Monday,
August 3 –
Welcome
to another week of reading. By the time
we finish this week, we will have finished 2nd Corinthians. Our text this morning is from 2 Corinthians
8:1 – 24. After you’ve finished reading,
I’d invite you back to look at the passage a second time, with me!
How do
we begin? Let’s talk about money,
giving, and generosity – it sounds like a good beginning for the week ahead? Paul’s passionate pleas to the Corinthians
now gets switched. He had been talking
about the ministry God had called him to – the preaching of the New Covenant
Gospel – and making a defense of his call to them. With that now behind, he makes an appeal to
them to give generously for the relief of the Christians in Jerusalem – who
were suffering from a prolonged drought.
Beginning in chapter 8, and continuing in chapter 9, Paul gives his
longest, most rigorous and thorough treatment of how the Gospel should lead us
to generosity in giving. I know that
most Christians are not crazy about teachings on giving, but what this reminds
us of is that the significance of the Gospel goes beyond the teachings of Grace
through faith in Christ alone and includes practical everyday sorts of things –
like how we deal with money.
If you’re
not familiar with the idea of “Stewardship,” you may miss a lot of what Paul is
trying to say. Stewardship is a biblical
teaching – rooted at first in the Old Testament and affirmed in the New
Testament – and it means that we have received everything we have from God;
therefore, we handle it wisely, as a steward is in charge of his Master’s
household. Jesus told a parable of a
Master who went on a trip and left three people in charge of various things –
each having different “talents” – that is, resources given to them by the
Master (Matthew 25:14 - 30. When the
Master comes back, he rewards the two for being good stewards and rebukes the
one for being a bad one. Biblically,
generosity, or giving, falls into the realm of “stewarding” God’s
resources.
For Paul,
generosity is a product of receiving the Grace of the Gospel – “We want you
to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the
churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their
abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of
generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I
can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us
earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and
this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then
by the will of God to us” ( 8:1-5)
Paul described generosity in terms of “grace given,” “abundance of joy,” “overflowed
in a wealth of generosity,” “given according to their means” – all of this possible
because “they gave themselves first to the Lord, and then by the will of God to
us.” The idea of joyful giving might
seem a bit out of place in our American culture. I have a friend who told me that he once saw
believers in Africa dance up the aisle to take their offerings to the plates in
front! It’s not about the money; It’s
about the joy of giving ourselves to God.
In his
commentary on Corinthians, John Calvin observed – “our problem is that we
think something is lost when we give it away—especially when we give it to
other people. The Macedonians had been freed up by the gospel, and so they realized
that to give is to gain, not to lose, even in their poverty”.[1]
Paul encouraged them to emulate the Macedonians who did not have as many of the
resources that the poorer churches who gave out of their “poverty.” Did it make them feel uncomfortable? Perhaps, but it’s a fact that the percentage
of giving is higher in lower-income groups than in higher-income groups.[2] While the wealthy contribute to national and
international charities, six out of ten households come from households that
give between two and three thousand a year.
Giving produces
selflessness in the generosity that accompanies it – “I say this not as a
command, but to prove by the earnestness of others that your love also is
genuine. For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he
was rich, yet for your sake, he became poor, so that you by his poverty might
become rich” ( 8:8-9). Nothing more
illustrates the selflessness of giving that our Savior, Jesus Christ. He gave up everything for our salvation, and
the grace of God makes us rich in eternal life.
The Corinthians had said they were going to contribute to this gift, and
they had begun the process of helping a year before (8:10). Now Paul encourages them to finish it – with the
instruction that whatever they do, they should do it willingly (8:11-12).
Paul’s
instructions to them – written 2000 years ago – are still helpful for us to understand
today. Giving isn’t about the money, it’s
about the realization that I can choose to care about others, and giving is a
grace action that says “I have been given much and I want to believe God has
given me this to give to others also” (8:13-14). “As it is written, “Whoever gathered much
had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack” (8:15). Calvin again helps us understand – “
Those who have riches, whether inherited or won by their own industry and
labor, are to remember that what is left over is meant, not for intemperance or luxury, but for relieving
the needs of the brethren.”[3]
I have to be honest, that is not typical in any of my experiences.
The
goal of giving is to use the resources we have received as an act of
servanthood. Titus was an example of one
who was willing to serve in collecting the gifts (8:16 – 19). We can see the care that Paul takes to make
sure nothing can be construed as abusing the donations received. He sends Titus, but he also includes a
traveling partner to ensure integrity – “With him, we are sending the brother
who is famous among all the churches for his preaching of the gospel. And
not only that, but he has been appointed by the churches to travel with us as
we carry out this act of grace that is being ministered by us, for the glory of
the Lord himself and to show our goodwill. We take this course so that no
one should blame us about this generous gift that is being administered by us,
for we aim at what is honorable not only in the Lord’s sight but also in
the sight of man” ( 8:18-21).
Giving
is not a “have to”; it’s a “get to” part of our faith. I can’t help but think about how blessed I am
in terms of wealth. Americans are better
off financially than 95% of the rest of the world. That should make us think about our blessings
and our stewardship.
Peace
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