Open-handed
From the Series—The Generosity Factor
December 10, 2002In Matthew 6:19-21, Jesus says, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth , where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven , where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where you treasure is, there your heart will be also .”
Here’s the principle in this passage: The more you keep the more you lose , but the more you give away the more you get back . A martyred missionary named Jim Elliot said it this way. “He is no fool who loses what he cannot keep to gain what he cannot lose .” Anything you keep you lose. Anything you give away you get back. That’s the generosity factor.
In his book, The Treasure Principle, Randy Alcorn says everybody ought to take at least one field trip to a junkyard because sooner or later that’s where all of our stuff is going to end up ! He’s right and we need to remind ourselves of that fact every once in a while. Job 1:21 says it this way, “ Naked I came from my mother’s womb and naked I will depart .” You didn’t bring any material possessions into this world when you were born and you won’t take any material possessions out of this world when you die.
The multimillionaire John D. Rockefeller is famous for his answer to the question, “How much money does it take to be happy?” He said, “ Just a little bit more .” After he died, someone asked his accountant how much money Rockefeller left. His accountant said, “ All of it .” The truth is: all of us leave all of it . This is so simple yet so many people live like it’s not true.
I think there is a selfish streak in all of us that wants to keep what we have—what’s mine is mine . A few years ago I got an email titled “Introduction to property law from a toddler’s perspective.” Here are a few of them:
If I like it, it’s mine
If I can take it away from you, it’s mine
If it looks like mine, it’s mine
If I saw it first, it’s mine
If you’re having fun with it, it’s mine
If you lay it down, it’s mine
If it’s broken, it’s yours
The Talmud says there are four types of people. The one who says “what is mine is mine and what is yours is yours” is neutral . The one who says “what is yours is mine and what is mine is mine” is wicked . The one who says “what is mine is yours and what is yours is mine” is a boor . And the one who says “ what is mine is yours and what is yours is yours “ is a saint.
Generosity is an approach to life that says, “ What’s mine is yours .” It’s a recognition that what we keep we lose and what we give away we get back .
Openhanded
I love Webster’s definition of generosity because it’s so simple: openhanded . Generosity is living life openhanded. In Luke 18, a rich young ruler asks Jesus what he must do to inherit eternal life and Jesus says, “ Sell everything you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven . Then come, follow me .” Here’s what I find fascinating. It says in verse 23, “When he heard this, he became very sad , because he was a man of great wealth.”
As a child, our family used to watch a television program called Wild Kingdom . One particular episode was on monkey trappers in Borneo. The way these trappers caught monkeys was pretty fascinating. They would hollow out a gourd and tie it by a string to a stake in the ground. Then they would bore a little hole in the gourd and sprinkle some seeds inside. Eventually, some monkeys would descend from the jungle and put their hands inside the gourd to grab the seeds. When they grabbed the seeds they could no longer remove their clenched fist from the gourd. As the trappers approached to capture the monkeys, they would dance and scream, but they would not let go of the seeds. They were trapped by what they held onto!
The rich young ruler was trapped by what he held on to . He was presented with the greatest opportunity in the world--an opportunity to follow Jesus--but he couldn’t let go. He lived life with a closed fist instead of an open hand .
What does all that have to do with Christmas? Matthew 2:11 says the wise men were “ overjoyed “ when they found Jesus. And they “ bowed down “ and “ worshipped “ him. And then they “ opened their treasures “ and gave him gifts. Christmas is about being so full of joy and so full of worship that you can’t help but open your treasures and give them away . Christmas is about living openhearted and openhanded .
In Genesis 12, God says to Abraham, “ I will bless you .” And then he says, “ And you will be a blessing .” We are called to be channels of blessing . In other words, God’s blessings don’t stop with us. When God blesses us, we bless others. II Corinthians 9:11 says, “ You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion .” Why does God bless us financially? God blesses us so that we can be generous. That principle is true across the board. God loves us so we can love others. God shows grace to us so that we can show grace to others. God comforts us so that we can comfort others. II Corinthians 1:4 says the God of all comforts “comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves have received from God .”
The Law of Wealth
Generosity has nothing to do with how much money you have . It’s easy to think that if we had more money we’d be more generous , but I’d argue that the more money you have the tougher it is to give . At least that’s the case with the rich young ruler in Luke 18.
There is a simple law of physics: the greater the mass the greater the hold that mass exerts . I think it applies to wealth. If you aren’t giving when you have a little money it’ll be even tougher to give when you have a lot of money because the greater the mass of money you have the greater hold it exerts on you.
II Corinthians 8:2. “Out of the most severe trial , their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity . For I testify that they gave as much as they were able and even beyond their ability . Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.”
There are two key phrases in this passage. It says they gave “ beyond their ability .” Generosity isn’t giving what you’ve got. It is giving beyond your ability. If you’re not generous when it’s difficult you won’t be generous when it’s easy . The juxtapositions in this passage are amazing: severe trial and overwhelming joy , extreme poverty and rich generosity .
One of the defining moments in the history of National Community Church happened when we starting investing in missions. We weren’t even a self-supporting church yet. Our monthly income was $2,000. That barely paid rent at the school we were meeting in, let alone other expenses. But God was calling us to start giving. And when we started giving beyond our ability we experienced a 200% increase in giving in one month and never looked back.
Generosity is giving “beyond your ability.” And generosity is seeing giving as a privilege, not an obligation . II Corinthians 8:4 says they “ urgently pleaded “ for the “ privilege “ of giving. Randy Alcorn says, “ Giving isn’t a luxury of the rich. It’s a privilege of the poor. “
Heart Issue
Giving isn’t a money issue . Giving is a heart issue .
Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” You don’t feel your way into acting . You act your way into feeling . Just because a feeling isn’t there doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do what’s right. Sometimes you need to act your way into feeling.
I’ve found that most habits start out as disciplines and turn into delights . In other words, you start exercising or praying because you know you need to , but at some point you no longer do it just because you need to but also because you want to . The discipline turns into delight. If you get out of the habit that process starts all over again . Spiritual growth is about going from disciplines to delights--from “need to” to “want to.” And that applies to giving.
One of the principles in Matthew 6 is that your heart follows your investments --your heart is going to be where your treasure is. If you want “ a heart for missions “ let me tell you how to get one. Invest some money in missions . When you put your money into missions, your heart will follow because where your treasure is there your heart will be also. If your money isn’t in it your heart isn’t in it .
It’s all about vested interests . You care about the stocks you have a vested interest in. When you divest yourself of that stock you no longer check the quote in the financial page. You care about the people you have a vested interest in. That’s why I counsel people who are having problems with another person to start praying for them. When you pray for someone you have a vested interest in them and you develop a heart for them .
At the end of the day, when everything is said and done, all that matters is where your invested your treasure. That’s what stewardship is all about. How did you invest your time and energy and talent and money ?
The measure of success isn’t how much money you make. The measure of success is how much money you give away . Winston Churchill said, “You make a living by what you get , but you make a life by what you give .”
Martin Luther said, “ I have held many things in my hands and lost them all. But whatever I have placed in God’s hands, that I still posses .”