May 27, 2018 – “Wonderfully Made for an Amazing Purpose: Giving” by Rev. Cody Sandahl
Lay Reader = Matthew 6:19-24
19“Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal; 20but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. 22“The eye is the lamp of the body. So, if your eye is healthy, your whole body will be full of light; 23but if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light in you is darkness, how great is the darkness! 24“No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and wealth.
Introduction
We are still in our series looking at our spiritual gifts – our spiritual DNA – the ways God has designed us for particular ministry roles that will be life-giving, not life-draining for us. Last week we looked at the spiritual DNA for teaching, which is communicating relevant information in a way that others want to learn.
This week we are looking at giving. Some pastors are reluctant to talk about money. I remember in the church where I grew up, the pastor always brought in his Baptist friend on Stewardship Sunday, and we never heard about giving any other day of the year. I am not that pastor.
I am more like one of my mentors who was at a church where an oil tycoon attended. Early on in his tenure there he had a meeting with this gentleman, and the man apologized for being late but he had cut short his meeting with the President of the United States to meet with the pastor.
And I think there were two very healthy things that came out of that meeting. One was on the part of the oil tycoon. He said he didn’t think it was healthy for one person to give more than a certain percentage of the church’s budget, so he said, “Just send me the budget and I’ll give that percent of it.” I think that’s pretty healthy.
The other healthy thing to come out of that meeting was on the part of my pastor friend. He said, “Write down three things you’re really passionate about. Everyone in this church is going to want to ask you to fund their idea. And if their idea isn’t on the list of things you’re really passionate about, I’ll run interference for you. But if their idea is on your list, I’m going to come after you like a hound dog to fund it.” And the oil tycoon was all in.
I love that!
So when it comes to the spiritual gift or the spiritual DNA for giving, I’m very comfortable talking about it partially because giving is my #3 spiritual gift, and partially because the Bible talks about money all the time! Sixteen of Jesus’ thirty-eight parables are about money and possessions. Fully one out of every ten verses in the Gospels deal directly with the subject of money. The Bible has about 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 on faith, but more than 2000 verses on money and possessions. When the Bible is your content, you’re going to run into the subject of money and possessions quite a bit.
But the spiritual DNA for giving isn’t just the ability to give joyfully from your own finances, it also might mean marshaling resources for a ministry.
We have had ministries here at First Pres that got their start because someone had a vision and asked the people they knew to give seed money to get it off the ground. That’s marshaling resources for a ministry. That’s another way to use the spiritual DNA for giving.
Or maybe it’s helping an organization through cost savings. This is one of my skills, although in our household Becca’s the one who’s a third degree black belt in cost control. A few years ago we switched to a different database system here at the church, and I helped train Elinor on it. And why was it worth my time to do that? Because it saved the church several thousand dollars per year. Giving my time and energy to help us save money in that way is another way to use the spiritual DNA for giving.
So as we talk about the spiritual DNA for giving, it really encompasses any way that you can contribute to the material resources of a ministry. That may be your own giving. That may be marshaling resources from others. That may be helping the ministry save money somewhere. If you have the spiritual DNA for giving, you want to see the ministries you care about have all the resources they need to succeed, and you’re excited to help them get those resources.
In our text today, the apostle Paul is functioning as the marshaler of resources. He is writing to the church in Corinth, which had a lot of resources at its disposal. He is asking them to collect an offering on behalf of the very poor church in Jerusalem. There’s a lot more in the letter to the church in Corinth, but that’s the part we’re going to look at.
I do want to note that the passage we’re going to read has been misused by some. In this passage, Paul is reminding the Corinthians that the act of giving actually results in themselves being blessed in various ways. So some have taken this passage to show that when we give, we are guaranteed to be blessed by God materially. And usually for some odd reason that means the hearer should be giving money to that particular preacher. Funny how that works, right?
But that ignores what comes before this passage. Because before this passage Paul has to defend himself because of how much he has suffered. The man who just praised God for how much he had suffered for Christ CANNOT be saying that giving more money will make God cause all your struggles to go away. That’s, to use a technical theological term, “hogwash.”
So if that’s NOT what Paul is saying about giving, let’s see what he IS saying.
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
6The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work. 9As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” 10He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness. 11You will be enriched in every way for your great generosity, which will produce thanksgiving to God through us; 12for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God. 13Through the testing of this ministry you glorify God by your obedience to the confession of the gospel of Christ and by the generosity of your sharing with them and with all others, 14while they long for you and pray for you because of the surpassing grace of God that he has given you. 15Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!
The Heart
I will never forget the opening line to one of the resources we were looking at in my Stewardship class in seminary. The opening line said, “A little guilt never hurt anybody.”
To which I respond with Paul’s words from our text today, “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly OR UNDER COMPULSION, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Do you see a little guilt in there? I don’t.
Or let’s go to the negative passages in the Bible. My Men’s Bible Study just finished the minor prophets, and we looked at Malachi this past week – the last book in the Old Testament. And God brings the heat on Israel because of how their offerings. Instead of bringing the best of the flock, they’re bringing the blind and lame goats. Instead of a full tithe, they’re bringing in the table scraps. And God is…less than enthused at this.
But God doesn’t use guilt to get them back on track. He first tells them they are being unfaithful. Unfaithful. That’s an issue of the heart. And that’s what we see over and over again in the Bible where God addresses our giving. It matters because of its effect on our heart.
Jesus said in our first text today, “For where your treasure is, there your HEART will be also.” He says that how we earn, spend, and give from our finances is to our heart what our eyes are to our ability to see. And “if your eye is unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness.”
There are four times as many verses on money and possessions as there are on prayer because our approach to our money and possessions has one of the greatest impacts on our heart and soul. Psalm 51 says that God desires a “broken and contrite heart.” You can’t do that when your world view is wrapped up in personal accumulation. Those are mutually incompatible. Like putting diesel fuel into your gasoline engine.
So God cares deeply about how we earn, how we spend, and how we give, because God cares deeply about our hearts. And that’s why I have no problem talking about giving, because I care deeply about the orientation of our hearts as well.
It’s not about the amount, it’s about the heart. Remember when Jesus praised the widow for putting in her last two pennies even though others were being showy about giving way more money? He cared about the heart, not the amount.
So for all of us, think about the direction of your heart. Are you trending toward a more generous heart or a more hoarding heart? Is your hand becoming more open or more closed? What’s your trend line? What’s your direction?
And then how can you move that trend line more toward God’s generosity? I’ve shared my concept of the giving ladder before, but let me share it again. If you’ve never given anything to God’s purposes, give something today. It might be two pennies, but give something. That’s the first rung on the ladder.
If you have given to God before, try giving occasionally. Every time you’re at a church, throw something into the plate. That’s another rung on the ladder.
If you give occasionally, try giving regularly. Set aside an amount that you’ll give every month – you can even set it up online to automatically give. That’s another rung on the ladder.
If you give regularly, give proportionally. Prayerfully consider what percent of your annual income you’re going to dedicate to the Lord. That might be 1% to start, it might be 5%, it might be 10%. Have a conversation with the Holy Spirit who knows everything about your situation, and settle on a proportion of your income. That’s another rung on the ladder. And every time you raise that percentage in future years, that’s another rung on the ladder. Or if you are on a fixed income and your expenses go up but you keep your giving steady, sometimes that’s another rung on the ladder.
Some of us are called to go one run further, which is to give sacrificially. This isn’t a generalized requirement – this is something God either calls you to for a special reason or you have a very pronounced spiritual DNA for giving. Giving sacrificially means giving beyond your comfort level. It means giving at such a level that you have to change other things in your life – maybe not buy that new car, maybe not upgrade your house, maybe not do something else. Again, that’s not a required rung on the ladder, but it’s something the Holy Spirit sometimes asks.
So wherever you are on that ladder, just go up one rung and you’ll help your heart trend more toward God’s generosity. It’s not about the amount, it’s about the heart.
Joyfully
Paul also has another concept in our text today. He says that “God loves a cheerful giver,” and he ends the section with an exclamation, “Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!” And that indescribable gift is the opportunity God gives us to give to others. Have you ever given to God’s purposes and said, “Thank you God for the chance to give!?” That’s what Paul is saying here.
Here’s how I picture that. My two boys love the show Daniel Tiger. If you aren’t up on your kids’ shows, well first off “blessed art thou,” but Daniel Tiger is an animated refresh of Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood. It takes place inside the Land of Make Believe.
And one day I had the boys at Target, and Caleb just loves to swing by the TVs to see what’s on. What he doesn’t know is that his parents haven’t bought a new TV in like eight years and have no intention to do so until that thing is shooting flames out its side. But we were going down one of the toy aisles on our way to the TVs when I spotted it: a little red Daniel Tiger toy that looked like a smart phone. You can push buttons to hear the characters’ favorite lines. You can hear Mom Tiger tell you, “Ugga Mugga,” which means “I love you” in Tiger talk. You can hear Trolley give its iconic “Ding Ding.”
Now I’m not an impulse buyer in general, but I decided to get it for the boys. And about a year later it still generates brotherly fights over who gets to hold the Daniel Tiger phone. That’s a home run gift.
When we give to God’s purposes and see a lasting impact on people’s lives, the joy is like the joy of a parent giving their kids a home run gift. So the key is to find ways to exercise generosity in a ministry that gives you that kind of joy in your heart. As I mentioned before, that might be your own giving. It might be marshaling resources. It might be helping the ministry control costs. Whatever generosity is for you, when you find that joyful spot go after it like a Daniel Tiger phone.
If you love this church, that’s your pledge of regular giving. But on top of that, what are the ministries that bring joy to your heart? Those are opportunities for extra generosity out of your joy.
If you love seeing children and youth, maybe that’s helping Allie and Karley in some way. If you love the sanctuary, maybe that’s a gift for pew repair or new carpet. If you love special music, maybe that’s a donation for guest musicians or the organ. If you love this church’s history and want to contribute to its future when you have joined the saints in heaven, maybe that’s having the church in your will. The information on how to do that are in the special insert in your bulletin. Whatever ministry you love is an opportunity for extra generosity on top of your regular support of this church. And it’s not about the amount, it’s about the heart.
If you have the spiritual DNA for giving – and it’s a pretty common one, actually. Helping and Giving are the two most common types of spiritual DNA. If that’s you, then I encourage you to find your Daniel Tiger phone. On top of your regular support, find a ministry you love and exercise your generosity. Like the oil tycoon I told you about earlier, if there’s a ministry that’s on your “love it” list, make sure that ministry has all the resources it needs to thrive. Whether that’s your own special gift, or marshaling resources from others, or helping the ministry use its existing resources more efficiently, go after it. That’s what it means to exercise your spiritual DNA for giving. And if you do that, you’ll experience joy at seeing the ministry thrive, just as I have joy seeing the boys love that Daniel Tiger phone.
Summary
Sisters and brothers, God cares deeply about our generosity because how we earn, spend, and give has a dramatic impact on our heart. And God cares deeply about our hearts. All of us can draw our hearts closer to God by taking one more step, one more rung on the ladder of generosity. It’s not about the amount, it’s about the heart.
But if you have the spiritual DNA for giving, what’s on your “love it” list? What are two or three ministries that you would love to see expand and thrive? And how can you help those ministries get the resources to make it happen? Maybe that’s your own giving, maybe that’s marshaling the resources of others, maybe that’s cost control. Whatever it is, if you help a ministry thrive in that way, you’ll experience joy like me giving that Daniel Tiger phone.
Where is the Holy Spirit ready to do something amazing in our midst, but we need to unleash the resources to make it happen? If you have the spiritual DNA for giving, that’s where you come in. Amen.
