Chapter 6 – A Life of Generosity

The billionaire philanthropist Charles F. Feeney said, “I want the last check I write to bounce.” He made his money in duty free shopping. He began giving money away in 1984 and by 2016 he has given 8 billion to charities around the world. He wanted to make a difference while he was alive.

Feeney also helped to inspire the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation as did Bill’s mother. Mary Gates wrote a letter to her future daughter-in-law on the day before her wedding. In the letter she included the Bible verse, “to those whom much is given, much is expected.” Mary died of breast cancer six months later. Bill donated 100 million dollars to what would become the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. The foundation has given 36 billion dollars away.

Many people believe that generosity is for the very wealthy only. That the less fortunate cannot afford to be generous. But if we look at the life of Albert Lexie, we find a different perspective. He worked shining shoes at Children’s Hospital of Pittsburg for 32 years. He charges $5 for shining a pair of shoes. Albert donated thirty percent of his income to the hospital’s Free Care fund which helps parents pay for their child’s medical care. He also donated all of his tips to the fund. At retirement, Albert had donated over $200,000 to the fund.

Generosity is from your heart not from your bank account. The word goodness in the Bible is not about the absence of evil. It is about the presence of something from God. Goodness in our hearts will manifest itself as generosity towards other people.

We often associate generosity with financial giving. But generosity of the heart includes treating others with respect, giving others the benefit of the doubt, giving without considering the cost, and expecting nothing in return. Generosity includes respect, forbearance, courtesy, and patience. This are all fruits of the spirit.

Galatians 5:22-23 NIV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Every day we can respond to the others with generosity of the spirit. We can give patient when receiving impatience. We can respond with a kind word to an insult. We can overlook people’s flaws and search for what God see in them. We do not have to tolerate everything that is thrown at us. But we can search for goodness and return what we receive with understanding and kindness.

We are not all born with a generous spirit. But we can choose to be generous. As we choose to open our hearts and offer generosity to others, God’s Spirit will fill us with a generosity that will be available to give to others.

James 1:17 NIV

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. An example of generosity in the Bible is the widow giving money to the temple treasury

Mark 12:41-44 NIV

Jesus sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury. Many rich people threw in large amounts. But a poor widow came and put in two very small copper coins, worth only a few cents. Calling his disciples to him, Jesus said, “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.”

In ancient Israel there were thirteen treasury boxes. Each box had a brass horn on the top into which people dropped money. The money would bounce against the brass until it fell into the box. Some people purposely used many small coins to increase the amount of noise the donation made.

While Jesus was watching, a widow living in poverty dropped in the only two coins she possessed. The two coins where two mites, not enough money to buy a loaf of bread. Yet Jesus said she gave more than all the others because she gave all she possessed. She had nothing else to spend on her needs.

This does not mean all the wealthy donors were evil. Many were good decent people giving generously to the temple and to God. But Jesus saw those who gave for show. Those who wanted to be recognized and honored for their gifts. Even though they gave more, Jesus believed they actually gave less. The widow gave more than all the rest. God’s math is different from ours. God calculates what is in the heart not what is in the hand. The widow gave more because she gave everything. The other gave less because they only gave a part of what they possessed.

An example of extravagant generosity in the Bible is in three of the Gospels

John 12:1-3 NIV

Six days before the Passover, Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus lived, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. Here a dinner was given in Jesus’ honor. Martha served, while Lazarus was among those reclining at the table with him. Then Mary took about a pint of pure nard, an expensive perfume; she poured it on Jesus’ feet and wiped his feet with her hair. And the house was filled with the fragrance of the perfume. But one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, who was later to betray him, objected, “Why wasn’t this perfume sold, and the money given to the poor? It was worth a year’s wages. “He did not say this because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief; as keeper of the money bag, he used to help himself to what was put into it.”

During Jesus’ life, a year’s wages was about $25,000. This was a shocking example of generosity. But Jesus said to leave the woman alone because Jesus knew that the crucifixion was ahead.

Mark 14:6-9 NIV

“Leave her alone,” said Jesus. “Why are you bothering her? She has done a beautiful thing to me. The poor you will always have with you, and you can help them any time you want. But you will not always have me. She did what she could. She poured perfume on my body beforehand to prepare for my burial. Truly I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached throughout the world, what she has done will also be told, in memory of her.”

These two acts of radical generosity are surprising to us today. They were even more shocking in Jesus’ time. The Roman world considered generosity to be for the affluent only. Wealthy Romans often supported artist and donated money for public works. Roman society depended on the generosity of the wealthy. But the wealthy expected something in return. They were often given political offices, lucrative business arrangements, favorable laws, and civic honors. In Roman society neither Mary nor the widow was expected to be generous.

Many Americans consider our country to be the most generous in the world. But studies have shown that tithing is not popular or common in America or even in the church. The following is a excerpt from Relevant Magazine.

What Would Happen if Christians Actually Tithed?

Today’s American church is not great at giving. This isn’t exactly news, but it is a statistical fact:

Tithers make up only 10 to 25 percent of a normal congregation.
Only 5 percent of the U.S. tithes, with 80 percent of Americans only giving 2 percent of their income.
Christians are only giving at 2.5 percent per capita, while during the Great Depression they gave at a 3.3 percent rate.

Numbers like that can invoke a lot of guilt, which isn’t really the point. The larger point is what would happen if believers were to increase their giving to a minimum of, let’s say, 10 percent. There would be an additional $165 billion for churches to use and distribute. The global impact would be phenomenal.

Here’s just a few things the Church could do with the kind of money:

$25 billion could relieve global hunger, starvation and deaths from preventable diseases in five years.
$12 billion could eliminate illiteracy in five years.
$15 billion could solve the world’s water and sanitation issues, specifically at places in the world where 1 billion people live on less than $1 per day.
$1 billion could fully fund all overseas mission work.
$100 – $110 billion would still be left over for additional ministry expansion.

Some examples of how Americans spend their money are shown below.

These purchases are not bad or unchristian in themselves. But these are examples of where Americans are spending money rather than tithing.

If this is true it is also shocking. The author has seven ways we can grow in generosity.

Change the way you think about money

Typically, we think of our money as a pie chart. We separate expenses into slices of the pie. When we have used all the slices there is no more money to spend. But God is infinite. He is not bound by our pie chart. God works through rivers of blessings. There is endless flow of blessings from God coming into our lives. We can stop thinking of money as being limited and begin to think of ourselves as conduits of God’s grace and mercy. We can give without fear that there will be nothing left. God supplies all our needs. We cannot out give God.

Proverbs 3:9-10 NIV

Honor the Lord with your wealth, with the first fruits of all your crops.
then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

Malachi 3:10 NIV

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.

Expose you heart to the brokenness of humanity.

In America we have government programs which offer a safety net for the poor. It is easy to believe that everyone is taken care of and provided enough to live a healthy life. But that is not true. The backpack ministry in our church provides for school children who are hungry on the weekends. In the Nauvoo community in Walker County many people are living without sufficient food and housing. In America, hunger and need exist next door to abundance.

Before you do big things do the little things.

There are several small things that you can do to become more generous. Such as leaving a large tip at restaurants. Carry spare change to help strangers. Ask God to show you who needs help. Select a charity you believe is doing good and start giving a small amount each month. Increase you tithe by one percent.

Start giving more than you can afford

2 Corinthians 8:1-4 NIV

And now, brothers and sisters, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. In the midst of a very 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 Lord’s people.

The question is how much should we give? The answer is always more than we can afford. Jesus gave up everything to generously help us. We probably will spend more on things we do not need rather than on the things that are important to God.

Don’t be afraid of spontaneity

Sometimes we see people on the street or at the traffic light waiting for a hand out. We divert our eyes or walk in the opposite direction. But what if we saw these times as opportunities? We could ask God to show us where we could help and use his guidance to direct our giving. We cannot help everyone but we can help someone.

Pray about becoming radical

2 Corinthians 8:9 NIV

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.

God engages in radical generosity when he gave up heaven to come live on earth among us. For us to give radical means to give all of our talent, resources, and treasure for God’s kingdom without expecting anything in return.

An example is David Green the founder of Hobby Lobby. Green is worth $5.8 million which began when he and his wife were making picture frames in their garage. After years of hard work, they built the largest arts-and-crafts retailer in the country. Hobby Lobby employees thirty-thousand people and it generates 4 billion in annual sells. Green donates fifty percent of its profits. Green has donated $500 million to ministries around the world.

Make sure you are moving toward your treasure

Matthew 6:19-21 NIV

“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

We are mistaken if we think of earthly possessions, are our treasure. Out real treasures are what we store in heaven where eternity is a very long time. Paul had ideas on how we store treasures in heaven.

1 Timothy 6:17-19 NIV

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

According to Forbes “the typical person in the bottom 5 percent of the American income distribution is still richer than 68 percent of the world’s inhabitants.”

Jesus lets us choose if we move towards our treasure or away from it. It we spend our lives pursuing wealth and possession then we are moving away from our treasure. If we are working to generously give to those in need, then we are moving towards our true treasure.

Generosity is not about have mush extra money we have. It is about what flows out of our heart from God towards others. We can become generous people if we are willing to choose it. We are the conduits of God’s love, kindness, and generosity to the world.

Philemon 6 NIV

I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ.

In his book, David Jerimiah, gives us several steps to increase our generosity and become a flowing river of God’s goodness. We can develop into Christians with amazing lives and amazing gifts to share with others as the hands and feet of Christ. What are the first steps you are willing to take towards greater generosity? Is there an area of generosity where you struggle while other areas are easier for you?

Personally, I find tithing easy and spontaneity difficult. I use online banking to schedule checks to my church every payday. I clean out my closets regularly and donate to the Salvation Army. But when opportunities to give surprise me, I worry about my ability to pay bills before the next paycheck, even though I have savings to bridge the gap. Perhaps setting money aside to carry with me for those spontaneous moments and praying for God to show me where to give is a beginning to greater generosity and less worry.