I've been struck recently with the extent of need in the world--and not only with that, but also with the gravity and purport of Christ's command to meet it.
The idea of generosity (or "openhandedness", as I've caught myself calling it) has been kept before my eyes in a rather large measure as of late. It was missions week at Calvary this past week, and so I have been given the privilege to play a part in that through giving; but more than that, I just returned home from attending another youth group, and the pastor had (and has had) it on his heart to teach about giving--to share about sharing, if you will.
I have always wanted to develop a reflex of generosity and sacrifice, but sometimes we just need a swift kick in the rear to get on our knees and begin to pray about it (you know how it is). I think that today (as well as last night, at the missions prayer rally), I got that swift kick.
Jesus teaches us that the tighter we squeeze and try to hold on to what we have, the more it will slip from our grasp--a sort of spiritual Jell-O. "For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it." So then why are we so stingy with our gifts? We like to think of such sacrifice as a good spiritual principle, but many of us doubt its practicality. God has gifted us with so much, so why aren't we commensurately wildly generous with it? Are we afraid that God won't meet our needs? Here's what Jesus has to say on the matter: "Jesus said, 'Truly I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or farms, for My sake and for the gospel's sake, but that he will receive a hundred times as much now in the present age, houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and farms, along with persecutions; and in the age to come, eternal life'" (Mark 10:29-30). God is eager and able to respond to our sacrifice with His openhandedness.
But I don't mean to boil this down to a system of deeds and rewards. Western culture is motivated by incentives--God's people are motivated by the Holy Spirit. We can be blessed with the material gifts, but if we are not imbued with the Spiritual (big "S") generosity necessary for sharing those gifts with a glad heart, then we have gained no ground. And not having Spiritual generosity is no excuse not to give; it's a perfect excuse to come before God and ask for the gift of giving.
There's one more thing that I'd like to add. Giving is an individual responsibility, not a corporate one. When the opportunity to give arises--whether it be in tithing, doing the dishes, or praying for a brother--we are tempted to say to ourselves, "Someone will take care of that." But when that notion is predominant, needs everywhere are liable to go unmet. We need to develop a reflex. Instead of saying to ourselves, "Someone has to", we need to say, "I have to."
Peace and grace,
Stephen