Gratitude and generosity #2 Reinbeck UMC 11/1/15

Gratitude and generosity #2

Reinbeck UMC

11/1/15

 Last week we talked about an attitude of gratitude. I finished the sermon with this story

“One evening a wise man was just getting ready to sleep under a tree when he was approached by a villager who came running up to him asking that he give him a precious stone. “ What stone” the wise man asked? “I had a dream last night and told me that if I came to this place at dusk tonight a wise man would give me a precious stone that would make me unbelievably rich. The wise man rummaged in his bag for a moment and, smiling, said, “You probably meant this one. I found it in the forest today and you certainly can have it.” The villager gazed at the diamond in wonder. It was as large as his fist and, even in the fading light, filled with luminosity. He took it and walked away. But, that night he couldn’t sleep. He was deeply troubled. Next morning at dawn, he rushed back to the wise man, and thrust the diamond back into his hands. “I don’t want it,” he said. “What I want is whatever you have that makes it possible for you to give it away so easily.”

 That story bridges these two sermons and moves us past an attitude of gratitude to living a generous life. Jesus Calls us to join his generosity revolution.

In our culture where we are bottle fed with a scarcity mentality and surrounded by greed, Jesus’ calls us to transform the world with generosity, frankly, sounds a little crazy.

•           “If anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to them the other cheek also.” (Mt 5:38 - 42)

•           “I if anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, hand over your coat as well.” (Mt 5:38 - 42)

•           “Give, and it will be given to you.” (Luke 6:38).

•           “Forgive 70 time 7”.(Mt 18:22)

•           “Go and sell all that he had and give the money to the poor”.(Luke 18)

•           “Love your enemies, do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return.” (Luke 6)

Was Jesus Eccentric, out of step with the world, or just plain crazy?

None of the above… Jesus really believed in a world where the rule is “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap; for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” (Luke 6:38) By teaching and example, Jesus was leading a generosity revolution, and calling all his followers to join in.

How can we do that? Is that even possible today?

I remember a story about a mighty warrior mounted on a magnificent horse trotting down a road. Everyone, of course, got out of his way, everyone except for a tiny sparrow. The bird was lying on its back with its feet in the air.

The warrior stopped, and went to the sparrow and asked, “Are you dead?”

“NO.” said the sparrow.

“Then what are you doing in the middle of the road with your feet in the air?”

The sparrow answered, “I’m not dead, but I heard the sky might fall down, and I’m helping to hold it up.”

The warrior thundered and shook with laughter. “You silly bird!” he said,  “Even if the sky did fall down, what difference could you possibly make with those puny, spindly little legs?”

“Well,” explained the sparrow, “YOU DO WHAT YOU CAN DO.”

 We might have a hard time understanding Jesus call to generous living but today I challenge you to DO WHAT YOU CAN DO.

That might seem simplistic, but the truth is when it comes to generosity, many people don’t even DO WHAT THEY CAN DO.

•           Maybe they think, “If I don’t, someone else will anyway.”

•           Maybe they think, “I can’t do much, it won’t make any difference anyway.”

•           Maybe they think, “My time is too important. Let someone else take care of it.”

•           Maybe they think, “I’m no good at that.”

•           Maybe they think, “What if I fail?”

•           Maybe they think, “I’ll get to it someday.”

•           Maybe they think, “Why should I, if there is nothing in it for me?”

I have heard every excuse in the book, but I know for sure that Jesus calls us to live generously and transform the world.

Now, let’s get it out of the way… sure I am talking about money. But I’m also talking about something much bigger than money. The tithe is only 10% of our money and what we do with our money is only maybe 10% of living the generous life.

For many of us writing a check is the easiest and cheapest form of generosity. And like the sparrow on the road, we all have to do what we can do with whatever treasure we have. But I want to argue that  90% of living the generous life comes in the way we treat others, the way we use our time, the way we use our energy and talents, the way we offer forgiveness and grace, and the way we share our faith.

 Generosity has to include all of these: our treasure, Relationships, Time, Talents, Grace, and Faith sharing           

So let’s turn to our scripture for today, where Paul shares three very simple principles of generosity.

 Just for context, Paul is writing about an offering that he is collecting for the people around Jerusalem because of a famine in the land. You might say he was UMCOR before UMCOR existed. In 46 AD, Paul delivered a gift from the church in Antioch because it was close and he could do that easily and quickly. Then he set about collecting assistance from his other congregations. Corinth is among the last to give.

So in this passage Paul does some wonderful teaching about living generously. We are going to pick three lessons out of verses 6, 7, and 8 of First Corinthians chapter 9.

 The first point is so simple it is almost embarrassing, Paul writes, “the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” It is almost like saying two plus two equals four. You can’t argue with this basic truth.

If you plant five seeds, you will reap from five plants. If you sow 5000 seeds, the bounty is much greater.

Which will get you further $20 worth of gas or $10 worth.

Who earns more interest the person with $100 or the person with $1,000,000?

With whom will you have a richer relationship? The person you see for one hour each week, or the one in whom you invest years building the relationship?

Easy, right? The more money we give the more good we see it do. The more we invest in a friendship, the more we can trust and rely on that person when we really need a friend. Whether it is money or relationships, the more generously we live, the more bountifully we will receive. “SO GO DO WHAT YOU CAN DO.”

 The second element is almost as obvious. Giving makes us happy. “God loves a cheerful giver.” Jesus has said that he wants his joy to be in us and our joy to be complete or full. (John 15:11) And giving fills us with joy.

Paul knew something many of us don't. He had never heard of the chemical oxytocin, and maybe you haven’t either, but you know what it feels like. Most notably oxytocin is released in our bodies when we are being intimate with someone we love, or in a woman’s body at childbirth so that she will feel an overwhelming joy and want to bond with that little baby that just caused her so much pain. Oxytocin is naturally occurring happy juice.

Do you know you also release it when you breathe deeply, listen to soothing music, or… get this GIVE A GIFT!  Living generously actually releases chemicals in our bodies that make us happy, and God loves a happy giver!

You want to release some happy chemical in your body? Give some time. Spend an hour visiting someone homebound, fixing something at the church, helping Dian in the office, or cooking a meal for a family who is having a hard time. Give time… and you will be happier.

You want to release some happy juice in your body? Use some of your God given talent to help someone. If you are naturally mechanical, fix a single mother’s car for free. If you are musical, offer to share your talent with the folks at Parkview one afternoon. If you are a teacher, teach at LIGHT. If you are a natural organizer, pick a ministry and make it happen. Being in ministry with our time and our talents is a natural high! Giving makes us happy. “SO GO DO WHAT YOU CAN DO.”

 The third lesson Paul describes is not quite so easy. Paul get’s very blunt and says, “Look, if you really trust God, you will live generously.” Lack of generosity in our living is a spiritual problem.  If we can’t trust God to provide, we can’t be generous.

 Herb Miller writes: “Giving is not so much a matter an act of generosity as it is an act of trust. We do not feel secure financially because we have; we feel secure financially because we trust God to continue providing what we need” 

The third element in the gift of giving is trusting that God will provide.

If you are like me, you may find such trusting difficult. It takes courage and maturity of faith. Often, I find that God provides in ways that are not of my preference, but in ways that I truly need. I have discovered and rediscovered, however, that, every time I am willing to risk, God comes through.

 You might have wondered what I meant when I included grace on my list. I was very simply thinking about being generous to others with the kind of grace that God offers us. In other words forgiveness. I find that it is a lot easier to let go of money or time, than it is to let go a grudge. But every time… every single time, I truly forgive someone I am blessed with abundance of peace and joy beyond measure.

 The other thing you might have wondered about is “faith sharing.” In Jesus Christ, we have the greatest gift in the world. But when was the last time you shared that with anyone? I don’t think we are intentionally greedy, but we aren’t very generous with the gospel either. We need to be more generous in sharing our faith.  “SO GO DO WHAT YOU CAN DO.”

  “John Wesley said that if you have poor giving habits, you are robbing God. Jesus went beyond that. He said that if you have poor giving habits, you rob yourself”  I would add that if you have poor giving habits, you rob God, yourself, and the world.

•    Generosity is not just a strategy for adding some kindness to the world. It IS God’s strategy for transforming the world.

•    Generosity is not just about making the world a better place; it is God’s way of ushering in a new kingdom.

•    Generosity is not just about being “nice”; it is God’s way of helping people see God’s goodness, compassion, and generosity in each of us, each and every day.

Go, my friends and live generously. Just “DO WHAT YOU CAN DO.”

I invite you to take the “DO WHAT YOU CAN DO “commitment page out of your bulletin. Fill it out. And bring it to the front during communion to offer it as your generosity commitment for this year.