Generosity

When I started working on this list, I intended to title this section (seventh and last) giving. The more I thought about the problem, the more I thought this was OK as far as it went, but giving does not go to the heart of the matter. Giving is just an act. An act that can find its source in all sorts motivations, some good some bad. Giving can come from a fear in a bitter resentful heart, a malicious attempt to manipulate another in blatant quid pro quo, or even an attempt to heal our own guilty conscience. I believe that Jesus is always more interested in the state of our heart than he is in our actions.

I have a friend. He is about my age, perhaps 55 or 56. When we were young we attended the same little church in Greenville, SC. He was then and is today one of the finest Christians I have ever met. More than almost anyone I know, he is a man who has constantly sought after God’s own heart. My friend, let’s call him Charlie for the sake of this exercise, married younger than most of us who went on to complete a four-year college degree. It was not very long before his wife became pregnant. Charlie wanted his wife to stay at home with their new baby, but he could not afford to support his young family on a draftsman’s salary. He decided to take a second, part time job waiting tables at a local restaurant. He told me he hated to see people pray before they ate. It inevitably meant that he would receive a lousy tip. In fact on one occasion a Christian customer left him a soul winning Bible tract instead of any tip at all. Then as now, I find this act so inexcusably despicable that as a Christian, it is hard to put my feelings into words. Given what I know about religion in the Bible Belt, particularly in certain circles found in Greenville, SC it would not surprise me a bit to discover the cheap (bad word deleted) who left Charlie a Bible tract was a faithful church member and I bet he tithed. I expect he took great pride in tithing and frequently reminded God of his faithfulness. A bit ashamed of himself, Charlie confessed his favorite customers were drunks. They left good tips. Fortunately, Charlie was a lot better at forgiveness than most people in the food service industry.

There is a better way. We are told the queen of Sheba gave King Solomon an hundred and twenty talents of gold, of spices very great store, and precious stones. The narrator goes on to observe that there came no more such abundance of spices as these which the queen of Sheba gave to King Solomon. The king, by the way, returned the favor. This is what kings and queens do, even in this day. They give out of a sense of abundance, knowing that there will be plenty more where that came from. After all, basically they own an entire country.

Once again though, the condition of your heart does not depend on the material world. The famous Jewish psychiatrist and Holocaust survivor, Victor Frankl, observed, “We who lived in concentration camps can remember the men who walked through the huts comforting others, giving away their last piece of bread. They may have been few in number, but they offer sufficient proof that everything can be taken from a man but one thing: the last of the human freedoms -- to choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances, to choose one's own way.” They had a sense of abundance that could not be overcome by even the most horrifying depravation imaginable.

I believe I have it all wrong. So often I act out of a sense of scarcity not a sense of abundance. After all, we are sons and daughters of the King. Jesus told his disciples, “freely you have received, freely give.” Try to be a blessing. Once again, it isn’t necessary to perform some great feat to become a blessing. Start small. Once I was walking down a street on my way to a meeting with some unpleasant sponsors. I noticed one of the parking meters was within a minute or two of expiring. Only a few cars behind me a meter maid was working her way up the street. On an impulse I fished into my pocket, pulled out a quarter, and dropped it into the meter. I gave a small blessing to someone I never met and probably never will meet. It felt good. A small start for this tight fisted son of the snow covered German forests where scarcity is the norm and thrift a way of life.

In Lawrence of Arabia, Anthony Quinn portrays Auda Abu Tayi, a corrupt, self important old tribal chieftain and war lord. A one point he informs everyone within earshot, “I am a river of blessing to my people.” In fact he was greedy but lovable thieving scoundrel, but what an idea! Could I be a river of blessings to the people I meet? What a way to live, to continually look for an opportunity to be a blessing to others. I assure you, when I use my horn in Washington traffic I am generally not looking to bless my fellow drivers.

Of course just as there are many bad motivations for bad giving, there are many good motivations for giving. I contend that while it is possible to give without a heart full of gratitude. That it is impossible not to give if your heart is overflowing with love and gratitude to the Lord of the universe. Consider a grandfather. He is very likely to spoil his grandchild, just because he is so happy and grateful to see the child of his daughter alive in this world. Keep practicing generosity. The time will come when you will be in a position to make a difference in some wonderful life and as you reach out your hand, friendship and blessings will keep flowing forward forever, even into eternity. You will be ready for the truly important moments that can change the history of a life if you practice giving as you receive.

Matthew 6

[24] No man can serve two masters: for either he will hate the one, and love the other; or else he will hold to the one, and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon.
[25] Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment?
[26] Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?
[27] Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature?
[28] And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin:
[29] And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these.
[30] Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith?
[31] Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?
[32] (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.
[33] But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.
[34] Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.