The Spirit of Giving (12/20/10)

Shalom,

 

    Please begin by reading 1 Tim 6:17-19.

 

    This thing we call Christmas has become more and more worldly as time progresses.  The greed seen in the shopping and gift exchanges just seems to be getting worse every year.  The Church isn't helping by allowing pagan mythology into the story of the birth of our Lord Jesus.  I can only hope that more and more people become aware of what spirit they're allowing to control their Christmas thinking.  The "Spirit" of Christmas is supposed to be the Holy Spirit, not some of these sentimental and traditional things we equate with feeling good at this time of year.

    Many of our retail stores tell us that Christmas is the "Season of Giving."  Even the crusty, ill-tempered people of our world have a tendency to soften in response to the "special" feeling that Christmas brings.  Our favorite Christmas movies remind us of this year after year.  But this "special" season shouldn't be different than any other time of the year for Christians.  We should have a heart for giving all year round.

    Giving is one of the least talked about subjects in our churches today.  I believe it's because people are overly self-conscious about their money and are a bit afraid that Yahweh is going to directly ask them to give something they don't want to give.  Many people complain when a "giving" message is preached because they get offended that their preacher wants more of "their" money.  But giving is mentioned 2,285 times in the Bible.  That's more than faith or hope or love are mentioned.  Do you think our Creator knows his creation well?  Of course he does, that's why he wants us to know how important our giving and our attitude about giving are.

    The fact is that Yahweh gives very generously and expects the same from the people who claim to belong to him.  We received the best possible gift from him in the form of the life, death, and resurrection of our Lord Jesus.  It's only right that Yahweh's children give like their Father does.  Everything belongs to our Father.  If we hoard it and keep it for ourselves, we won't get a good return.  The scriptures clearly tell us to be generous so that we'll have more to give.  Check out 2 Cor 9:10-11.

    So giving makes us more like our Father.  Some will say that the verses we read to begin with aren't meant for them because it says "command those who are rich."  Everyone who's a Christian is rich.  Our Father says we can have what we need if we trust and obey him.  Since he owns everything, I believe that makes us rich.  And as far as the general population in America is concerned, when compared to many other parts of the earth, every one of us is rich.

 

    The full direction is "to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share."  That means we're supposed to do good things because we're Christians.  We don't need to do good things to make our hearts feel better, or to impress our Father.  We're rich because we've connected to Jesus.  We're told to share the wealth that we have.  This means spiritually and materially and any other way we possibly can.  We're to seek the direction and guidance of the Holy Spirit in our giving, and then obediently do what we discern.

    The proper spirit of giving is to share what we have for the cause of the Kingdom of our Lord and Master.  If we aren't willing to give when instructed to by the Holy Spirit, then money and possessions have too strong a hold over us.  There are plenty of illustrations in the Bible about what we should cherish.  Several tell us to make a choice between Yahweh and money.  Our Lord is likely to put us in situations where we'll have to decide what's more important to us.  Matt 6:21 pointedly tells us, "Where your treasure is, there your heart will also be."

    Giving will also draw us closer to our Lord because it makes us more like him.  If our treasure lies in our material possessions, then our hearts won't be drawing closer to Yahweh.  Our focus needs to be on him instead of all our material stuff.  Yahweh has provided everything we possess.  How are we using it all to bring glory to his name?  Are we serving as stewards and managers of what he's provided, or have we taken possession of it for ourselves?  Remember what 1 Tim 6:10 says.  "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.  Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs."  Listen to our loving Father's warning and avoid many sorrows.

    For biblical Christianity our giving begins with tithing.  There are Christians who refuse to tithe.  They give many reasons, but none of them stand up to the test when the full biblical context is used.  Giving and tithing are clearly taught in the New Testatement.  If we refuse to tithe, we're refusing to give to Yahweh what he's spoken is expressly his.  It means we're being greedy and selfish to hold on to what he's said is to be used for supporting Christian ministry and providing for works of service in his Kingdom.

    If we continue to ask Yahweh to support us, while refusing to support others, how do you think that will work out?  Aren't we living a double standard when we expect support without giving it according to Holy Spirit guidance and biblical instruction?  And please know that giving goes beyond our money and possessions.  Don't forget about offering up your time and talents for Yahweh's Kingdom.  2 Cor 9:8 encourages us.  "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."  "In all things."  "At all times."  "Having all that you need."  Don't withhold what you've been given.  Obediently use all your resources for Yahweh's Kingdom.

 

    When it comes to Christmas, we all too often give people what we think they want instead of finding out what they really need.  We think that by giving them a nice present we can help them overcome their loneliness, insecurity, or low self-image.  If we really took the time to listen to them talk we could find ways to truly help and bless them.  Just listening, really listening to them, is a major move in the right direction.  Depression hits some people extremely hard during the holiday season.  They have regrets or hurts or emptiness that they struggle to deal with because everyone is expected to be happy and cheerful during Christmas and they're not.  Maybe we need to share some compassion instead of the kind of stuff our stores stick in the middle of the aisles, providing us with cheap but nice gifts for the people we love.

    There's an old saying: It's not the gift, but the thought that counts.  Jesus would much rather have our heartfelt thoughts and prayers than our money.  The money already belongs to him anyway.  The money isn't really ours to control, it should already be under his control through our surrender.  If we would invest more of ourselves into our gift-giving we just might be able to share our faith more often.  If people saw our sincere efforts to bless others in the name of Jesus, they just might appreciate hearing about how good it is to serve him.

    Now there are many ways to be more creative in our giving, but that takes some extra thought and prayer on our part.  It takes effort to go out of our way to meet the needs of those around us.  It takes the love of Jesus to be able to put ourselves down while lifting others up.  Be encouraged by how good it feels to have the joy of our Lord filling our hearts after we've blessed someone.

    Proper giving will also strengthen our faith.  The fact is that we often look at our churches and wonder why Yahweh seems to be removing his hand of blessing from them.  We want him to bless our churches to enable us to support more missionaries and we expect our Almighty God to send us lots of money to do that.  But not enough people inside our churches are being obedient in their tithing and giving.  Yahweh's fire will remain low until the whole Church is being obedient.  Partial obedience is still actually disobedience.

    Yahweh has called us to be givers, to meet the needs of others and to do it cheerfully and willingly.  Can you imagine what Yahweh would do with a church that's fully devoted to him with its money, time, and talents?  Wouldn't you like to be in that church and find out?  Our lives can be completely changed.  Our ministry can be much more effective.  Our Lord can be glorified and magnified by everyone we come in contact with.

    Our giving should never  be tied to the earthly value the gift holds.  It should be connected to the eternal value it holds.  Aren't the simpler gifts often the best ones?  One company used to advertize: Give the gift that lasts.  I think Jesus fills that description best of all.

 

    What we need to get through our heads as children of our heavenly Father is that the Christmas spirit should last all year round.  It's easy to get in the giving mood at Christmas because the majority of people we come in contact with are giving gifts.  But as Christians our motive shouldn't be so easily influenced by the mob mentality of the secular Christmas.  Our motive should be driven by the fact that our Father God is always in a giving mood.  He's our Father, and children have a way of turning out like their parents whether they want to or not.

    Now honestly, how many of us pursue the celebration of Christmas with high intensity, both spiritually and materially?  After the Christmas Eve service, is our Lord's part of Christmas forgotten or set aside?  Is Christmas Day devoted exclusively to exchanging presents and gorging on big dinners and tables full of goodies?

    If you answered yes to any of those questions you need to listen up.  Spend more time expressing love and concern for your family and friends.  Replace the Christmas rush with the peace and calm that's supplied by our Savior.  The most precious gift we can offer to anyone is a relationship with Jesus.  Spread him around.  It's the gift that keeps on giving because there's always more to share.

 

    Blessings & Peace,    Mike