05.04 | A Wealth of Generosity
2 Corinthians 8
‘And in this matter I give my judgment: this benefits you, who a year ago started not only to do this work but also to desire to do it. So now finish doing it as well, so that your readiness in desiring it may be matched by your completing it out of what you have.’
2 Corinthians 8:11
In the past ten years, I’ve spent a lot of time in playgrounds.
Three kids will do this to you. Across our nation there must be thousands of playgrounds, with variations on the theme of swings, slides, climbing frames, and roundabouts.
In my experience, the roundabout has maybe the greatest variance in quality.
There are some roundabouts that just don’t want to be pushed. You’ve got to put everything into it. Every push is resisted, the roundabout moving a few squeaky inches before grinding to a anticlimatic halt. The kids sitting there cry ‘faster!’, but your efforts are ultimately futile. Many an exhausted parent walks away defeated from these cruel implements of disappointment.
But occasionally you find a really good roundabout. There must be some kind of underground flywheel mechanism, because all they really need are a series of small pushes to gain extraordinary momentum. These are the ones that get some of us carried away, keeping going up to vortex speed. On one or two occasions, we may have watched our children fly off the sides when we’ve got just a little carried away.
Paul’s talking about money today. No dinner party awkwardness here. He’s all in.
And he gives us two words.
Desire. And completion.
They are the two essential elements of generosity.
And they are like small pushes on the roundabout in the same direction.
Let’s start with desire. Most of us want to be more generous. We want to be less anxious and clingy about our money and possessions, and we like the idea of giving more away. Words like frugal or stingy are not complements. When somebody is giving our eulogy one day, we’d love it if they would drop in a little section on how generously we’d lived.
But desire by itself will never grow generosity. Desire is static. Desire just looks at the roundabout, liking the idea of it getting moving but never moving past daydreams.
Desire needs to be partnered with completion. Doing something. Giving something away. Wanting to be generous alone will never generate generosity. Desire is empty without activity.
And yet, the principle grows a little wider. Look again at what Paul says.
A year ago, you started to do. You began to give. You acted.
Then, you desired.
Now, complete.
Doing leads to desiring that leads to doing.
Generous actions leads to generous desire which leads to generous action.
Paul is giving us a principle of the heart. That a changed heart comes from not from one mighty push on the roundabout, but when our desires and actions continually push in the same direction. Transformation is rarely the outcome of one massive event in us. Usually it is when we keep simply pushing in the same direction, keeping desire and activity going. This is where the momentum of a generous heart grows.
This isn’t about quantities. It’s not about one massive and spectacular push of the roundabout. In Paul’s words, it’s acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. Generosity in the heart cannot be measured in pounds or dollars. The widow who gives two copper coins is more greatly celebrated in heaven than the philanthropic efforts of the billionaire’s spare millions.1 Rather, it is about momentum. It is about a lifestyle that learns to get the roundabout moving, through the regular interaction of doing and desiring and then doing some more.
Which takes us to our final secret.
Generosity does not merely benefit others, although it clearly does. It does not merely benefit ourselves, although the liberty and joy and gratitude of the generous is beautiful.
Generosity leads us towards the very heart of Jesus. When you become generous you experience Him by becoming like Him. Your generosity, in other words, leads you ever deeper into the endless momentum of His eternally generous heart.
Reflect:
How would I describe the speed of my generosity roundabout? Static? Slow? Medium? Flying?
What might be the next step for me in building generosity momentum?
Pray:
Father in heaven,
It’s so easy to cling onto what I have:
In fear;
In assuming my contribution to be too small;
In waiting to do it tomorrow.
But Father,
Today I accept your invitation to generosity again.
As I take another little step this way,
Would you release me from my fears and shame and slowness to act.
Stoke a new fire in me,
Of a generous heart—
Abounding in love,
And an easy grace of soul,
That can travel lightly,
Hold with open hands,
And be a vehicle for blessing,
Into the very heart of Jesus Himself,
That take me to you.
In Jesus’ Name,
Amen
Old Testament:
For those also reading the Old Testament this year, your additional readings are here:
Joshua 7-8 | Proverbs 12:1-7
Read Luke 21:1-4 for Jesus’ analysis of this