Two weeks ago we began our preaching series on the idea of discovering joy through simplicity and generosity. We have focused out time looking at how God calls us to find joy and not to be controlled by money or material possessions. Two weeks ago we looked at how dreams can become nightmares, specifically how the pursuit of the “American Dream” can ruin a person's life. Last week we looked at a few practices we can adopt financially to help us find that wisdom and contentment that God desires for us to have. Today, as we conclude this series, we are going to look at what defines our life, how the Bible promises both God's blessings and joy for those who choose to live God's way, and five specific personal goals we can all work toward over the next year.
Would You Give?
As the story goes, the elementary Sunday school teacher wanted to talk about giving with her class. She asked her eight eager 10-year-olds if they would give $1,000,000 to the missionaries. “YES!” they all screamed!! “Would you give $1,000?” Again they shouted “YES!” “How about $100?” “Oh, YES we would!” they all agreed!! “Would you give just a dollar to the missionaries?” she asked. The boys exclaimed “YES!” just as before except for Johnnie. “Johnnie,” the teacher said as she noticed the boy clutching his pocket, “why didn’t you say 'YES’ this time?” “Well,” he stammered, “I HAVE a dollar.
Theology as a Reason for Giving
Giving in principle is easy. Giving in reality can be more of a challenge. However, we are all called to give. God created us with the willingness to give—to God and to others. This design is part of our makeup; we actually have the need to be generous. Yet there are two voices that “war” against our God-given impulse toward generosity, tempting us to keep or hoard what we have.
- One is the voice of fear.
Fear, of what might happen to us, along with a misplaced idea about the true source of our security, keeps us from being generous and leads us to hoard what we have. The truth is that hoarding offers us no real security in this world.
- The other is the voice of self-gratification.
Our culture tells us that our lives consist in the abundance of our possessions and pleasurable experiences. So we find ourselves thinking, If I give, there won’t be enough left for me.That makes our goal clear. We need to defeat those voices. When we give our lives to Christ, invite him to be Lord, and allow the Holy Spirit to begin changing us from the inside out, we find that our fears begin to dissipate and our aim in life shifts from seeking personal pleasure to pleasing God and caring for others. Although we still may wrestle with the voices from time to time, we are able to silence them more readily and effectively the more we grow in Christ. And the more we grow in Christ, realizing that our lives belong to him, the more generous we become. Because generosity is a fruit of spiritual growth.
Scripture as a Reason for Giving
That theology of giving is just the beginning, the premise. Scripture calls us to give.
- We find more joy in doing things for other people and for God than we ever did in doing things for ourselves. (Acts 20:35)
- In the very act of losing our lives, we find life. (Matthew 16:25)
- Life is a gift, and everything belongs to God. (Psalm 24:1; Leviticus 25:23)
The Affect Giving Has on Humanity
And when we give, our hearts are changed. When we are generous—to God and to our families, friends, neighbors, and others who are in need—our hearts are filled with joy. They are enlarged by the very act of giving. When we give generously, we become more generous.
The Affect Humanity's Giving Has on God
This generosity not only affects those we share with, it affects God! From the earliest biblical times, the primary way people worshipped God was by building an altar and offering the fruit of one’s labors upon it to God. They would burn the sacrifice of an animal or grain as a way of expressing their gratitude, devotion, and desire to honor God. The scent of the offering was said to be pleasing to God. It wasn’t that God loved the smell of burnt meat and grain. Rather, God saw that people were giving a gift that expressed love, faith, and the desire to please and honor God; and this moved God’s heart. When given in this spirit, our offerings bless the Lord.
They also cause a reaction from God. Luke 6:38 tells us, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.”
From the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25, when the servants that were entrusted with the numerous talents used them wisely they were told, “Well done, good and faithful servant! You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things. Come and share your master’s happiness!...For whoever has will be given more, and they will have an abundance.”
When you are generous with the blessings given to you by God, and everything you have is from God, God will have you share in God's happiness. But I want to offer you a word of caution here. Many Christians get something wrong here. They say that if you give, then God will give more back to you. But that is not how it works. We do not give to God so that we can get something in return. The amazing thing is that when we give to God and to others, the blessings just seem to come back to us. Of course, there is no guarantee that if you tithe you will never lose your job or never have other bad things happen to you. Nevertheless, when we give generously, the unmistakable blessings of God flow into our lives.
Biblical Guidelines for Giving
Understanding now the reasons to give, the affect our giving has on us and on God, I want us to turn our attention to how we are to give. From the early days of the Old Testament, God’s people observed the practice of giving some portion of the best of what they had to God. A gift offered to God was called the first fruits or the tithe, and it equaled one-tenth of one’s flocks or crops or income. Abraham was the first to give a tithe or tenth as recorded in Genesis. That same book also records Jacob vowing to give a tenth of all that he owned. Leviticus records God's commandments being giving to Moses for the Israelites saying that a tithe of everything belongs to the Lord.
- Giving a tithe.
As Christians who live under the new covenant, we are not bound by the Law of Moses; but we do look to it as a guide. Yet most Christians agree that the tithe is a good guideline for our lives, and one that is pleasing to God. (“Tithing and the Ten Apples.”) Though tithing can be a struggle, it is possible at virtually every income level. If you cannot tithe right away, take a step in that direction. Perhaps you can give 2 percent or 5 percent or 7 percent. God understands where you are, and God will help you make the adjustments necessary for you to become more and more generous.
- Giving beyond the tithe.
Tithing is a floor, not a ceiling. God calls us to grow beyond the tithe. We should strive to set aside an additional percentage of our income as offerings for other things that are important to us, such as mission projects, schools, church building funds, and other nonprofit organizations.Do not fear the practice of tithing. Malachi 3:10 tells us, “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,” says the LORD Almighty, “and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that there will not be room enough to store it.
Will You Do It?
I encourage you to take this step of faith. God calls all of us to give. God created us to give. When we act responsibly with our money we are not robbing ourselves of pleasure, we are granting ourselves the opportunity for joy. God does not want you to have to deal with the burden and stress of debt. Take steps now to free yourself, following some of the principles we talked about these past several weeks. Seek God's joy, take steps to experience God's joy. It is there for you!
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