A Radical Call To Generosity
From the beginning of humanity, we have been fed a lie that still plagues us today—that God is not enough for us, so we must fend for ourselves. Recently we saw this very lie take place with the COVID-19 outbreak. Stores were bombarded with individuals grabbing as many supplies as they could afford to make sure they would be taken care of. Some families have enough toilet paper to last them an entire generation. As news outlets flooded their broadcasts with images of empty shelves, people went to almost any means necessary to obtain items to ensure they own perceived security and happiness.
As believers in Messiah, we often see generosity towards one another as an obligation, not as an opportunity to pay forward God’s graciousness towards each one of us. Some even go so far as to abuse the opportunity of generosity as an attempt to secure their placement in the kingdom of God.
In order to truly understand our opportunity to be generous, we need to understand the connection to God’s grace. Some would say we see things as limit goods. That if God bestows too much grace on one person, He won’t have more to bestow on another. It is crucial for us to understand God’s boundless grace to all for us to truly walk out our faith with graciousness and generosity to others.
Biblical generosity completely contradicts our current selfish culture. If we walk in Biblical generosity, we rebel against the scarcity mindset at play in our current culture. Messiah was enough and always will be enough. Through understanding that we can truly break free from the current culture’s expectations and start our journey toward radical generosity.
In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven. Matthew 5:16
We are to walk in a way that the light of Messiah shines for others to notice. Some will use generosity and giving to another as a means to shine their light for self-righteous purposes. We are commanded not to do so. We are to use our generosity solely for the glory of our Father in Heaven.
Consider the ravens: They do not sow or reap, they have no storeroom or barn; yet God feeds them. And how much more valuable you are than birds! Luke 12:24
God provides because He is gracious to us. The money we make, the items we have—they are provided through the graciousness of God. When we take the provisions that God has bestowed upon us and give them for self-righteousness or selfish purposes, we are nullifying the grace by which God allowed us to have those very provisions. We are shining our own light. We are glorifying our own self.
In the Old Testament we see that money was seldom used. Currency was food, barley, grain, and materials that people made or grew. They bartered with others to supply the items needed for families. When we think of generosity, it should not be limited to just financial giving. It should encompass items like our skills, our time, and other items that might be beneficial to others. If you have a trade, you can be generous to another by giving of that trade to help someone else. Something that maybe cost you nothing more than an hour of your time and skill could cost someone else hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars in labor costs.
Just as day was breaking, Jesus stood on the shore; yet the disciples did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to them, “Children, do you have any fish?” They answered him, “No.” He said to them, “Cast the net on the right side of the boat, and you will find some.” So they cast it, and now they were not able to haul it in, because of the quantity of fish. That disciple whom Jesus loved therefore said to Peter, “It is the Lord!” When Simon Peter heard that it was the Lord, he put on his outer garment, for he was stripped for work, and threw himself into the sea. The other disciples came in the boat, dragging the net full of fish, for they were not far from the land, but about a hundred yards off.
When they got out on land, they saw a charcoal fire in place, with fish laid out on it, and bread. Jesus said to them, “Bring some of the fish that you have just caught.” John 21: 4-10
We see from the Scripture quoted above that it was the by the grace of God that the disciples caught fish. They were fisherman by trade and yet had failed to catch any fish. Messiah instructed them to try casting their nets on the other side of their boat, and their nets broke with the number of fish they caught. This is a transitional moment in the lives of the disciples. As they are learning and preparing to be sent into the nations to preach the good news, they can learn through this experience that God is going to accomplish His plan with or without us. There was already fish for breakfast. Yet Messiah invites them to bring the fish they just caught. He is inviting His disciples to join Him in the execution of His plans. It is common for many to see their generosity as the initiation of God’s work. However, the book of Acts tells us we are to see ourselves as responders to God’s work through our generosity, not the initiators.
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how He Himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’” Acts 20:35
Generosity and the grace of God is not a New Testament concept.
“And when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap your field right up to its edge, nor shall you gather the gleanings after your harvest. You shall leave them for the poor and for the sojourner: I am the Lord your God.” Leviticus 23:22
Farmers grow crops to eat and also to sell to provide for their families. In ancient Israel they grew crops to barter and trade with others to sustain their ability to provide for their families. Today, if you were owned and worked your farm, the crop that farm produced was your sole source of income. You worked long days, farming isn’t easy work, and yet you were to leave crops (money) in the field for people you didn’t know, for people who didn’t work for it, people who possibly wouldn’t even ask, you would think that counsel was crazy. That thinking is based upon our current culture. Yet the grace of God bestowed upon us to even have a crop was to be passed on to those who had nothing. God commanded the Israelites to leave crops in the corners of the field for those in need. It didn’t make it a suggestion, just like His grace is a suggestion to us. It is commanded and He gives grace to all, even when we don’t deserve it, or haven’t done anything to merit it.
As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. 1 Timothy 6: 17-19
Our culture tells us to accumulate things and through this accumulation we will obtain happiness. This is contrary to the instruction of God. If we are to obtain happiness we are to constantly give and not consume. For what is considered rich in this life is temporary, and if we truly want to store up treasures for life, we are to be generous and ready to share.
We live in a country of excess. What we believe we need is merely a want. What we believe we don’t have is simply a reactionary fear. It is a scarcity mindset. God will not ever run out of grace or mercy for anyone. He will never run out of provisions for anyone. God doesn’t work like our modern economy on supply and demand. God’s supply of grace is endless. It is through that grace that we have what we have, no matter whether that is financial, physical, or spiritual. What if we as believers walked in that truth and gave with radical generosity? Gave of our time, our financial resources, our mental and physical resources. The kingdom of God has many talents, gifts, and trades. What would the world look like if generosity were no longer an obligation to drop a twenty in the plate at church, but a choice to radically give every time you saw someone with a need. Would God still feed you? Would God still clothe you? Yes, God will always provide for your needs. Let us choose to trust God’s provision over the provision of our own hands and show the love of Messiah to those who are in desperate need of generosity.
