Generosity Lesson 2: She had 5 kids of her own. Countless foster kids. The occasional kid or two from family members that needed a place to stay. And on top of all that, one never knew what or who mom was going to bring home from the jail. She was known to bring home the stray cat or dog that was dumped by the river near the jail or left at the doors of the building. She was also known to bring home an occasional inmate that was in process of being transferred or had just been released and needed a safe place to stay for a night or two. I don’t know how it all worked, but there was always enough spaghetti to go around, hot dogs or hamburgers to fill your plate, veggies from the garden and milk in the fridge. And if that didn’t do it, there was always, always, a jar of peanut butter, some jelly and a loaf of bread on the table. I can’t imagine what my parents grocery bill was, but I learned from mom, it was never about the money, it was about making sure that those who society often discarded (human or animal) were given some love and acceptance before they walked back out the door.
What did these experiences teach me?
Answer: Extravagant generosity is not a money issue, it is a heart issue.
A hard lesson for anyone to learn, but especially a person of wealth and status. In Mark’s gospel, we read of a man known only as the “Rich Young Ruler.” And rich he was according to society’s standards. He had wealth, possessions, status, influence, and power. He worked hard and made a name for himself and he was a good man. He followed the rules, obeyed the law, and believed in God. Yet, with all that he had, he felt like something was missing and he asked Jesus, “is there something else I must do to follow you?” Jesus looked at him with great love and then told him, “sell everything, give the money to the poor, and come follow me.” (Mark 1017-27) Could you do what Jesus asked? Neither could the Rich Man and he walked away devastated.
It doesn’t take long to see we, like the Rich Man, like our stuff too! We have lots of things and stuff and then we buy stuff to put our stuff in and then we get a storage unit to put the stuff we put our stuff in for safe keeping. We like having stuff and we don’t like to give it up. We earned it, worked for it, own it, and it’s ours. The crazy sad thing is however, that we are no more satisfied with our extra stuff than we were without it. In fact, research says we are less happy, less productive at work, and less content in our relationships. The more stuff we have the more unhappy we become.
Why? Because we were born for something different. Something better. We were born not to consume, buy up and take on more. We were born to give, share, and let go.
Genesis 1 tells us that humankind was created in the image and likeness of God. John 3:16 tells us that the image and likeness of God is love and generosity. “For God so loved the world that he gave…” Doesn’t it stand to reason then that we were born in the image and likeness of a loving and generous God therefore we were born to embody love and generosity in the living of our lives?
Generosity is not about giving up your possessions, status, or your wealth. It is about giving up control; the need to control our stuff and the control our stuff has over us.