daily java

Daily Java:

Give in proportion to what you have. Whatever you give is acceptable if you give it eagerly. And give according to what you have, not what you don’t have. (2 Corinthians 8:11-12)

I was in the jail the other day and a man who was attending a church in Kansas City, Kansas, told me his preacher told him that giving was never acceptable nor real unless you gave money. He didn’t have much money and felt guilty.

The preacher was wrong and foolishly so. The Bible never says that giving is money alone. His preacher had told him (or at least he had that feeling) that to give and tithe were synonymous, that both had to be money to be true giving.

What the Bible does say is that we are to be giving. But the New Testament never tells God’s people to tithe. In fact, the New Testament only talked about tithing in relation to Old Testament people or in telling Jesus’ listeners how hypocritical the religious leaders of the day were. They even tithed the weeds in their garden just in case God wanted that too (Matthew 23:23) but completely forgot the whole point.

There is nothing wrong with tithing. It is a good idea. You should tithe, yes, Jesus said, but do not neglect the more important things (Matthew 23:23). Jesus said that it is a place to start, that we need to be better than those who only tithed because God said to and that we should give even more. He didn’t mean to bust ourselves financially (2 Corinthians 8:12 above), but rather that our whole life should be giving. Giving is not a one time thing but a lifestyle, just like the rest of Christianity.

Now the apostle Paul did give instructions for how to give your money in 1 Corinthians 16:1, but that was only in dealing with filling a need when it arose. The church needs to have the money around to deal with bills and problems and not have to go scrabbling for it every time you need something.

But giving is greater than money. Giving is your life. Giving your life to God; giving your time, your food, your clothing, your effort, your prayer (real prayer, not just the little quickies you write on Facebook), your dedication to his word, your attendance in church, your involvement in that church. Your life, not just your money.

It is easy to throw a little change or a check into the contribution plate. Almost anybody, no matter what economic strata can do that. But it is not easy to put yourself in that same plate. To put your time and your heart there, your energy, your life in addition to your money.

That attitude in life is harder. It requires dedication and time spent in his service. And this is a hard culture to get time from people. People are so busy. But until you can put your life ahead of what you want, your money will not really count. Putting it before school and work, before TV and hobbies is what counts. Your school and your work will do everything they can to pull you away from service and real giving.

But just refuse. Give. And like he said, it will be given to you (Luke 6:38).

daily java

Daily Java:

Then Moses gave an order and they sent this word throughout the camp: “No man or woman is to make anything else as an offering for the sanctuary.” And so the people were restrained from bringing more, because what they already had was more than enough to do all the work. (Exodus 36:6-7)

The Lord had instructed Moses on how to build the Tabernacle, the temple structure the Israelites were to use while they were walking through the desert. He knew they needed a good portable, yet awe-inspiring structure in which to worship him.

For the moment, they were walking to the Promised Land, about a two-year journey. Of course, it ended up being 40 years, after their rebellion and act of faithlessness at the borders of their new home. But he knew that already and had everything prepared for them.

The Israelites were excited about this new temple. They were a visual people. God knew they needed something to look at. That was why they worshiped the gold calf at Mount Sinai. Even though God was up in the mountain talking to Moses and they could hear and see his presence, they still needed something to see.

They had just come from 400 years in Egypt and no one could make images like Egypt. It was the way they thought. Big thing, big god. It wasn’t true but it was the way they had been trained to think. And God took care of that for them.

I really believe God accommodated this in the construction of the temple. It was fancy and embroidered and large (at least to their standards) and over it sat the Shekinah, the fire and cloud of God.

And they embraced it big-time. He had skilled craftsmen work on it, Bezalel and Oholiab and every skilled person to whom the LORD had given ability and who was willing to come and do the work. (v2). It was a community effort. I would imagine it became a mark of honor that some of your people were working on the tabernacle.

In fact, they were so excited that they gave too much stuff for the construction. Out of almost 3 million people (600,000 men – Numbers 26:51) there was a lot of fabric and special things they had taken out of Egypt. The Egyptian people were giving them stuff just to make them leave. Exodus 12:36 says, The LORD had made the Egyptians favorably disposed toward the people, and they gave them what they asked for; so they plundered the Egyptians. They had a lot of stuff. Since it was desert, they couldn’t get it from the surrounding countryside, so they gathered what they had and gave it to God.

Moses finally had to say "No more". We have enough. In fact, we have more than enough.

What would it be like to tell a church that we have more than enough in the offering. Okay, church, that’ll do. We have enough. I really have trouble imagining it.

We want to have mission work and support two missionaries. Thank you, church, you have given enough for the missionaries. We need a new youth program. Thank you, church, we have enough to fully fund a new youth program.

Never had that happen to me personally. I have heard of it happening a few times. More often than not, there is a shortfall. But not here. Quit giving. There is enough.

That would be something.

the real spirit of the season

But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. This is why it says: “When he ascended on high, he led captives in his train and gave gifts to men.”
(What does “he ascended” mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, to prepare God’s people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. (Ephesians 4:7-13)

Nicholas of Myra was a bishop of the church in the fourth century. Myra was in what is now modern Turkey. He was a wealthy man with a lot of influence.

The story is told of a poor man with three daughters. His first daughter fell in love but he had no dowry to give her. This meant that she had to take a lesser husband, one who was able to ignore the shame of not having, like Maureen O’Hara called it in the movie Quiet Man, her fortune. The daughter and the man she wanted to marry were understandably grief-stricken.

As hard as it is for us to imagine in our culture today, this was of major import in that culture. Without her dowry, she was basically and bluntly sold. Her fortune gave her the ability to come into the marriage on a financially equal basis. Without it, she was without honor.

Nicholas came in the middle of the night and placed a bag of gold coins through the window of their house. The next morning, the man found them and the daughter was given the ability to choose her husband. But the father nor the daughter knew who had done it.

The same thing happened with the second daughter and the results were the same. Nicholas anonymously gave the money. The daughter married as she wanted.

The problem was that it drove the guy crazy wondering who had given that money. So when the third daughter came to marriage age, he went around and proclaimed his inability to pay a dowry, then waited to see what would happen. As Nicholas came by to give him the money, he saw who it was. Nicholas had wanted to remain anonymous but it was not to be. The man told everyone.

Nicholas was a man who was known for his generosity and this kind of set him free to practice that generosity in public.

From him came Saint Nick, or Santa Claus.

Giving gifts is a good thing and one which God approves. He, after all, is the Chief Gift-Giver. He gave his Son to us. He gives us salvation and holiness, righteousness and goodness – just for the asking.

Santa Claus is real, yes. But not like the commercial world says. The real Nicholas would not approve of the greed and absolute grasping for stuff that has come to characterize Christmas.

Not sure what to do about it, but I refuse to buy into it. I want to be like Nicholas and give what I have out of love.

That is the real spirit of the season – This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers (1 John 3:16). That is real giving.

daily java

Daily Java: Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.  (2 Corinthians 9:6-8)

There is a generosity that is present in the child of God that the world doesn’t understand.

Whenever people in the world see Christians involved in charity work, whatever it may be, they automatically suspect that the Christians are trying to proselyte people. They cannot believe that the children of God can possibly be doing anything but good.

And sadly enough the world would rather people die hungry or go without medical attention than have Christians do it in the name of God.

When it comes down to it, when Christians do stuff like feeding or helping, it is simply because Jesus told us to. We know that God gave us grace in great measure, so we want to give back. We also know that the mark of Christians is giving, so we give. And we know that the more we give, the more God gives  to us.

We do it cheerfully because God gave cheerfully out of his bounty to us. We do it not reluctantly or under compulsion because it was given so freely to us.

In other words, Christians are givers. It is a fact that Christians give far more than their worldly counterparts. And the most amazing part of it is we do it on top of other stuff we give.

We give out of a giving heart recognizing what we have been given. Grateful people always are more giving.

Will people take advantage of you? Yes, they will. Does it mean you stop giving? No.

Case in point: Jesus healed ten lepers in Luke 17. Of the ten, only one came back to say thank you. Jesus asked where the nine were that were also healed. Probably they were running like crazy to do what he said – show themselves to the high priest. Only one recognized that Jesus was the source of it and thanked him.

Jesus didn’t take back the healing because people were ungrateful. He left it as it was. He did what he did out of love, not the need for recognition. That was his nature. He gives that nature to us. We give without really wanting the recognition. Nothing wrong with the recognition, of course, but if we just do it for that reason, Jesus said we are no better than the hypocrites.

What we do we do through love, just as God gave Jesus and Jesus gave his life.

And the more we give, the more we get. We might not get stuff like we want, necessarily, but a giving spirit never hurt anyone. It makes the giver better, more open, more loving, more aware of what he or she has in the first place.

Personally, I want to be a giver.

daily java

Daily Java: For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have.  (2 Corinthians 8:12)

When he was young, my son would always promise my wife stuff. He would make her a garden bigger than any garden any son ever made. He would clean the house, he would do other stuff.

His promises were grandiose and he rarely followed through. It wasn’t that he was a bad kid, it was just that he, like me, hated gardening, cleaning, all that. It was easy to promise, but not so easy to deliver.

There are those who make a garden with no effort. I even know people who love to clean houses. My wife used to love to clean all day, and then sit back in the satisfaction of a home that was comfortable. Everybody has their like zones, their stuff that they really enjoy doing.

Now if my wife asked my son to go and make up a rock song and play and sing it to her on his guitar, he would do that in a minute. That was what he liked to do.   

When we give to God, he doesn’t expect stuff that we are unable to do, nor stuff that we hate to do. There are, of course, some things I do because I need to do them as part of my pastoral responsibilities, but in general, God doesn’t expect from us what we do not have to give.

You can be generous to God in giving even if you do not have much money. You can give time and effort, mercy and sacrifice, encouragement, other things. God does not expect a big check from people who do not have the money. God does not expect a song accompanied by the guitar from a tone deaf person. God does not expect an embroidered altar cloth from an armless person.

He sure doesn’t expect a dance from a person like me, one with the grace of a crippled rhino.

We give from what we have. What we give is the outflow of our love for him and we give from what he has given us. Our talents, our abilities are such that we use them to worship him. That is the giving.

If the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable. I love the song about the little drummer boy who played his drum for the baby Jesus. “I played my drum for him, I played my best for him.” All he had was a little drum, but from that small possession, he gave. And he didn’t give the drum. He gave the playing.

That is what the apostle Paul is writing about here. We give from what we have, not from what we do not have. I will never crochet or quilt anything for God. I hate doing it. However, others will and God will like it.

I will sing, I will write, I will preach, I will cook and serve – that is what I do.

And that is what he wants: honest, loving, generous giving from the well of our talent. And the more we give, the more he gives us to give.

That is his gift to us. After all, he gave from what he had: mercy, love, and sacrifice – that of his uniquely begotten Son – so that he could give us life and acceptance.

give to him who asks you

Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.  (Matthew 5:42 NIV)

What do you do when a bum asks you for some cash. Give it to him or ignore him?

The world ignores him, treats him like a sidewalk stain or worse yet, doesn’t see him. And sometimes he will starve out in plain sight.

Of course, that is what the world does. It doesn’t care. After all, it thinks abortion is a remedy for society’s ills. It would just as soon the guy died and left them alone.

What would Jesus do? That old saying is still true. Jesus says what he would do in this verse. He would give it to them.

But wait! You say. They are bums. And winos and stuff. They will take the money and spend it on alcohol or drugs or something. And that may be true.

But what does Jesus say? Give it them if they can show an affidavit that they spent the money on food or clothing or scientific equipment? Did he put any qualifications on it?

He did not. He said give it.

But that is against human nature, you say. And it is. However, Jesus came to cause us to triumph over human nature. We have to rise above what we would do naturally and do what he wants.

And what Jesus wants is generosity. He wants his people to be known as generous people, who love others and want to help.

What the bum does with it is between him and God. After all, you gave it to God, not to that guy.

So what you do with your money is between you and God, too. Just don’t be stingy. Be generous.