Two men were assigned to visit a home for a fund raising program in their church. After presenting the needs of the campaign, the husband looked at the two visitors and said, “ I see you’ve done your research, but are you aware that we have a son in college whose tuition payments have gone through the roof?” “Well, no,” the men said with some surprise. “And did you know that I have a sister whose drunken husband left her and her four children with no means of support?” Again the men, now feeling sheepish, said, “Well, no.” “And did you know,” the man continued, “that I have a brother who was in an automobile accident who lost his job as a result of the accident and has medical bills through the roof?” Wishing they could disappear somehow, the men hung their heads and said, “No.” “Well,” concluded the man triumphantly, “if I won’t do anything to help them, what makes you think I would do anything to help you?”
More often than not, that is the attitude of many people in our culture, and it even invades the church. Generosity in our “gimme” culture is a rare thing to find.
We occasionally see movie stars lending their faces to fund raising events or visiting some desperate spot in the world accompanied by an entourage of paparazzi. Behind the scenes, however, we learn that large sums of money were spent to continue their “star treatment” when the cameras weren’t around.
Generosity can’t be staged, and it can’t be faked. True generosity should make headlines, but most generous people are glad that it doesn’t.
It’s difficult to be generous in a “gimme” culture. We are hardwired to believe that what we have is ours. We work hard to make money and we should enjoy spending it, hoarding it, and investing it for ourselves.
Generosity is a heart issue, not a financial one. We don’t have to learn to be selfish. Visit any room where more than one preschool-aged child is playing, and you will see very quickly that selfishness is an inborn trait. We hear the mantra, “mine, mine, mine” repeated in many ways from the media as well as from living examples around us.
Learning to be generous in a “gimme” culture requires an infusion of grace. It comes when grace makes its way into the inroads of our hearts and we begin to live grace-fully. True generosity is the overflow of a heart that is filled to overflowing with grace. We don’t generate it…we just demonstrate it.
The Bible teaches us generosity. “Remember this: whoever sows sparingly will reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap generously.” (2 Cor 9:6) “Teach those who are rich in this world’s goods to be generous.” (1 Tim 6:17)
Selfishness makes our world smaller. Martha Ostenso introduces a character named Edith. She wrote, “Edith lived in a very small world, bordered on north, south, east, and west by Edith.” Eugene Peterson paraphrased Jesus’ opinion of selfishness in this way: “If you live squint-eyed in greed and distrust, your life is a dank cellar.” (Mt 6:22 Message)
Generosity makes our world larger. The tentacles of our influence touch more people with genuine concern. The avenues for the Gospel to spread from our lives to others are opened, and free of obstruction. The lives that are enriched by our charity are multiplied.
And we become more like God. “For God so loved the world, He gave His only begotten Son….” Our Father is generous. We are to emulate that generosity in our lives. We receive His gifts to release them. Corrie ten Boom said that the most important lesson she learned through the horrors of the Holocaust was “hold everything loosely.”
As Christians, the genuineness of our faith is shown in generosity.
The evidence of Zacchaeus’ conversion (Luke 19) was his willingness to let go of the things that he thought he owned, but which in reality owned him. Generosity showed he had been set free.
“And God is able to make all grace aboud to you, so that in all things at all times, having all you need, you will abound in every good work.” (2 Cor 9:8) Generosity is a matter of trust. To quote Dr Phil, “How’s that workin’ out for you?” Can we trust God to replace the resources we release? Can we trust God to “make all grace abound to us” when our generosity to others is not reciprocated? Can we live against the powerful current of our culture and be different by being generous in a `gimme’ culture?
