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
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Yesterday Levi decided to follow Jesus, invited his colleagues for supper with Jesus. We saw all that meant for Levi, and today we see what it meant for his culture.
And the Pharisees and their scribes grumbled at his disciples, saying, “Why do you eat and drink with tax collectors and sinners?” And Jesus answered them, “Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. I have not come to call the righteous but sinners to repentance.” - Luke 5:30-32 ESV
What Jesus says makes so much sense in theory. Of course Jesus came to heal broken people, including these kinds of extortioners who’ve sold out their nation.
But it’s so easy to forget that in practice.
The Pharisees don’t seem to think Jesus should be friends with those he intends to heal. They act like he should keep a safe distance, perhaps as an aloof example of how good he is and how bad they are. Perhaps if they change their ways, then they can be seen with him.
Christians can do the same. Sometimes we’d rather give to a distant charity than help a neighbour. We’d rather keep a safe distance from people’s issues, perhaps we worry about what people will think if they see us with certain kind person.
This is a problem since we see Jesus doing the opposite. He goes right to people who don’t know him, and don’t act like him. He goes right to the sick, and heals them. The problem is Pharisees don’t see themselves as sick.
This is part of why we don’t advertise this as a Christian resource. We’re not looking to be a resource just for those who already go to church, know Jesus, and like that kind of thing.
If that’s you, it’s okay, you can support and join our team in this work – get in touch with me. What we’ll work on together is building a community of people that includes those who’d never show up at church to learn about Jesus.
It’s such people as that we exist for. Now that’s a pretty familiar group. It gets much more interesting when you consider what it’s like to serve prostitutes, drug addicts, and so on. What does it look like for Jesus’ followers to sit down and have supper with them in a way that introduces them to Jesus? We’ve included one fascinating example for you to watch here. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DRBM_YY_YX0
Question: Why do you think the religious authorities, the Pharisees and scribes, react the way they do? Have you ever reacted similarly?
