When it comes to announcing a stewardship sermon
series, I’m tempted to downplay it or cover it up
with some creative theme. No preacher out there
likes to talk about money and stewardship. Why?
Maybe it’s because we all know people criticize the
church too often for money issues. Maybe it’s
because we ourselves have made mistakes when it
comes to our money. Maybe it’s because we, too, like
to daydream about what it would be like to win some
huge windfall. I once prayed, “God make me rich so I
can give it away.” He obviously doesn’t trust me.
And yet, with all the misgivings of speaking about
money, with all the past mistakes I’ve made, with
all the ignorance and desire to ignore the subject,
God still had a great deal to say about money and
generosity. Here’s a dangerous prayer to pray:
“Lord, what would YOU have us hear today?”
With that in mind, let’s consider our money for a
moment. Of all the things we can do with money,
giving it away seems completely, utterly irrational,
doesn’t it? It turns out that, according to
scriptures, generosity is a key component of what it
means to use money well. Wow! Really?
The Bible says we were each made in God’s image, and
since God is infinitely generous, that means
generosity is woven into the fabric of our spiritual
DNA. When we don’t give, we deny our inner nature.
When we are giving, we live in con-cert with our
design. It’s no wonder that generous people are
generally happier and find more meaning to life than
those who are stingy.
As Solomon once said, “The generous will pros-per;
those who refresh others will themselves be
refreshed.” (Proverbs 11:25)
The Bible says, “Where your treasure is, there your
heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21)
I remember a time when my wife, Bonnie, wanted to
give some money to a student doing missionary work
in a country that I wasn’t sure I could find on a
map. Up to that time, I never thought of that
country. It just wasn’t on my radar screen.
How-ever, after we started sending some money there,
I noticed every time the country was in the news. My
heart went there because some of our money was going
there. What do you know; Jesus was right about
treasure and heart.
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Giving generously seems to be one of the keys that
unlock God’s blessings, too. I am very confident
that giving in order to get something from God is
not His plan for our wellbeing. Still, many passages
of scripture clearly state that there are blessings
that flow from generosity, such as Proverbs 11:24:
“One man gives freely yet gains even more. Another
withholds unduly but comes to poverty.”
Now we can debate passages like these all day long,
but in the end, over and over again throughout
scripture, blessings follow giving.
Period! It may seem irrational. It doesn’t make
sense on a spreadsheet. It’s one of those
hard-to-explain but impossible-to-deny realities
that there is a clear link between generosity and
blessings.
As Solomon said, “Blessed are those who are
generous.” (Proverbs 22:9)
As Paul pointed out, “Remember this--a farmer who
plants only a few seeds will get a small crop. But
the one who plants generously will get a generous
crop. You must each decide in your heart how much to
give. And don’t give reluctantly or in response to
pressure. ‘For God loves a person who gives
cheerfully.’ And God will generously provide all you
need. Then, you will always have everything you need
and plenty left over to share with others.” (II
Corinthians 9:6-8, NLT)
Jesus once said, “It is more blessed to give than to
receive.” (Acts 20:25) I’ll simply close by misusing
a line from a popular commercial, “Stay generous, my
friend.”
[Ron Otto, preaching minister at Lincoln
Christian Church] |
