Extravagant Generosity

Exodus 23: 19

2 Corinthians 9: 6-15

Matthew 19: 16-24

Extravagant Generosity

 Jean Christy felt she was not doing enough for her church, so she called her pastor and asked how she might volunteer. She was a mere 104 at the time. She became the church's "birthday ambassador." She makes phone calls and sends cards to those who have a birthday. And this Sunday, she plans to celebrate her 106th birthday with a renewal of her baptismal vows. You are never too old to give to God.

A retired minister once remarked, “The last part of a person’s life that Christ seems to gain Lordship over is their checkbook.”  Jesus taught that we cannot love both God and money.  John Wesley counseled disciples: make all you can, save all you can and give all that you can.  A lack of generosity, Wesley believed, results in spiritual decline which in turn can lead to pride, greed and materialism which seriously undermines our love of neighbor and of God.

In the 1700’s Wesley spent much of his time preaching and working with the working poor.  England was close to civil war because of the growing gap between the wealthy and the working class, which was becoming less and less a middle class and more a class of working poor and poverty stricken. Those people were shunned from almost all churches of England, because they were not the kind of people the wealthier people wanted in their churches. They did not dress right, speak right, have the same manners, and simply were not sophisticated enough to sit beside someone of means. Further, they had to work all the time just to survive.

When Wesley took his message out of the churches and into the streets and fields and market places he knew first hand the living conditions of those to whom he spoke. He knew he could not just speak the good news. He had to give those people hope, and he had to give them a helping hand. But he did not just give them material things. He lived with them, ate with them, taught them how to manage what they had, helped them learn all kinds of practical things to make their lives more comfortable and fulfilling.

Wesley formed small groups of followers all over England who gave generously of themselves to help each other out, physically, materially, spiritually, and those groups brought new people into their circles to help them as well. Wesley’s small groups practiced risk taking mission in their outreach, radical hospitality, and extravagant generosity.  In reality, those small groups were very like what Bridges Out of Poverty works toward.: circling people in need with support to lift them up to be self sufficient and productive as God intends all to be.

Most historians agree Wesley’s movement kept England from civil war, because his efforts brought back a viable, sustainable middle class and that middle class had hope and could worship in their own way in their chapels that they built. However, Wesley was concerned that as those who had suffered achieved more, they would become complacent, materialistic, and begin to hoard their gains, instead of sharing as they had before. I think he would be appalled at our society today.

At the turn of the 21st century, the United States was home to 276 billionaires, over 2,500 households with a net worth exceeding $100 million, 350,000 individuals with a net worth of $10 million, and 5 million millionaires. Those numbers have increased in the past decade. Americans own approximately 40 percent of the world's wealth but comprise only 2.5 percent of the world's population. Incomes have gone up nine to 10 times in the last 20 years while giving has gone down about 50 percent. We are in an economic recession that is hurting people, especially those on the lower rungs of income. But the wealthy are becoming wealthier. Those 5.5 million billionaires and millionaires control most of our nation’s wealth, while the other 295 million Americans find it hard and harder to live on the remainder. The divide is looking more like England when Wesley began his movement.

Very few Christians come close to the biblical mandate to tithe, to return 10% of their blessings to God. And most Christians think a tithe refers only to money.

 As citizens of the wealthiest country in the world, how much do American Christians give? According to many articles and papers, believers are increasingly giving less. The average Christian in our country gives less than 2% of their income.  And out of every dollar given to a U.S. Protestant church, the average amount that goes to missions is two cents. In 1920 most churches gave 10 percent of the total offering to missions, compared to today’s 2 percent.  There are churches that pledge 10% and some strive to give 25% of all their income to mission work, locally and globally. Those churches thrive, but are few and far between. People give more money to lotteries and gambling casinos than to churches.

It has been found repeatedly over the years that a person’s giving to God is in proportion to their faith, and their spiritual development.  And giving declines as people's spiritual intensity and commitment to Christ decline. Intentional faith development is in decline in this nation, and churches that have fewer than half their congregation involved in intentional faith development are those who are beginning to decline or failing.

But giving and stewardship is not just about money. God wants more than our money in the collection plate. God blesses us with more than money. He gives us the very life we live, each second we take breath. And he calls us to give of that time as well. When we give generously of our time and capabilities in service to God, he works wonders.

Each of us has 168 hours each week of life. If we gave 10% of that to God it would amount to just under 17 hours a week we would be serving God by worshiping, working to strengthen our churches for service, and out in the community serving others who need God’s love. But if you take out of our 24 hours a day, 8 hours for work, and 8 hours for sleep? We have 8 hours of discretionary time, time to do what we choose to do. That amounts to 56 hours a week. What if we gave 10% of that time to directly serving God? It would amount to over 5 hours a week, every week to give time to bible study, serving others, worshiping, attending a church meeting or function. That is 260 hours a year. Can you imagine a church where half or more of their congregation members each gave 260 hours a year to God? Can you imagine what good could be done for their community?  Like giving of money, giving of time is often in proportion to faith.

Not everyone can suddenly give 10% of their income. What if each person giving increased the amount they give by just 10% over last year. So if they were giving $10 a week, they increased it to $11 a year. And they did that increase every year. In less than 10 years they would double their giving. Probably painlessly. And, I believe not all that 10% has to go to a church, but it should go to an organization that is working to serve God. Like UMCOR, where 100% of every dollar given goes to the need, nothing to administration or salaries, etc. Our apportionments already pay for that.

Becoming a Christian costs you nothing. It is a free gift of complete forgiveness, eternal life, and the Holy Spirit indwelling you permanently. The fact that it is free doesn’t cheapen this gift. It is free because we could never earn it, and it is precious because it cost Jesus his life. But it is genuinely free. He paid the full price, and all you have to do is admit you need it and humbly receive it. This decision is mandatory in the sense that you cannot be accepted by God unless you make it.
But accepting Christ as Savior is only the beginning. We are called to accept him as Lord, and give him generously of ourselves as well, by becoming obedient to his will. In the New Testament letter by James, he says faith without works is dead. Paul points out it is by our fruit they shall know we have faith.