SOWING GENEROUSLY 2 Corinthians 9:6-15. Give according to your income, lest God make your income according to your giving. 1 --Peter Marshall

Transcription

1 1 SOWING GENEROUSLY 2 Corinthians 9:6-15 Give according to your income, lest God make your income according to your giving. 1 --Peter Marshall Barbara Gibson and Caroline Latham in their book, Life with Rose Kennedy gives us details of how she spent, or more accurately, how she didn t spend her money. Despite her great wealth, Mrs. Rose Kennedy was very tight with money. She was a very religious woman who attended mass daily and always left an offering. Every morning she put one dollar in the collection box, never more and never less. Because the large residence in Palm Beach had been willed to the children (with the provision that she could live in it as long as she desired), Mrs. Kennedy objected to the use of her funds for upkeep. The home was shabby, with tiles falling off the roof, worn linoleum floors, and curtains hanging in shreds, but she held on to her millions, not wanting to spend money on what would only increase the value of her children s inheritance. But it was not just major repair jobs that concerned her. Indeed after her husband died, Mrs. Kennedy often ended up worrying most about the smallest expenses. She would become obsessed with the idea that she was spending too much money for phone service and decide to take out some of the extensions a convenience that cost only $6.50 a month in a house worth millions. Or she would get all fired up about making a donation to the local thrift shop, and she and I [her personal secretary] would spend hours sorting through old clothes and household goods... Many of the things she donated weren t even salable. The funniest example I remember was when she gave the Hyannis thrift shop one of Teddy s old sneakers. 2 She was excessively frugal in her eating habits as well. For lunch on one occasion, she insisted on having a left-over baked potato from the previous day. Her secretary had thrown it out, but rather than confess that to her boss, she dutifully went through the trash and retrieved it.3 Even when it came to her grandchildren, it was impossible for Mrs. Kennedy to show any extravagance. Each of the twenty-nine grandchildren, even the ones who were in their teens, got just fifteen dollars on their birthday. Exceptions to this rule were rare. One year Pat Lawford suggested that it would be nice for Mrs. Kennedy to give her godchild Victoria Lawford a portable electric typewriter for her birthday. Mrs. Kennedy responded to this suggestion with a very funny letter about the impossibility of spending such a large amount as $125. 4

2 2 Paul ends these two chapters on stewardship (chapters 8 and 9) by pointing out that fairness and justice will eventually prevail. Sometimes in this life we get a taste of this, but in other cases we have to wait until eternity to see it take place. This is true whether we have been stingy or generous, selfish or selfless, indulgent or sacrificial. In the end God will set the record straight, make things right. And the Christians at Macedonia, Corinth and Philippi basically understood this. Through these churches we have learned that giving is proof of our love and that it should be motivated by what is honoring to God. MOTIVATION FOR GIVING What was it that motivated the Christians at Macedonia and Corinth to give generously, sacrificially, voluntarily, eagerly, proportionately, enthusiastically, cheerfully (hilariously), regularly, systematically and inclusively with planning? What inspired them to give what they gave? What prompted their joyful attitude in giving? So far we have seen that they were motivated by God s grace, the example of others, others needs, the example of Jesus Christ, own past record and own past feeling. What else motivated them to give? WE GET WHAT WE GIVE Another principle we need to keep in mind is that we get what we give. Paul put it: Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously (2 Co 9:6). The principle is that we get what we give. This was probably a well-known proverb though it is not a specific proverb taken from the Book of Proverbs in the Old Testament, though the principle is found throughout Proverbs and the rest of the Bible. No one is a loser because he has been generous. Giving is like sowing seed. The person who sows with a sparing hand cannot hope for anything but a meager harvest, but the person who sows generously will in due time reap a generous return. CHEERFUL Our attitude when we give is more important than the amount we give. We don t have to be embarrassed if we can give only a small gift. God is concerned about how we give from the resources we have (Mk 12:41-44). Giving should come from the heart and it should come from a cheerful heart. God does not want us to give merely out of a sense of duty. He wants us to give because we want to give:

3 3 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver (2 Co 9:7). Cheerful, joyous giving is what is pleasing to God. ALL NEEDS MET BY GOD God does guarantee that our needs will be met: And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need... (9:8). Paul testified to the believers at Philippi: And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus (Php 4:19). How? Usually through the generosity of others! As we look at the context we find that God provided for Paul through the generosity, and even sacrifice, of the church at Philippi. The context of this great affirmation is his giving thanks for their gifts:... it was good of you to share in my troubles. Moreover, as you Philippians know, in the early days of your acquaintance with the gospel, when I set out from Macedonia, not one church shared with me in the matter of giving and receiving, except you only; for even when I was in Thessalonica, you sent me aid again and again when I was in need. Not that I am looking for a gift, but I am looking for what may be credited to your account. I have received full payment and even more; I am amply supplied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent. They are a fragrant offering, an acceptable sacrifice, pleasing to God (Php 4:14-18). We must remember the difference between our wants and our needs. Most people want to feel good and avoid discomfort or pain. We may not get all that we want. By trusting in Christ, our attitudes and appetites can change from wanting everything to accepting His provision and power to live for Him.

4 4 GOD'S GENEROSITY AND RICHES Not only will our needs be met and we will experience fairness and equality, but when we give to the Lord He will reward us with His own generosity and riches: Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously.... And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work. As it is written: He has scattered abroad His gifts to the poor; His righteousness endures forever. Now He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion" (2 Co 9:6-11). God will repay bounty with bounty and a sparing spirit with a sparing spirit. To the generous, God gives His grace bountifully. This is true spiritually and even at times financially. The man who fudges on God financially is like the baker who tried to save dough by making the hole of the doughnuts larger. But the larger he made the hole, the more dough it took to go around it. What we sow in this life is what we will reap in the next. The garment we sow in this life is the garment we will wear in the next. As M. P. Horban put it: Someday, all that we will have is what we have given to God. 5 THE TESTIMONY TO OTHERS The final appeal Paul makes concerning giving in a Christian way is the testimony of others:... and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift! (2 Cor. 9:11-15)

5 The Corinthian believers are encouraged to give because of its effect upon other people. Because of their generosity other believers thanked and praised God for the obvious grace and love that was in operation in their lives. This in turn then brought honor and glory to the Source of all grace: God. Even Paul himself as he writes about this ends in exultation as he is reminded of God s indescribable gift. 5 It is God s indescribable, matchless grace that enables us and motivates us to give the best we have to the One whom we love the most. Paul said of the Macedonian Christians: And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God s will (8:5). No gift can be in any real sense a gift unless the giver gives with a bit of himself. That is why personal giving is always the highest kind of giving, and that is the kind of giving of which Jesus Christ is the supreme example. May God forbid that we should present our gifts and withhold ourselves! Carve your name high above shifting sands, On rock that defy decay: All that you ll hold in your poor, dead hand Is that which you ve given away! --Anonymous

6 6 NOTES 1 Inspiring Quotations, compiled by Albert M. Wells, Jr. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1988), Barbara Gibson and Caroline Latham, Life with Rose Kennedy (San Francisco: Warner Books, 1986), 78-79, cited in Ruth A. Tucker, The Christian Speaker s Treasury (New York: Harper and Row, Publishers, 1989), Ibid. 4 Ibid. 5 Inspiring Quotations, 190.