Many men have poor character, but other men have real character.
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Tiger Woods, Anthony never-mind-his-last-name, and John Edwards. The media eats these stories for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. These were all men who were admired for one reason or another. They all excelled in either acting, body building, golf, politics, the legal profession, or in their ability to charm. Yet all of these men have reduced themselves to caricatures of authentic manhood. You might say that their character finally caught up with them. It always does!
The truth is that our character is always on display. The character of some men is like a splash of water on the pavement. There is nothing enduring about their character because it quickly evaporates under the hot sun. But the character of other men is like a mighty river, twisting and cutting through the land, building strength and power, and transforming the landscape. The character of some is like a deep well that never loses its ability to refresh others.
This morning I want to begin with a series of questions that get at the essence of our character. After you take a shot at each question, I want to reflect on them from perspective of 2 Corinthians 8-9 and the theme of generosity.
Question number one: What captivates you?
Every man is captivated by something. You only need to spend a few moments with a person to discover what captivates him. Just listen and follow people's eyes. They'll say things like, "Look at that girl! Look how much horsepower my engine has! Look at that mansion on the hill! Whap, whap, whap, look what I killed. Check out my gun, my boat, my high score, this crazy video, my new phone, my truck, and my trophy." Some are captivated with themselves. Some are captivated by sports, their politics, a hobby, antiques, or novelty items. Some are captivated by food, by drink, or by their desires.
Everyone is captivated by something. What are you captivated by? What captures your eye? What amazes you? What excites you? What are you drawn toward? To what do you call people's attention when you see it?
Question number two: At what do you excel?
This is the question of activity. What do you excel at? What do you want to be the best at? What consumes your best energies? We tend to excel in those things that captivate us. If you are captivated by television, you've memorized all 600 channels on your DirectTV, your DVRs are overheating, and your HDTV is burning out. If you're captivated with video games, you've conquered all 168 levels of Mario Brothers in exchange for one year of your life. Congratulations!
Question number three: What are you building?
This is the question of purpose. If you are captivated by television and excel at programming your DVR, then to what end? If you are captivated by sports and excel at sports, then to what end?
The crisis of manhood is summarized easily. So many men are captivated by trivial things, unholy things, and useless things. So many men excel in things of little consequence. So many men have no inner compass, no sense of calling, no sense of purpose or direction, and no sense of deeper meaning to their lives. Men are like that empty plastic bag blowing across a Walmart parking lot.
Now thank you for your patience! Let's turn in our Bibles to 2 Corinthians 8-9 and revisit these same questions and consider how we might measure up to what we see.
What captivates you?
Your character is determined by what captivates you. If your heart is bad, your eyes will be bad. If your heart is bad, you'll be looking to all the wrong things for fulfillment in life-- things like money, women, power, and material things.
Check it out! In 2 Corinthians 8:1-5 the apostle Paul is captivated by the generosity of the Macedonians. During their most severe trial, they exuded joy. Their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. They gave everything they were able, and even beyond their ability. Does the generosity of others captivate you? It certainly captivated Paul.
In 2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV) Paul is captivated by the generosity of Christ Jesus. "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." Does the generosity of Christ captivate you?
In what do you excel?
Paul isn't just captivated by the generosity of the Macedonians and Christ. Paul wanted them to excel in the grace of giving. He wanted them to act on it. In 2 Corinthians 8:7 (NIV) he urges the Corinthians, "But just as you excel in everything-- in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us-- see that you also excel in this grace of giving."
The apostle Paul was obsessed with releasing a torrent of generosity in his world. His message to us is, "Look at what the Macedonians have done! Look what Christ Jesus has done! Let's unleash that same generosity everywhere! Let's match the Macedonians' sincerity and intensity!"
Let's not excel in shopping, in athletics, in academics, in playing games, or in this thing or that thing. Let's excel in generosity! Let's give ourselves fully to generosity like we give ourselves to our hobbies and interests, to our television, and to the internet. What might a church full of people excelling in generosity look like? It would not look like us dabbing a little here or there, but we would be truly excelling, applying our very best energies to giving! We would be embracing Macedonian-like resolve, Christ-like resolve. We would not be seeking to be served, but to serve and give!
What are you building?
Or better yet, what are we building together? If you're captivated by football, you excel in football and build a football stadium. If you're captivated by education, you excel in education and build a university. But if you're captivated by generosity and excel in generosity, you help build Christ's Church. What's remarkable to me is how in 2 Corinthians 8-9 Paul dispenses advice about how the Corinthians can multiply their generosity.
In 2 Corinthians 8:11 he teaches them to give willingly. In this same verse, Paul also teaches them about perseverance, the important of bringing to completion what they started.
In 2 Corinthians 8:12 he teaches them to give according to what they have, not according to what they do not have.
In 2 Corinthians 8:13-15 he teaches them about equality. For generosity to be possible, we must seek the mutual benefit of everyone involved. One doesn't advance at the expense of the other. There aren't to be two classes of people, the gatherers and the takers. Everyone is to gather, and everyone is to contribute.
In 2 Corinthians 8:16-21 Paul teaches about integrity. The gifts given have to be administered with integrity. When it comes to money, great pains must be made to do what's right, both in the eyes of God and of man. There has to be transparency.
In 2 Corinthians 8:22-24 he teaches the importance of strategic partnerships. Generosity isn't a solo effort, but many churches coming together strategically to accomplish something collectively that couldn't be done individually. Local examples include supporting the Inner City Mission and Lake Springfield Christian Assembly.
In 2 Corinthians 9:1-5 Paul teaches the importance of accountability. He is reminding the Corinthians what is at stake when it comes to their generosity. Their very reputation, and Paul's, and that of the gospel of Jesus Christ was at stake.
Generosity must be planned.
When it comes to generosity, I think we have this false notion that generosity must always be impulsive, or done in the moment. What Paul is advocating is a very disciplined approach to generosity. It is true that a certain level of generosity is possible when God's people give spontaneously, unplanned, or in an undisciplined manner. But extreme generosity is only possible through a self-disciplined, persevering approach.
When God planned his generosity in Christ, he did so from the beginning of time. We often fall into this trap where we think giving randomly, impulsively, and individually is somehow superior. But what about giving in a planned, intentional, corporate way?
The most spectacular, awe-inspiring sights of nature weren't formed in instant, with a tiny splash of water. They were formed through the continuous, persevering, collective flow of individual streams, watersheds, rivers, and tributaries all feeding one into another to form one mighty river capable of altering the landscape of God's world for all eternity. How much more does this hold true for our giving?
Tithing is the beginning step, the start of an adventure toward extreme generosity. Think what great social problems or moral problems can be resolved with a momentary, often self indulgent splash of fleeting generosity? NONE! It takes planned, intentional giving of our finances to resolve tough issues.
Instead, we ought to be building a deep well from which we can draw out and supply generosity for a prolonged, intensified, disciplined period of time. The Church is that deep well, cultivating and unleashing generosity in many people for generations. It is the character of our generosity that compels people to praise God. Are you captivated by generosity? Are you excelling in tithing? Are we building up Christ's church?