GRACE BIBLE CHURCH

At Christmas we often sing, “ ’tis the season to be jolly.” Perhaps so, but more significantly, it’s the season to be generous. But not only during a season, but all the time. What does it mean to be generous? Is it always giving money? Is it being liberal in offering sympathy? Is it offering plenty of good advice and helpful suggestions? Indeed, a generous person is not limited only to the giving of money. Generosity is an attitude.

The Bible teems with instruction and warning about things and how we handle them. Here’s one: “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.” (Prov. 11:25) A bit later in the same book, “A generous man will himself be blessed, for he shares his food with the poor.”(Prov. 22:9) Usually we need to carefully reflect on our giving, it doesn’t always come naturally. Michael Phelps had already won five gold medals in the 2004 Athens Olympics. He seemed certain to secure one more in the 4 x 400 medley relay. Phelp’s teammate, Ian Crocker, had not been so fortunate. Fighting flu symptoms all week, Crocker would go home without a medal, Phelps ceded his position in the swim meet, giving Crocker a shot at the gold. Told of the gesture, Crocker nearly wept. “I’m speechless, it’s a huge gift that’s difficult to accept, makes me really want to succeed. And, with that motivation, Crocker helped his team shatter its own record, winning the gold.(Atlanta Journal Constitution, 8-21-04)

That story immediately brings to mind the verses in the New Testament: “Give to everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do to others as you would have them do to you.” (Luke 6:30-31) Generosity is a frame of mind. This condition ought to come with our conversion, and grow as we grow in Christ. On the wall of President Lyndon Johnson’s White House office hung a framed letter written by General Sam Houston(it had been written to the President’s great-grandfather more than 100 years earlier.) The President’s relative led Sam Houston to a knowledge of Christ as Savior, and it dramatically changed his life from being coarse and belligerent to peaceful and content. He was baptized and immediately after he offered to pay the local preacher half his salary. When asked why, he replied, “My pocketbook was baptized too.” (from The Law of Rewards, by Randy Alcorn, Tyndale, 2003)

We have clear instruction in the Bible about being generous. Remember this? “Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.” ( I Tim. 6:18) Generosity is Biblical and right-it is commendable and offers great help and benefit for all involved. Generosity will help offset one of the really dangerous conditions we all face in our day, that is materialism. Here is a great quote from John R. Stott and I urge you to read it carefully. “Comfort is dangerous, and we should constantly be re-examining our lifestyle. The New Testament is beautifully balanced on this. Paul avoids both extremes. Asceticism is a rejection of the good gifts of the good Creator. Its opposite is materialism—not just possessing material things, but becoming preoccupied with them. In between asceticism and materialism is simplicity, contentment, and generosity and these three virtues should mark all of us. It is not a question of rules and regulations about our income, and how many rooms or cars we have. It’s these principles of simplicity, contentment and generosity over against covetousness, materialism, and asceticism that we have to apply to our living all the time. We need to give away what we are not using, because of we don’t use it, we don’t need it.” (CT Classic, Basic Stott, Christianity Today, 1-8-96)

Everything we have is His, be generous with it.