07/01/18 The Life Shaping Choice Between Generosity and Greed Acts Pastor Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church

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1 07/01/18 The Life Shaping Choice Between Generosity and Greed Acts Pastor Doug Scalise, Brewster Baptist Church The words generosity and greed both begin with the letter g, but that s about all they have in common. Being generous, being kind, open-handed, sharing compassionately and freely of our resources, time, talents, and our encouragement produces a very different person, impact on a community, and on the kingdom of God than greed. Generosity connects people. Greed separates. Generosity enlarges our life and our perspective. Greed shrinks our life in upon itself and narrows and warps our perspective. Generosity is fun to do, beautiful to behold, and wonderful to receive. Greed is corrupting, ugly and repugnant. Generosity imitates the character of God while greed is the antithesis of God s very nature, and a repudiation of God s grace and gifts. God is generous beyond measure with us. When we allow generosity to shape our life and our decisions, we are imitating our Creator. When we are greedy, selfish or deceitful, we harm not only ourselves, but the larger community as well. And, we don t imitate Christ who gave up everything in showing us the way to live gratefully in the kingdom of heaven. And, in giving his life on the cross for our sins, showed humanity the ultimate gift of God s love. In a time when generosity is declining in our nation in terms of the number of people giving to charity, and the worship of wealth seems to be growing, it s important to reflect on the life shaping choice between Generosity and Greed, which has consequences not only for life on this planet, but for eternity. We can see this choice between generosity and greed in the contrast between a man named Barnabas, and a husband and wife named Ananias and Sapphira in Acts Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any possessions, but everything they owned was held in common. With great power the apostles gave their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. There was a Levite, a native of Cyprus, Joseph, to whom the apostles gave the name Barnabas (which means son of encouragement ). He sold a field that belonged to him, then brought the money, and laid it at the apostles feet. But a man named Ananias, with the consent of his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property; with his wife s knowledge, he kept back some of the proceeds, and brought only a part and laid it at the apostles feet. Ananias, Peter asked, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, were not the proceeds at your disposal? How is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You did not lie to us but to God! Now when Ananias heard these words, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard of it. The young men came and wrapped up his body, then carried him out and buried him. After an interval of about three hours his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. Peter said to her, Tell me whether you and your husband sold the land for such and such a price. And 1

2 she said, Yes, that was the price. Then Peter said to her, How is it that you have agreed together to put the Spirit of the Lord to the test? Look, the feet of those who have buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out. Immediately she fell down at his feet and died. When the young men came in they found her dead, so they carried her out and buried her beside her husband. And great fear seized the whole church and all who heard of these things. There is a lot going on in this passage. We can only touch on a few key parts today so let s start at the beginning. Now the whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul. I always have a sense of longing when I linger on that phrase. It would be amazing to be a part of a church where the The whole group of those who believed were of one heart and soul. To be a part of a church that loved much, forgave graciously, where individuals didn t harbor or hold on to hurts, bitterness or resentments. Where God truly came first in people s lives above all other loyalties or affiliations; where every person was committed to growing in Christlikeness and sharing generously with others. That would be quite a church; unified in heart and soul, fulfilling Jesus prayer in John 17 that his followers would be one. In Acts 4, the sense of unity they had was demonstrated in the incredible generosity and selflessness with which they regarded their possessions and resources. It s no surprise that in a church where there was such unity and generosity that the apostles spoke of the resurrection of the Lord Jesus with great power and great grace was upon them all. Compassion and caring for one another's needs was a priority for the early church, and Luke says the believers held "all things in common," a phrase taken from Greek philosophy indicating friendship. These new Christians befriended one another to the extent that some sold possessions to care for the needy among them. The example of extravagant generosity in today's text is not an isolated incident. Luke sprinkles similar accounts throughout the Book of Acts. The first example occurs in Acts 2:42-47, following Peter's first sermon, to which more than 3,000 people responded. Other examples occur in Acts 4:32-35; then in 6:1-7 (daily distribution of food); 9:36-41 (Tabitha/Dorcas was devoted to good works and acts of charity, she made tunics and other clothing that she gave to the widows); 11:27-30 (according to their ability they gave to famine relief in Judea); 20:34-35 ( we must support the weak, remembering the words of the Lord Jesus, for he himself said, It is more blessed to give than to receive. a saying of Jesus not found in the gospels we have; 24:17 (Paul says, I came to bring alms to my nation ). All these examples make it clear that if a person claims to be a follower of Christ then living generously, sharing with others, assisting the poor and those in need will increasingly be a part of our lives. Claims of faith ring hollow and false when spoken by those who spend lavishly and extravagantly on themselves while demonstrating no compassion or empathy and neglecting to share with and to help others in need. Verses state, There was not a needy person among them, for as many as owned lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold. They laid it at the apostles feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. We then hear two very different stories of individuals who sell land and bring money to the apostles. What a contrast there is between Barnabas and Ananias and Sapphira. 2

3 Barnabas is like God in his approach to life. God is both generous and compassionate. Barnabas is the type of person who understands that everything we have is a gift: life itself, the sun and rain that nourish the earth and produce food that sustains us. When we live and give out of a sense of gratitude, abundance and compassion, we will give and share sacrificially, joyfully, and with love. Living with an abundance mentality as God does, we come to understand that love, forgiveness, compassion, generosity, and kindness are not limited commodities that diminish when we use them. In truth, they tend to multiply and grow the more we practice them. Ananias's and Sapphira's deceit stands in stark contrast to the example of Barnabus' unbridled generosity. Ananias and Sapphira act like human beings who haven t been transformed by a relationship with Christ and the Spirit. Why are they dealt with so severely? What was so dangerous about what they did? They lied to the Holy Spirit, they lied to the leaders of the church, and their lying and lack of integrity were a threat to the Body of Christ, which is the church. God takes lying and deceit a lot more seriously than we do today; lying isn t even called lying anymore. Lying is sinful and destructive to trust, healthy communication, and relationships. Lies, deceit, a lack of integrity, trying to make ourselves appear better than we are all undermine trust and endanger community. The stories of Barnabas, Ananias and Sapphira are shared with us so we can reflect on: Who do we want to be like? Who do we want to imitate? Looking at their stories also causes us to think about what God wants from us. Do you know what God wants more than anything else? God desires to love and to be loved. God is against sin precisely because it is so hurtful and damaging to God s children and the creation God has made. We have some folks here at BBC who grew up in the reformed church where they learned what s called The Westminster Larger Catechism, which was written in 1648 and opens with this question and answer: Question: What is the chief and highest end of man? Answer: Man s chief and highest end is to glorify God, and fully to enjoy Him forever. Do you know and believe that God wants you to enjoy Him forever? What difference might that make in your life if you did? Ananias and Sapphira s grievous sin was that rather than glorifying God, they were seeking to glorify themselves in the eyes of the community by deceiving them and wanting folks to think they were being more generous than they were. They wanted glory and celebrity for themselves. God is love, but God doesn t share glory with human beings, especially lying deceitful ones. This doesn t change the fact that God loves us, delights in us, wants the best for us, and longs for us to love Him. 1 John tells us, In this is love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the atoning sacrifice for our sins. Beloved, since God loved us so much, we also ought to love one another. God loves us first. We see that clearly in God s Son offering his life in order to reconcile us to God. That love moves us to love God and others in return. Julian of Norwich wrote, The greatest honor we can give to God is to live gladly because of the knowledge of his love. What God most wants is to see you smile because you know how much God loves you. 1 1 James Bryan Smith, The Good and Beautiful God, page 86. 3

4 Jill and I went to Washington D.C. on April 21 st and walked around many of the lovely and moving memorials. At the FDR Memorial, which features a number of the President s great quotes, there is this one that still resonates today and reflects the spirit of Barnabas and the early church: The test of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of those who have much, it is whether we provide enough for those who have too little. We also visited the Smithsonian Museum of American History where there was an exhibit about Giving in America. The heading of the Giving in America exhibit says, Giving has taken many forms throughout American history and has become firmly woven into the American experience. Every year millions of Americans contribute money, time, talent, and resources to causes across the country and throughout the world. Philanthropy is not unique to the United States, but Americans ideals of participation, equality, resourcefulness, and shared responsibility have shaped a distinctive form of giving in America. One of the featured items was a silver communion dish and the caption underneath it says: Community leaders in early America often gave valuable gifts to their churches. Thomas Hancock funded the purchase of this communion dish for Boston s Brattle Street Church around Thomas Hancock was following in the tradition of Barnabas. The 16th-Century Protestant Reformer Martin Luther, said: There are three conversions necessary in the Christian life: the conversion of the heart, the mind, and the purse. Sometimes the third can be the most difficult. One way to summarize the stories of Barnabas, and Ananias and Sapphira is: possessions and what they do to us is a matter of life and death. For the follower of Jesus, every decision involving money is spiritual before it is financial. As followers of Jesus who practice generosity, we don t want money ruling our life; we want our spiritual life ruling our money. Generosity imitates the character of God while greed is the antithesis of God s very nature and a repudiation of God s grace and gifts. God is generous beyond measure with us, and when we allow generosity to shape our life and our decisions, we are imitating our Creator and we experience more joy. It s important to reflect on the life-shaping choice between generosity and greed because it has consequences not only for life on this planet, but for eternity. Prayer: Loving God, who so generously lavishes our lives with goodness, create in our hearts a deep center of gratitude, a center that grows so strong in its thanksgiving that sharing freely of our treasures becomes the norm and the pattern of our existence. Remind us often of how much you cherish us, of how abundantly you have offered gifts to us, especially in the hours of our greatest need. May we always be grateful for your reaching into our lives with surprises of joy, growth and unearned love. Amen. Questions for Discussion or Reflection 1. Compare Acts 2:42-47 and Acts 4: What qualities mark the church they describe? What words, phrases or images would you use if someone asked you to describe BBC? 2. What do we learn about the character and priorities of Joseph, also known as Barnabas, and Ananias and Sapphira in Acts 4:32-5:11? 4

5 3. What do you think motivated Ananias and Sapphira to lie about their giving? What did they hope to gain? Why do you think God punished them so severely? 4. When you hear the word greed what do you think of and picture in your mind? Is there a person who embodies greed to you? Why do you think greed is considered one of the seven deadly sins? 5. When you hear the word generosity what do you think of and picture in your mind? Is there a person who embodies generosity to you? What is appealing about generosity? 6. What steps can you take in your own life to live generously in the fullest sense? What benefits do generous people enjoy? 5