The Corinthians were reluctant to give financially.
If there was one word that could be used to describe the Corinthians it would be "reluctant." I think all of us find ourselves being reluctant. Yesterday morning we got a cellular phone call. If it's an 800 or out-of-area number, we let the machine answer. But this was a cellular call. And when I answered, a man introduced himself as a police officer and wanted to confirm my address.
I was reluctant to answer him. "What have I done officer? Is there a warrant for my arrest?" Then he asked me if I was concerned about the children of slain officers. "Should I find a lawyer?" I asked. Then he began asking for money.
Then a little while later the doorbell rang. A man wearing bright orange was standing on my porch. I thought to myself, "This must be the man the police were looking for!" But actually, it was a salesperson. I slowly opened the door and stepped out on the porch. The man asked me if I had heard of his company. He was selling security systems and asked if I noticed that dozens, or many, or several of my neighbors had his company's security sign in their yard.
I told him our security was superior to his. I explained how before he had even stepped out of his car or onto our porch, our security system had been going off! Not only that, but all of our neighbors' systems had been going off as well! "Well, what security system do you have sir?" he asked. So I told him, "We have the Barker Security System, and do watch where you step!" (To the reader: a picture of Jon's three dogs was shown to the congregation.) In reality, I never think how to have these conversations in the moment. But, it's fun to think what I could've said!
Reluctance seems to be a practical necessity when dealing with giving money.
When it comes to money, reluctance seems to be a practical necessity. Reluctance is a mechanism of self-preservation. We naturally ask, "Who are you? What do you want? Why should I trust you?" Think of the last time you were reluctant to respond to a situation. Why were you holding back?
One of things I struggle with is the simple fact that there are so many genuine needs. For example, consider our team that got back from Haiti this past week. Do you have to walk a day and a half in the hope of seeing a dentist or of getting a few aspirin? Do you have to work a pump for hours to get the water your family needs to survive for a day?
We kind of get desensitized to these stories after a while. It's like the police officer asking me if I cared about the children of slain officers. Of course I do! I'm not a jerk, but I need an intelligent way of thinking about all these different needs and prioritizing this one and that one.
I find our Missions Team, led by Sunny Dahlquist, and our Caring Fund, led by Mark Gannar, to be a tremendous help. Both of these teams prayerfully weigh the requests we receive and help our church respond in a God-honoring way.
But let's be honest. Most of the time, we are reluctant to give money for other reasons. When the appeal went out to the Corinthians to help their brothers and sisters who were undergoing a severe famine in Jerusalem, they were reluctant to give. Why?
We can be afflicted with a scarcity mentality.
The Corinthians seemed to be afflicted with a sense of scarcity-- that somehow they lacked the capacity to respond. When I was in Bible College, I was on the student cabinet. One day, we tried thinking up ways to get the student body involved in the community. But every time we came up with an idea, it was shot down. Students didn't have the time. They didn't have any money.
But a few of us learned about the shortage of food at a local food pantry, and we decided to do something about it. So we went room to room asking students for donations of cash, spare change, or canned food. Several students made it a point to ridicule our efforts. But in the lobby of the men's dorm, we started building a tiny pyramid of food.
And each night we kept up our efforts. We made two rounds, then three rounds. And soon that pyramid grew and grew until it reached the height of the lobby. After a few weeks, we had collected several tons of food! The directors of the food pantry were shocked!
In 2 Corinthians 8:1-7 Paul tells the Corinthians to look at the example of the Macedonians. Despite the Macedonians' severe trial, despite their extreme poverty, they were giving as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Paul's message to the Corinthians is to get beyond their reluctance. What if our capacity for generosity is far greater than any of us could imagine?
Generosity is never about our ability to give.
Throughout 2 Corinthians 8-9 Paul goes to great pains to emphasize an important point. Generosity is never about our ability to give. In 2 Corinthians 8:3 (NIV) Paul says the Macedonians, "...gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability." There appears to be a supernatural element to their generosity. Something intangible was occurring. It was kind of like Jesus' feeding of the 5000. As the apostles passed the baskets of bread throughout the crowds, the baskets began overflowing. The Macedonians' gifts far exceeded what seemed humanly possible.
But it's not until 2 Corinthians 9:6-11 that Paul hammers this point home to the Corinthians. Notice how it is God who enables our generosity. 2 Corinthians 9:6 (NIV) says, "Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously."
We know this principle holds true in agriculture. How many of you planted gardens this summer? Isn't it amazing how one kernel of corn can produce hundreds of kernels? Do we believe that the same holds true in our personal finances?
On the surface, generosity seems like a formula for financial ruin. But in actuality, generosity is a formula for prosperity. When we sow sparingly, we reap sparingly. When we sow generously, we reap an abundance! It doesn't make any accounting sense from a worldly perspective, but is that not exactly what happens when we give?
Do you know any former tithers or recovering tithers?
I've never met a former tither or a recovering giver. I only know joyful tithers, givers with overflowing joy. A pastor friend of mine does a ten week tithing guarantee in his church. He challenges everyone to tithe for ten weeks. If at the end of the ten weeks anyone has any doubt about God's ability to provide for their needs or supply such generosity, the church immediately refunds all their tithe. He says that the church has never had to make a refund.
2 Corinthians 9:7-11 (NIV) continues. "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. As it is written: 'He has scattered abroad his gifts to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.' Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
In every way, faith is a battle against reluctance. Do we believe that God has the capacity to supply our every need? Do we believe he has the capacity to supply our every act of generosity? Do we believe that God has the capacity to do this on every occasion?
Our generosity results in thanksgiving to God.
Paul makes an interesting point in 2 Corinthians 8:11. Notice how our generosity as Christians results in thanksgiving to God. You should think about why that will be the case when we give. If you are giving according to your own ability, people might say, "Thanks, Jon!" But when we give supernaturally, even beyond our own ability, despite our severe circumstances, despite our extreme poverty, people will have no recourse but to praise God! Because it will be readily apparent that God, not us, has supplied our generosity!
Look at 2 Corinthians 8:11-15 (NIV). "You will be made rich in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else. And in their prayers for you their hearts will go out to you, because of the surpassing grace God has given you. Thanks be to God for his indescribable gift!"
Faith is a battle against our reluctance.
I mentioned earlier that faith is a battle against reluctance. I want to end by sharing few verses out of Malachi 3:6-12 (NIV) which is our God's response to our reluctance. "I the LORD do not change. So you, O descendants of Jacob, are not destroyed. Ever since the time of your forefathers you have turned away from my decrees and have not kept them. Return to me and I will return to you, says the LORD Almighty. But you ask, 'How are we to return?' Will a man rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, 'How do we rob you?' In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse- the whole nation of you- because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this, says the LORD Almighty, and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not cast their fruit, says the LORD Almighty. Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land, says the LORD Almighty."
This is the only place in scripture where God invites us to overcome our reluctance in order to give to him financially and test his promise to us. The Lord does not change and he does not break his promises. We need to overcome our reluctance to let go of our finances.