My youngest daughter just turned 1, which means she’s crawling, beginning to go up the stairs, eating more and different types of foods, and playing with baby dolls. In these small ways she’s beginning to become less dependent on her mother and father. Yet, the one thing she does that I totally love, is when she gets on her knees, stretches out her arms and squeezes her little hands together. She wants to be picked up, but she is also totally dependent upon me to pick her up.
How many times have you and I prayed for God to make us stronger, wiser and better? In other words, ways by which we would feel better prepared to live and face this life. This type of prayer is good and necessary. But what if I suggested to you that you also pray for God to increase your helplessness? Does that sound like craziness?! It does, since today our world and our mentality is to become less and less dependent on others. For some, their whole life is spent on making themselves so stable that if everything else falls around them, they have everything they need in themselves and their wisdom, and in their possessions and at their disposal. But this is not the Christian life. Ironically, the more mature a Christian grows the more dependent he becomes upon God. In our helplessness God has opportunity to strengthen us, but more importantly to change us.
In Luke 10:21, Jesus rejoices that God the Father has hidden the Kingdom of God from the wise and understanding. This means that God has not revealed His purposes to those who are self-sufficient. Why? Because the self-sufficient have no need for a Savior. They do not perceive that they are in fact utterly helpless. At the same time, verse 21 says, Jesus rejoices that the Kingdom of God has been revealed to little children. This means that God has revealed His purposes to those that are not self-sufficient, but instead to those, who like infants, are wholly and fully dependent. They do perceive that they are in fact totally helpless. And what is it that they need? They need to depend upon Him, Jesus, the One who will die on the Cross for the sins of the world. Jesus, the Savior, rejoices that the self-sufficient cannot find Him and He rejoices that the helpless and dependent will find Him. This is because God will be most glorified, not when He is treated as something that we need, but when He is perceived as everything that we need.
Nothing has changed. Nothing will change. We must recognize that our helplessness before God does not end when we believe in Jesus and what He did on the Cross. It continues on throughout all our life, so that in every circumstance we need to be praying, “God, increase my helplessness.” Why? Because depending upon Him guarantees our help and strength. This might not mean getting through the circumstance immediately or supernaturally. It may mean getting through slowly and patiently, day in and day out. But it is our helplessness, not our self-sufficiency, that God reaches down to touch with His faithfulness.
We must all be like my daughter, who though she is growing, still reaches up to have me pick her up. Somehow she knows that unless I reach down she could never reach me.
Friday, October 29, 2010
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Big leadership or Mini leadership?
I struggle with leadership. I don’t mean I struggle with leading, but rather I struggle with what leadership is and why leadership is important. Many people think of success when they think of leadership. They think on a large scale and of a large sphere of influence, so that often what happens is that the small things are despised for being small. Of course, those entrusted by God with larger ministries are those that were first faithful in the smaller ones. But again, the small is not always small because we’re being unfaithful or are a bad leader. Others think of success as businessmen think of success: profit and loss. But in the kingdom of God how do we measure profit? Or loss? Growth should be our aim. But is growth always evidenced in an increased budget for the new year? Or are financial struggles always an indication of an unhealthy church? I struggle with the constant focus on leadership as a skill to be learned and perfected. I struggle with the constant bombardment of books on how to do a better job and how to become better. I struggle with the goal and aim of much of what I read on leadership to be rising to the next level, breaking through and breaking out. If I’m honest, I think a lot of this is “me” centered and not “Christ” centered. It’s “ministry” focused, but not truly “Kingdom” focused. I struggle with the motivations behind these goals and aims, and with the goals and aims we are motivated to reach. Could it be that in our pursuit towards big leadership, we are actually doing mini leadership? Leaders that pursue greatness for the sake of greatness are small. Ministry’s that pursue success can be less Biblically successful than they think. Churches that pursue to impact their community could be more marginalized than they care to admit. The result of my struggling has been a personal and pastoral re-evaluation of what leadership is, why do I lead, where am I going, who is following and how can I measure success. Here are ten things that I believe are true of leadership:
1. INSTEAD OF focusing on what type of leader I want to be, I should be focusing on what type of followers I want to have - If the church is to become like the One it follows, than we can also say that the Christian is to become like the leader he or she is following. Positively, this means that if I am following Christ then others will be following Christ. Negatively, if I'm not following Christ and following something or someone else then those that follow me will be also. So, before I ask what type of followers I want to have, I must ask myself who am I following? The leader is supposed to imitate Christ through following Christ. We cannot imitate what we have not seen. Paul encouraged believers to imitate him as he imitated Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1) Therefore, Christ-likeness must always be the goal of the leader and of his leadership. It should also be the goal of every follower.
2. LEADERSHIP IS first about character, second about skill - Character holds skill in it’s hand and uses it in a way that is according to it’s principles and convictions. Therefore, according to the depth or shallowness of my character my skills will be either useful or wasteful. It’s character that God blesses or withholds blessing from.
3. THE GREATEST WAY to be a leader of men is to be a follower of Jesus Christ - What type of leader was Jesus? What type of followers did He have? Ultimately, followers who became leaders. In the Kingdom of God, it will always be true that those who are most successful in leading (whether it’s their marriage, family, business, ministry, etc.) will be those who are following Christ wholly and fully dependent upon Him. Only after I seek Christ can I lead people.
4. DEFINE LEADERSHIP by discipleship - In Acts 11:26 the disciples were called Christians for the very first time. Being a disciple of Christ is first and foremost in the life of every believer. Only disciples of Christ can be called Christians. The aim and goal of my life in my home and my church is to make disciples. When I see a person growing in Christ, in their love of the Word, in prayer, in their worship and in their Christ-likeness, I rejoice! Leadership is bearing fruit.
5. DO NOT BECOME so consumed with leadership training, ability and success that I use the people I’m leading to prove my leadership! This is self-serving, arrogant and shameful.
6. LEADERSHIP INVESTS in and makes much of the followers for their own good, not for it's own good - I am a servant of Christ to them, those given to my care. God’s love makes it possible for me to be most happy when I’m giving my life for others, not when a lot of people know who I am. Furthermore, while I’m called to serve them by leading, they are called to serve me by following. Both are done out of love for God.
7. LEADERSHIP IN THE KINGDOM is the abandonment of self-pursuit, my own dreams and ideas for the pursuit of Christ, His dream and His ideas - it’s not about me, at all! The godly leader's deepest and highest ambition is the glory of God. When ambition for His glory replaces my ambitions for my glory, both contentment (where I am now) and dreaming (where I am going next) flourish.
8. ALL MEANS AND ENDS of leadership must be subservient to Christ and His Gospel and His Kingdom - If a leader will serve the Gospel, then his leadership will be blessed. Christ died to save sinners in order that they might become disciples (Christians), so that He might build His church on earth and extend His kingdom throughout. My leadership can pretty much be summed up in preaching the Gospel, making disciples and sending them out into the world. Everything has to serve one of these three purposes.
9. A DANGER in leadership is that I can come to believe that I create my own success, that I can hold my heart in my hand, that I know the way, and that I control the future by my gifts and talents.
10. A DANGER in leadership is to take pride in the needs of the people because then I am needed and feel validated and think that I have all the answers - the aim of leadership is to make more leaders, those who are better prepared than me. It’s about transition and passing along the Gospel to the next generation. This means that I desire for people to get better, to grow and mature, so that they can help others without me.
Jared Wilson sums up what I am praying for myself, the leaders of my church and those that we are discipling and sending out: “Dear God, as you send missionaries to New England, please send those more excited about Christ's Lordship than their own leadership.”
1. INSTEAD OF focusing on what type of leader I want to be, I should be focusing on what type of followers I want to have - If the church is to become like the One it follows, than we can also say that the Christian is to become like the leader he or she is following. Positively, this means that if I am following Christ then others will be following Christ. Negatively, if I'm not following Christ and following something or someone else then those that follow me will be also. So, before I ask what type of followers I want to have, I must ask myself who am I following? The leader is supposed to imitate Christ through following Christ. We cannot imitate what we have not seen. Paul encouraged believers to imitate him as he imitated Christ. (1 Corinthians 11:1) Therefore, Christ-likeness must always be the goal of the leader and of his leadership. It should also be the goal of every follower.
2. LEADERSHIP IS first about character, second about skill - Character holds skill in it’s hand and uses it in a way that is according to it’s principles and convictions. Therefore, according to the depth or shallowness of my character my skills will be either useful or wasteful. It’s character that God blesses or withholds blessing from.
3. THE GREATEST WAY to be a leader of men is to be a follower of Jesus Christ - What type of leader was Jesus? What type of followers did He have? Ultimately, followers who became leaders. In the Kingdom of God, it will always be true that those who are most successful in leading (whether it’s their marriage, family, business, ministry, etc.) will be those who are following Christ wholly and fully dependent upon Him. Only after I seek Christ can I lead people.
4. DEFINE LEADERSHIP by discipleship - In Acts 11:26 the disciples were called Christians for the very first time. Being a disciple of Christ is first and foremost in the life of every believer. Only disciples of Christ can be called Christians. The aim and goal of my life in my home and my church is to make disciples. When I see a person growing in Christ, in their love of the Word, in prayer, in their worship and in their Christ-likeness, I rejoice! Leadership is bearing fruit.
5. DO NOT BECOME so consumed with leadership training, ability and success that I use the people I’m leading to prove my leadership! This is self-serving, arrogant and shameful.
6. LEADERSHIP INVESTS in and makes much of the followers for their own good, not for it's own good - I am a servant of Christ to them, those given to my care. God’s love makes it possible for me to be most happy when I’m giving my life for others, not when a lot of people know who I am. Furthermore, while I’m called to serve them by leading, they are called to serve me by following. Both are done out of love for God.
7. LEADERSHIP IN THE KINGDOM is the abandonment of self-pursuit, my own dreams and ideas for the pursuit of Christ, His dream and His ideas - it’s not about me, at all! The godly leader's deepest and highest ambition is the glory of God. When ambition for His glory replaces my ambitions for my glory, both contentment (where I am now) and dreaming (where I am going next) flourish.
8. ALL MEANS AND ENDS of leadership must be subservient to Christ and His Gospel and His Kingdom - If a leader will serve the Gospel, then his leadership will be blessed. Christ died to save sinners in order that they might become disciples (Christians), so that He might build His church on earth and extend His kingdom throughout. My leadership can pretty much be summed up in preaching the Gospel, making disciples and sending them out into the world. Everything has to serve one of these three purposes.
9. A DANGER in leadership is that I can come to believe that I create my own success, that I can hold my heart in my hand, that I know the way, and that I control the future by my gifts and talents.
10. A DANGER in leadership is to take pride in the needs of the people because then I am needed and feel validated and think that I have all the answers - the aim of leadership is to make more leaders, those who are better prepared than me. It’s about transition and passing along the Gospel to the next generation. This means that I desire for people to get better, to grow and mature, so that they can help others without me.
Jared Wilson sums up what I am praying for myself, the leaders of my church and those that we are discipling and sending out: “Dear God, as you send missionaries to New England, please send those more excited about Christ's Lordship than their own leadership.”
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Re-thinking sin?
They say that your first guess is usually the right guess. Have you ever pondered what gift to buy for someone. You’ve decided for weeks on what to get, and then the day finally comes and you begin to think whether or not it’s the right gift? How about a recipe? You know what ingredients are called for and the specific measurement of each, but then you begin to second guess whoever it is that created the recipe. You think you know better and alter it only to be totally surprised that it tastes nothing like what you thought it would taste like! Then there’s the test in school. You’ve studied for hours on end, you know the answer, you feel it, you see it, but then you begin to think that, just maybe, you’re wrong. You choose B instead of A and you kick yourself for the rest of the semester because your first guess was the right one. Second guessing. Re-thinking. We most often do it when we think that we’re wrong, someone else is wrong or that there’s a better way. The problem with re-thinking is that you eventually doubt everything you think.
There are some today attempting to re-think sin. That is, they are wanting to re-write God’s moral standards as given in His Word. It’s an attempt to be okay with their sin and, therefore, to be okay with another’s sin. This is a problem when Paul says that because of our sin we all fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) We cannot attain to His righteousness and holiness. Ever. Furthermore, Isaiah says that our sin has separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2). So, because of our sin, we cannot stand before a holy God and are separated from Him by Him. This is not good news. This bad news is the news that people want to erase or edit to make it say, “God is okay with sin. He loves you.” But God is not okay with sin. Even the desire to sin is sin. Some believe that if they don’t actually commit sin they have not sinned. This is dangerous because it implies that I can struggle with lust, but if I never act on it it’s not sinful. It’s sinful. Jesus said that a lustful thought was the equivalent of the act of adultery. (Matthew 5:28) It is not okay to be okay with our struggle with sin. We are called to fight sin by putting it to death by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:13) We cannot live with sinful desires in our hearts and take the approach that it’s the way it’s always going to be. In the heart of every believer, every disciple of Jesus, every born again Christian there is a desire not to sin, not to think sinful thoughts, not to make at home sinful affections, not to do anything that falls short of the glory of God or separates us from His presence.
Sin is serious. It’s not excusable at all. If sin is not sin, then we have no need for forgiveness. If there’s no need for forgiveness, there’s no need for a Savior. If there’s no need for a Savior, there’s no Gospel. But if we call Jesus Savior, then we must believe that He came to save us from something. That something is not poor choices or a bad lifestyle; bad character or our bad upbringing; bad looks or bad investments. Jesus ultimately came to save us from sin and the wrath of God. Whatever other problems we may have they do not compare to the problem of sin and the certainty of His wrath. The Gospel is not therapy to make us feel better. The Gospel is power to set us free. (Romans 6:6) The Kingdom of God is not about the unconditional acceptance of who we are by Christ, but the unconditional acceptance of who Christ is by us. The Cross sets us free to finally worship, serve and live for Christ alone. Jesus Christ came that He might become the only One of worth in our eyes. He becomes Lord and King, Savior and Treasure. This means that we conform to His ways. We are transformed into His image by His grace, mercy and love. And because He is Love, He is relentless in seeking His glory by bringing us joy in Himself, not in sin, which is infinitely contrary to Himself.
We should not re-think sin. We should think Biblically about sin. Therefore, every Christian needs to understand the difference between practicing sin and fighting sin.
1. Practicing sin (1 John 3:8) - John writes rather explicitly that whoever makes a practice of sinning is not of God, but of the devil. The devil has been missing the mark, falling short, since the beginning and so do all who follow him. There is nothing in Satan that desires to stop sinning. Everything within him hates God. Every act of sin is an act of hatred toward God. Satan is the deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12:9) and has blinded the minds of unbelievers to the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4). The result is that sinners sin without regard for God, His Word or their eternal fate. They are not able to stop sinning. Those who practice sin have not known God. That’s pretty straightforward. No spin. If you or I are habitually engaging in sin we are in need of a Savior. Re-thinking sin does not change this fact.
2. Fighting sin (1 John 3:9) - John goes on to say that no one, not one person, born of God makes a practice of sinning. That is, he will not purposefully create new sinful patterns. Additionally, whatever practices or habits of sin he does have he will not be able to continue. This is not because he’s forced to abandon his sin, but because the life of God resides within him now, creating a new heart with new desires, and he longs for what is true and pleasing in the sight of His God and of His Savior Jesus Christ.
This is a huge distinction John is making. What he is calling "a practice of sinning" we should not call fighting with sin. This distinction is one that many want to erase today. To say that Jesus loves us, but is okay with our sinful practice, which is satanic, is to grossly misunderstand His work of love on the Cross. John says that the reason Jesus appeared on earth was to destroy the works of the Devil, which are the sinful practices the Devil has enslaved all mankind to. (1 John 3:8) This doesn't mean that we will stop missing the mark and falling short in our sin, but it does mean that we will follow Jesus out of our sin. We now ardently fight against it, because loving Jesus is hating sin and being loved by Jesus is being strengthened by His grace to do his will.
We need a Savior to free us from our sin. Repentance, not re-thinking, is the proper response to sin. One leads to Christ, who is our Life, the other leads to death.
There are some today attempting to re-think sin. That is, they are wanting to re-write God’s moral standards as given in His Word. It’s an attempt to be okay with their sin and, therefore, to be okay with another’s sin. This is a problem when Paul says that because of our sin we all fall short of the glory of God. (Romans 3:23) We cannot attain to His righteousness and holiness. Ever. Furthermore, Isaiah says that our sin has separated us from God (Isaiah 59:2). So, because of our sin, we cannot stand before a holy God and are separated from Him by Him. This is not good news. This bad news is the news that people want to erase or edit to make it say, “God is okay with sin. He loves you.” But God is not okay with sin. Even the desire to sin is sin. Some believe that if they don’t actually commit sin they have not sinned. This is dangerous because it implies that I can struggle with lust, but if I never act on it it’s not sinful. It’s sinful. Jesus said that a lustful thought was the equivalent of the act of adultery. (Matthew 5:28) It is not okay to be okay with our struggle with sin. We are called to fight sin by putting it to death by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Romans 8:13) We cannot live with sinful desires in our hearts and take the approach that it’s the way it’s always going to be. In the heart of every believer, every disciple of Jesus, every born again Christian there is a desire not to sin, not to think sinful thoughts, not to make at home sinful affections, not to do anything that falls short of the glory of God or separates us from His presence.
Sin is serious. It’s not excusable at all. If sin is not sin, then we have no need for forgiveness. If there’s no need for forgiveness, there’s no need for a Savior. If there’s no need for a Savior, there’s no Gospel. But if we call Jesus Savior, then we must believe that He came to save us from something. That something is not poor choices or a bad lifestyle; bad character or our bad upbringing; bad looks or bad investments. Jesus ultimately came to save us from sin and the wrath of God. Whatever other problems we may have they do not compare to the problem of sin and the certainty of His wrath. The Gospel is not therapy to make us feel better. The Gospel is power to set us free. (Romans 6:6) The Kingdom of God is not about the unconditional acceptance of who we are by Christ, but the unconditional acceptance of who Christ is by us. The Cross sets us free to finally worship, serve and live for Christ alone. Jesus Christ came that He might become the only One of worth in our eyes. He becomes Lord and King, Savior and Treasure. This means that we conform to His ways. We are transformed into His image by His grace, mercy and love. And because He is Love, He is relentless in seeking His glory by bringing us joy in Himself, not in sin, which is infinitely contrary to Himself.
We should not re-think sin. We should think Biblically about sin. Therefore, every Christian needs to understand the difference between practicing sin and fighting sin.
1. Practicing sin (1 John 3:8) - John writes rather explicitly that whoever makes a practice of sinning is not of God, but of the devil. The devil has been missing the mark, falling short, since the beginning and so do all who follow him. There is nothing in Satan that desires to stop sinning. Everything within him hates God. Every act of sin is an act of hatred toward God. Satan is the deceiver of the whole world (Revelation 12:9) and has blinded the minds of unbelievers to the light of the Gospel of the glory of Christ (2 Corinthians 4:4). The result is that sinners sin without regard for God, His Word or their eternal fate. They are not able to stop sinning. Those who practice sin have not known God. That’s pretty straightforward. No spin. If you or I are habitually engaging in sin we are in need of a Savior. Re-thinking sin does not change this fact.
2. Fighting sin (1 John 3:9) - John goes on to say that no one, not one person, born of God makes a practice of sinning. That is, he will not purposefully create new sinful patterns. Additionally, whatever practices or habits of sin he does have he will not be able to continue. This is not because he’s forced to abandon his sin, but because the life of God resides within him now, creating a new heart with new desires, and he longs for what is true and pleasing in the sight of His God and of His Savior Jesus Christ.
This is a huge distinction John is making. What he is calling "a practice of sinning" we should not call fighting with sin. This distinction is one that many want to erase today. To say that Jesus loves us, but is okay with our sinful practice, which is satanic, is to grossly misunderstand His work of love on the Cross. John says that the reason Jesus appeared on earth was to destroy the works of the Devil, which are the sinful practices the Devil has enslaved all mankind to. (1 John 3:8) This doesn't mean that we will stop missing the mark and falling short in our sin, but it does mean that we will follow Jesus out of our sin. We now ardently fight against it, because loving Jesus is hating sin and being loved by Jesus is being strengthened by His grace to do his will.
We need a Savior to free us from our sin. Repentance, not re-thinking, is the proper response to sin. One leads to Christ, who is our Life, the other leads to death.
Friday, October 1, 2010
Begging To Give
Growing up in the country of Mexico there were rarely any American toys. GI Joe and Star Wars toys were hard to come by. So anytime we travelled to the United States, I would dream of the toys I would see. The closer we got to the Texas border, the more excited I became. The moment we crossed the border, we begged my parents to make our first stop the mall. Why? Because inside the mall was the toy Store - my dream come true! Now, we all know what it’s like to want something and not stopping until we get it. But what if instead of begging to get something, we were begging to give something? Does that sound strange to you?
In 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 Paul is writing the Corinthian church about the church in Macedonia. Paul has been collecting an offering to send to the poor and suffering Christians in Jerusalem. The Corinthians have joined Paul and have been collecting their portion for close to a year. Paul is asking them to complete what they started by encouraging them with the Macedonian's effort to join them. Paul says that the Macedonians were being severely afflicted themselves, yet in their joy and in spite of their rock bottom poverty they were begging to join Paul in giving to the Jerusalem church. (2 Corinthians 8:4) They desired to give, they were ready to give, they were begging to give. And they did, according to their means, and some how, even beyond their means. Their generosity was a sign of the grace of God given to them in Jesus Christ - Paul goes on to say that Jesus, though He was rich became poor, so that out of His poverty we might become rich.
From this passage I identify three types of people:
First, those that are not ready to be generous: there is no desire to give, therefore any giving is forced. Unfortunately, these people have a HARDENED HEART and they ask “Why should I give? Why should I want to give?” But those who keep their money, home, possessions and lives to themselves will not know the grace, the riches of God’s love. On the other hand, the Macedonian's heart was anything but hard and gave all they could.
Second, those that are ready to be generous: there is a desire to begin to give, therefore there might be reorganizing and restructuring in their lifestyle (i.e. budget, etc.). Fortunately, these people have a CONVICTED AND REPENTANT HEART and they ask “Why do I not give? Why do I not want to give?” They begin to look away from themselves. For the Macedonians, generosity became a lifestyle, not just a one time gift.
Third, those that are begging to be generous: they give joyfully, sacrificially, abundantly, faithfully, meaningfully, helpfully, and worshipfully. These people have a THANKFUL HEART and they ask “Who should I give to? What should I give them?” Generosity must go beyond what we know and where we are. The Macedonians were giving to a people they had never met in a church they had never visited.
Which one of the three groups do I fall into? Which do you?
If generosity is the engine of serving and the proof of genuine love, then let me leave you with some questions I’ve been asking myself to help me uncover the proof of my generosity:
1. Do people like me?
2. How often do people seek me out?
3. How do I repay people I seek out?
4. How quick am I to help someone?
5. How hospitable am I?
6. Do I get away with giving as little as possible?
7. Do I get away with buying the cheapest gift I can?
8. Besides Christmas and birthdays, do I give to others?
9. Do I tithe to my church?
10. Do I give to people I don’t know, who will never know I gave to them?
Christians should be the most generous people on the planet because of the generous grace of God given to them in Jesus Christ.
In 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 Paul is writing the Corinthian church about the church in Macedonia. Paul has been collecting an offering to send to the poor and suffering Christians in Jerusalem. The Corinthians have joined Paul and have been collecting their portion for close to a year. Paul is asking them to complete what they started by encouraging them with the Macedonian's effort to join them. Paul says that the Macedonians were being severely afflicted themselves, yet in their joy and in spite of their rock bottom poverty they were begging to join Paul in giving to the Jerusalem church. (2 Corinthians 8:4) They desired to give, they were ready to give, they were begging to give. And they did, according to their means, and some how, even beyond their means. Their generosity was a sign of the grace of God given to them in Jesus Christ - Paul goes on to say that Jesus, though He was rich became poor, so that out of His poverty we might become rich.
From this passage I identify three types of people:
First, those that are not ready to be generous: there is no desire to give, therefore any giving is forced. Unfortunately, these people have a HARDENED HEART and they ask “Why should I give? Why should I want to give?” But those who keep their money, home, possessions and lives to themselves will not know the grace, the riches of God’s love. On the other hand, the Macedonian's heart was anything but hard and gave all they could.
Second, those that are ready to be generous: there is a desire to begin to give, therefore there might be reorganizing and restructuring in their lifestyle (i.e. budget, etc.). Fortunately, these people have a CONVICTED AND REPENTANT HEART and they ask “Why do I not give? Why do I not want to give?” They begin to look away from themselves. For the Macedonians, generosity became a lifestyle, not just a one time gift.
Third, those that are begging to be generous: they give joyfully, sacrificially, abundantly, faithfully, meaningfully, helpfully, and worshipfully. These people have a THANKFUL HEART and they ask “Who should I give to? What should I give them?” Generosity must go beyond what we know and where we are. The Macedonians were giving to a people they had never met in a church they had never visited.
Which one of the three groups do I fall into? Which do you?
If generosity is the engine of serving and the proof of genuine love, then let me leave you with some questions I’ve been asking myself to help me uncover the proof of my generosity:
1. Do people like me?
2. How often do people seek me out?
3. How do I repay people I seek out?
4. How quick am I to help someone?
5. How hospitable am I?
6. Do I get away with giving as little as possible?
7. Do I get away with buying the cheapest gift I can?
8. Besides Christmas and birthdays, do I give to others?
9. Do I tithe to my church?
10. Do I give to people I don’t know, who will never know I gave to them?
Christians should be the most generous people on the planet because of the generous grace of God given to them in Jesus Christ.
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