We want to be a church known for generosity.  Yesterday we saw two principles that a relationship with God teaches us about generosity, and we’ll see two more today.

What we have is not as important as what we keep

The third principle of stewardship has to do with attitude.  This is a far more important consideration than how much money we happen to have.  Stewardship has far more to do with faith than it does with money.  How we look at what we have is far more important that how much we have.

Peter Marshall, who was chaplain of the United States Senate for many years, shared this true story:
There was a man who struggled to give even though he had a large income. He had long been taught to give 10% of his income away, which is called a tithe.  The man said to Marshall, “I have a problem. I used to tithe regularly some years ago, but…but now…I am earning hundreds of thousands a year, and there is no way I can afford to give ten percent to the church.”

The chaplain said they should pray about it and led off, “Heavenly Father, I pray that you would reduce this man’s income back to the place that he can afford to tithe.“

Like the senator, one of the biggest lies we tell ourselves is that we will begin to give more generously when we have a little bit more.  This is simply not true, the day never comes.  Jesus said that those who are faithful when they have a little will be faithful when they have a lot.

The time to learn giving is when we have a little.  It becomes increasingly difficult as our prosperity increases…remember those cords around our hearts.

How much we give is not as important as how much we keep

One day as Jesus sat in the temple with his disciples people came by with their offerings for the temple. Some of the people were quite rich, and they made sizeable donations.  Among them was a poor widow who dropped in her gift of only a few pennies.  Perhaps someone laughed…Jesus pointed out that this widow had actually given more than all the others.

Seeing their surprise at his remark he explained that all the others given from their wealth.  They still had lots left. But this woman had given out of her poverty.  She had nothing left.  In the eyes of God her gift amounted to more than theirs.  God evaluates things differently from the way we do.  In this matter of financial stewardship it is important for growing Christians to remember how much we hold back is far more important than how much we give.    Once again the issue comes back to whether or not we will allow Jesus to free us from the power of money and are we willing to trust God.

These same questions apply to how we use our time and how much of our time we are using to further God’s work around the world.    How much time do we keep for ourselves and how much time do we give to God and those he loves?

Think of a child’s allowance.  The parents don’t really give a child money because he needs it.  They provide everything he needs.  And they don’t ask him to give to charity, buy gifts for others, etc. because he has too much.  They do it to teach him something, to shape and guide him for the future.

Question: Based on these two stories, what do you think God is training people for?  What’s the end goal?

Reminder: Earlier in this series, we saw the importance of reading the Bible together in sync, so our new daily bible readings start today in our mobile app and web site.

Read the Bible in Sync Today

Ryan Sim - May 7, 2013

Tuesday - Study It - Self Denial

Matthew 6:16-18 ESV - “And when you fast, do not look gloomy like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces that their fasting may be seen by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face, that your fasting may not be seen by others but by your Father who is in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you. Fasting – willingly going without food, completely or just for a part of each day. It was a common practice in Jesus’ day. The Pharisees fasted twice a week. John the Baptist and his disciples fasted regularly. We know that the disciples of Jesus were notable for not fasting, although Jesus did, and expected they would after his death. And here – he seems to assume they will fast. He says, "When you fast." not "if you fast". So just like the last two weeks – Jesus is not simply commanding some religious observance, like generosity or prayer. He is teaching about how, and the motivations for, those observances. The inner motivations matter to him, not just the outer practices. And it’s important with fasting. Throughout the Bible, fasting was a means of self-denial or self-discipline, particularly in penitence for some sin in their life. Humbling ourselves for God. But the hypocrites made it something for others to see as well. There are a few ways to do that – look dishevelled, rub ashes on your face to look sickly, or cover your head in sackcloth. Like they were doing with their ostentatious public prayers, or their conspicuous generosity, they advertised their religiosity to the world. It makes no sense at all, because fasting is supposed to be an exercise of humility! Acting humbly, to engage in an outer sign of penitence and humility like fasting, and yet have no inner remorse or motivation to change our ways. They are actors – the very definition of a hypocrite. We do this all the time – in job interviews we don’t want to come across as a self-centered renegade, but want to sound like a team player, so we find ways to communicate how humble and effective we are at the same time. When people congratulate us, we downplay it – oh it was nothing. It’s become almost a joke that every Oscar winner needs to thank God for their success, whether they believe that or not. This year, though, people somehow looked beyond all those scripted moments, and fell in love with Jennifer Lawrence because her back stage interview came across as genuine, down to earth and honest. Question: Have you ever needed to prove your humility to someone? How did you do it?

Related Topics: Humility, Self-Denial | More Messages from Ryan Sim | Download Audio

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