of gratitude. The phrase “grudgingly” literally means to be in pain of mind or spirit”.

And for some of us, if we could paint the true picture of what is going on inside of us when we give during the offering, it might look like this: “here you go; this is so painfully hard, oh what I could do with this if I didn’t have to give it to God”.  Now, here’s the tough question: does that seem like an act of worship to you? Instead of investing our treasure with an attitude that giving is a grateful response to God’s generosity, giving becomes a duty that must be painfully endured.

Second, when we fail to decide beforehand we can find ourselves investing our treasure in giving from pressure instead of pleasure. The phrase “under compulsion” literally means under pressure. “Oh no, here comes the basket, what should I give? I don’t know, I don’t know? What are those around me going to think if they see what I’m giving? Oh I’ll just throw in what’s in my hand” or “I’ll just put this number down on the check”.

Now does that seem like an act of worship to you? Instead of investing our treasure in a heartfelt, joyful response of worship that reflects the generosity of Jesus, we are hurriedly focused on the pressure that comes from beating the deadline of the basket and the possibility of informing the opinions of others.

Third, Paul explains that when we take the time to prayerfully decide beforehand how generous we are going to be when it comes to investing our treasure in God’s kingdom mission through giving, we are able give with an attitude of gratitude that reflects the generosity of Jesus as a response of joyful worship. And it is this attitude of gratitude; it is this response of joyful worship that God loves.

The investment of the treasure that God has given us through giving is an act of worship that is to be done out of a heartfelt and joyous recognition that God is our provider who owns everything and allows us to manage all that He has given us.

So, for those of us that would consider ourselves “new covenant Christians” which we all are if you have a personal relationship with Jesus by the way, and justify this as a reason as to why you are not bound by the “10 percent rule”, here is my question. In light of all that God has generously done to rescue you from your selfishness and sin, what percentage do you think would reflect the heartfelt joy that you feel in response to His generosity?

Is the heartfelt joy that you feel as a result of what Jesus has done for you the same as the joy you feel when your waitress brings your meal to you at the restaurant? Because most people give that waitress 10%; I mean that is the minimum cultural standard isn’t it? So, why are we so put off at the idea of giving God at least a tip when he comes to responding to His activity in our lives but we give almost no thought to giving a waitress a tip? You see, the level of our generosity is reflected in the results.

So what does your generosity, or lack of generosity, say about your relationship with God? And what motivates you to be generous? Do you believe that Jesus is generous? And do you believe that you are to be generous because Jesus is generous? Does your generosity flow from an attitude of loving gratitude in response to Jesus is and what Jesus has done?  

Because, as followers of Jesus, the timeless reality is that, when it comes to treasure, we are to give generously because Jesus is generous.