http://anchor.tfionline.com/post/intentional-generosity/
A compilation
Audio length: 11:58
Download Audio (10.9MB)
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.—Proverbs 11:24–251
*
Giving puts us in a healthier relationship with our possessions and with the material world in which we live. We like making money, but we enjoy other things as well, such as the love of our family, belonging to community, a sense of meaning, accomplishment, contribution, and service. We enjoy making a positive difference in the lives of other people. But how do we maintain balance and perspective? How can we appropriately secure the basic needs of food, shelter, education, and health while also living with purpose? How do we avoid too much preoccupation with the things that do not ultimately satisfy, and cultivate those things that do? The intentional practice of generosity helps us keep our priorities straight.
Giving reflects the nature of God. We give because we are made in the image of God, whose essential nature is giving. We are created with God’s nature imprinted on our souls; we are hardwired to be social, compassionate, connected, loving, and generous. God’s extravagant generosity is part of our essential nature as well. But we are anxious and fearful, influenced by a culture that makes us believe we never have enough. God sent Jesus Christ to bring us back to ourselves, and back to God. As we “have in us the mind of Christ Jesus,”2 we become free. Growing in the grace of giving is part of the Christian journey of faith, a response Christian disciples offer to God’s call to make a difference in the world. Generosity enlarges the soul, realigns priorities, connects people to the body of Christ, and strengthens congregations to fulfill Christ’s mission.—Robert Schnase3
*
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.—Matthew 6:214
*
A few hundred years ago the great preacher and evangelist John Wesley … lived in economically uncertain times, yet from humble beginnings he became so well known that his income eventually reached 1,400 pounds per year. [In 2014 this would be the equivalent of earning around half a million dollars a year.]
So what did he do with all this wealth? Did he tithe it? No. Wesley went way beyond tithing. He disciplined himself to live on just 30 pounds of the 1,400 pounds he earned every year. He gave away 98% of all he earned and lived on just 2%!
Wesley once preached a sermon on Luke 16:9.5 In it he spelled out his philosophy: Money is a tool that can be used for great good or great ill. “It is an excellent gift of God,” he claimed, “answering the noblest ends. In the hands of his children, it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, raiment for the naked. It gives to the traveler and the stranger where to lay his head. By it we may … be a defense for the oppressed, a means of health to the sick, of ease to them that are in pain; it may be as eyes to the blind, as feet to the lame; yea, a lifter up from the gates of death! It is therefore of the highest concern that all who fear God know how to employ this valuable talent; that they be instructed how it may answer these glorious ends, and in the highest degree.”
Wesley went on to spell out three simple rules which can guide us: Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can.—From storiesforpreaching.com6
*
It is more blessed to give than to receive.—Acts 20:35
*
Today, I’m the head janitor at an investment firm in L.A. Since the engine in my truck failed four months ago, I’ve been without a vehicle. In some cities this might be okay, but in the L.A. sprawl with subpar public transit, it’s been difficult. The CEO, who is usually hard on everyone and emotionally removed from any personal issues his employees have, overheard a phone conversation I was having with my wife in which I was apologizing for not spending enough time with the family due to the long public transit commute times. Ten minutes later, he caught me in the hall and handed me a set of car keys. [He said:] “The new executive company cars arrived. One of them is for me. But it sounds like you need it more than I do. I have another set of wheels. It’s parked out back. It’s yours for as long as you need it.”—From makesmethink.com
*
R. G. LeTourneau (1888–1969) was a Christian industrialist who dedicated his life to “being a businessman for God.” He was hugely successful, designing and developing his own line of earthmoving equipment. LeTourneau was the maker of nearly 300 inventions, and had hundreds of patents in his lifetime. As he succeeded financially, he increased his giving to the point where he was giving 90% of his income to the Lord’s work. LeTourneau once quipped, “I shovel out the money, and God shovels it back—but God has a bigger shovel.”—Joe7
*
Philanthropy ought to be the preeminent ingredient in everyone’s recipe for material gain. No matter what the field, no star of any success story is a totally self-made man or woman. Along the way, all of us received help from others. … We all owe a portion of our success to others, incurring a debt in the process, and the only way to repay that assistance is by sharing our good fortune. …
[My wife] and I have given a portion of our paycheck to worthy causes every year since I was in the navy making $320 a month. For the past 20 years, we concentrated on making money so we could give it away.
Monetarily, the most satisfying moments in my life have not been the excitement of closing a great deal or the reaping of handsome profits from it. They have been when I was able to help others in need—especially “the least of these, my brethren.” …
No question about it, one gauge of success is how much wealth one acquires in his or her lifetime. The more meaningful and lasting measurement, though, is how much onegives away.
My message is not solely for the fraternity of the rich. Nobody gets off the hook. If just the rich give, little changes. All must give their share. Be a benevolent overseer of your harvest, for each of our stewardships is temporary. We have only a short time to see that wealth, however humble or vast, is spread about to worthy needs. Giving is a spiritual obligation.
The Christian gospel, for one, makes that mandate clear: If a man has two coats, should he not give one of them to the man who is without a coat? For Jews, charity is a duty centered on the belief that everything we own is God-given. One is obligated to share with those who do not have enough.
Giving to the poor is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. In most Islamic cultures, hoarding is considered wrong. Giving away surplus protects one from greed and envy. In fact, Islam encourages the practice of endowing money or property, called waaf, for the purpose of maintaining schools, hospitals, churches, and the like.
All three religions are making the same point: Put back into society as much as you extract. Give generously to the less fortunate. …
And did I mention it is great fun to give back? Giving enriches one’s heart and soul—and it’s contagious.—Jon. M. Huntsman8
*
Give and it shall be given unto you! Honor the Lord with your wealth, and with the best of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.—Luke 6:38; Proverbs 3:9–10
*
This is the way God works: He loves to outgive you, and He will never let you outgive Him. He will always give you much more back than you could ever give to Him. The more you give, the more He will give you back.
What many people don’t seem to understand is that the Lord’s finances work the opposite way of the world’s. Most worldly people think, “Well, when I’ve got my millions, when I’m rich, then maybe I’ll start giving to others and helping the poor and helping support the Lord’s work.” But the Lord says, “Start giving what you’ve got now, and then I’ll pay you back and give you more.” God’s way to plenty is to give it away! His Word says, “He that withholds unfairly shall come to poverty, but he that gives freely shall gain even more.”9
So even if you don’t have much, God will bless you if you will give to Him. And one of the ways to give to the Lord is to be good to the poor and His missionaries, to do what you can to help those who are accomplishing the job that Jesus gave to His disciples, to “feed My sheep.”10
Jesus promised, “Whoever will give even a cup of cold water unto one of these little ones because he is My disciple, I tell you truly, he will in no case lose his reward!” And, “Whatever you have done for one of the least of these, My brethren, you have done it unto Me!”11—From Treasures12
Published on Anchor April 2015. Read by Jerry Paladino.
1 ESV.
2 Philippians 2:5.
3 Practicing Extravagant Generosity: Daily Readings on the Grace of Giving (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2011).
4 ESV.
5 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.—Luke 16:9–10 NIV.
6 http://storiesforpreaching.com/wesleys-wealth/
7 http://christianpf.com/extraordinary-stories-about-giving.
8 Winners Never Cheat—Even in Difficult Times (Pearson FT Press, 2008).
9 Proverbs 11:24.
10 John 21:15–17.
11 Matthew 10:42; 25:40.
12 Published by The Family International in 1987.
A compilation
Audio length: 11:58
Download Audio (10.9MB)
One gives freely, yet grows all the richer; another withholds what he should give, and only suffers want. Whoever brings blessing will be enriched, and one who waters will himself be watered.—Proverbs 11:24–251
*
Giving puts us in a healthier relationship with our possessions and with the material world in which we live. We like making money, but we enjoy other things as well, such as the love of our family, belonging to community, a sense of meaning, accomplishment, contribution, and service. We enjoy making a positive difference in the lives of other people. But how do we maintain balance and perspective? How can we appropriately secure the basic needs of food, shelter, education, and health while also living with purpose? How do we avoid too much preoccupation with the things that do not ultimately satisfy, and cultivate those things that do? The intentional practice of generosity helps us keep our priorities straight.
Giving reflects the nature of God. We give because we are made in the image of God, whose essential nature is giving. We are created with God’s nature imprinted on our souls; we are hardwired to be social, compassionate, connected, loving, and generous. God’s extravagant generosity is part of our essential nature as well. But we are anxious and fearful, influenced by a culture that makes us believe we never have enough. God sent Jesus Christ to bring us back to ourselves, and back to God. As we “have in us the mind of Christ Jesus,”2 we become free. Growing in the grace of giving is part of the Christian journey of faith, a response Christian disciples offer to God’s call to make a difference in the world. Generosity enlarges the soul, realigns priorities, connects people to the body of Christ, and strengthens congregations to fulfill Christ’s mission.—Robert Schnase3
*
For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.—Matthew 6:214
*
A few hundred years ago the great preacher and evangelist John Wesley … lived in economically uncertain times, yet from humble beginnings he became so well known that his income eventually reached 1,400 pounds per year. [In 2014 this would be the equivalent of earning around half a million dollars a year.]
So what did he do with all this wealth? Did he tithe it? No. Wesley went way beyond tithing. He disciplined himself to live on just 30 pounds of the 1,400 pounds he earned every year. He gave away 98% of all he earned and lived on just 2%!
Wesley once preached a sermon on Luke 16:9.5 In it he spelled out his philosophy: Money is a tool that can be used for great good or great ill. “It is an excellent gift of God,” he claimed, “answering the noblest ends. In the hands of his children, it is food for the hungry, drink for the thirsty, raiment for the naked. It gives to the traveler and the stranger where to lay his head. By it we may … be a defense for the oppressed, a means of health to the sick, of ease to them that are in pain; it may be as eyes to the blind, as feet to the lame; yea, a lifter up from the gates of death! It is therefore of the highest concern that all who fear God know how to employ this valuable talent; that they be instructed how it may answer these glorious ends, and in the highest degree.”
Wesley went on to spell out three simple rules which can guide us: Gain all you can, save all you can, give all you can.—From storiesforpreaching.com6
*
It is more blessed to give than to receive.—Acts 20:35
*
Today, I’m the head janitor at an investment firm in L.A. Since the engine in my truck failed four months ago, I’ve been without a vehicle. In some cities this might be okay, but in the L.A. sprawl with subpar public transit, it’s been difficult. The CEO, who is usually hard on everyone and emotionally removed from any personal issues his employees have, overheard a phone conversation I was having with my wife in which I was apologizing for not spending enough time with the family due to the long public transit commute times. Ten minutes later, he caught me in the hall and handed me a set of car keys. [He said:] “The new executive company cars arrived. One of them is for me. But it sounds like you need it more than I do. I have another set of wheels. It’s parked out back. It’s yours for as long as you need it.”—From makesmethink.com
*
R. G. LeTourneau (1888–1969) was a Christian industrialist who dedicated his life to “being a businessman for God.” He was hugely successful, designing and developing his own line of earthmoving equipment. LeTourneau was the maker of nearly 300 inventions, and had hundreds of patents in his lifetime. As he succeeded financially, he increased his giving to the point where he was giving 90% of his income to the Lord’s work. LeTourneau once quipped, “I shovel out the money, and God shovels it back—but God has a bigger shovel.”—Joe7
*
Philanthropy ought to be the preeminent ingredient in everyone’s recipe for material gain. No matter what the field, no star of any success story is a totally self-made man or woman. Along the way, all of us received help from others. … We all owe a portion of our success to others, incurring a debt in the process, and the only way to repay that assistance is by sharing our good fortune. …
[My wife] and I have given a portion of our paycheck to worthy causes every year since I was in the navy making $320 a month. For the past 20 years, we concentrated on making money so we could give it away.
Monetarily, the most satisfying moments in my life have not been the excitement of closing a great deal or the reaping of handsome profits from it. They have been when I was able to help others in need—especially “the least of these, my brethren.” …
No question about it, one gauge of success is how much wealth one acquires in his or her lifetime. The more meaningful and lasting measurement, though, is how much onegives away.
My message is not solely for the fraternity of the rich. Nobody gets off the hook. If just the rich give, little changes. All must give their share. Be a benevolent overseer of your harvest, for each of our stewardships is temporary. We have only a short time to see that wealth, however humble or vast, is spread about to worthy needs. Giving is a spiritual obligation.
The Christian gospel, for one, makes that mandate clear: If a man has two coats, should he not give one of them to the man who is without a coat? For Jews, charity is a duty centered on the belief that everything we own is God-given. One is obligated to share with those who do not have enough.
Giving to the poor is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. In most Islamic cultures, hoarding is considered wrong. Giving away surplus protects one from greed and envy. In fact, Islam encourages the practice of endowing money or property, called waaf, for the purpose of maintaining schools, hospitals, churches, and the like.
All three religions are making the same point: Put back into society as much as you extract. Give generously to the less fortunate. …
And did I mention it is great fun to give back? Giving enriches one’s heart and soul—and it’s contagious.—Jon. M. Huntsman8
*
Give and it shall be given unto you! Honor the Lord with your wealth, and with the best of all your crops; then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.—Luke 6:38; Proverbs 3:9–10
*
This is the way God works: He loves to outgive you, and He will never let you outgive Him. He will always give you much more back than you could ever give to Him. The more you give, the more He will give you back.
What many people don’t seem to understand is that the Lord’s finances work the opposite way of the world’s. Most worldly people think, “Well, when I’ve got my millions, when I’m rich, then maybe I’ll start giving to others and helping the poor and helping support the Lord’s work.” But the Lord says, “Start giving what you’ve got now, and then I’ll pay you back and give you more.” God’s way to plenty is to give it away! His Word says, “He that withholds unfairly shall come to poverty, but he that gives freely shall gain even more.”9
So even if you don’t have much, God will bless you if you will give to Him. And one of the ways to give to the Lord is to be good to the poor and His missionaries, to do what you can to help those who are accomplishing the job that Jesus gave to His disciples, to “feed My sheep.”10
Jesus promised, “Whoever will give even a cup of cold water unto one of these little ones because he is My disciple, I tell you truly, he will in no case lose his reward!” And, “Whatever you have done for one of the least of these, My brethren, you have done it unto Me!”11—From Treasures12
Published on Anchor April 2015. Read by Jerry Paladino.
1 ESV.
2 Philippians 2:5.
3 Practicing Extravagant Generosity: Daily Readings on the Grace of Giving (Nashville: Abingdon Press, 2011).
4 ESV.
5 I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.—Luke 16:9–10 NIV.
6 http://storiesforpreaching.com/wesleys-wealth/
7 http://christianpf.com/extraordinary-stories-about-giving.
8 Winners Never Cheat—Even in Difficult Times (Pearson FT Press, 2008).
9 Proverbs 11:24.
10 John 21:15–17.
11 Matthew 10:42; 25:40.
12 Published by The Family International in 1987.
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