Generosity by Institute in Basic Life Principles

Generosity vs. Stinginess

enerosity exemplifies the laws of the harvest. The more we sow, the more we reap. “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.” —II Corinthians 9:6

he hand that gives, gathers. To give out of desire for praise is vain.

To give out of necessity is pain. To give out of love joyfully is great gain. “Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to —Luke 6:38 you again.”

enerosity begins with the seeds of faith, increases with the trials of hope, and blossoms with the fruit of genuine love.

“A man there was, and they called him mad; The more he gave, the more he had.” —John Bunyan 94

Generosity is demonstrating the nature of God by wisely reinvesting the resources that He has entrusted to us.

Definition Loving Several Biblical words describe the concepts that make up generosity. First and most important is that of love. The Biblical word for love is charity, which embodies giving to the poor and needy. John points out that love without giving is hypocrisy. “But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?” (I John 3:17). It is not possible to have love without generosity, but it is possible to have generosity without love. “Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing” (I Corinthians 13:3).

Sowing The second Biblical word is sowing, because generosity follows the laws of the harvest. The more generous we are in sowing, the greater will be our harvest in true riches. “He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully” (II Corinthians 9:6).

Honoring A further word describing generosity is honor. One Greek

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word translated honor is timao— it depicts placing a value upon someone or something. We are instructed: “Honour thy father and mother; which is the first commandment with promise” (Ephesians 6:2). We honor aging parents by giving to their needs. We honor civil authorities by paying taxes. When we give to the poor, we honor the Lord and He promises to repay. “He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again” (Proverbs 19:17). Generosity is not just giving, it is giving abundantly and joyfully.

Distributing Another word describing generosity is distributing. One Greek word for distribute is koinoneo, which has the rich meaning of fellowship among believers. We are to give (koinoneo) to the needs of the saints. (See Romans 12:13.) All believers are members of one Body. Therefore, when we give to other members we are actually benefiting ourselves. Paul explains that as we meet their needs now, our needs will be met in the future. “By an equality, that now at this time your abundance may be a supply for their want, that their abundance also may be a supply for your want: that there may be equality” (II Corinthians 8:14).

Grace The word grace is also related to generosity. Paul used this word in praising the Gentile believers for their liberal distribution of gifts to the saints in Jerusalem and to all men. He went on to explain that it was through God’s grace that they had the means to give and that their giving was an expression of that grace. “God is able to make all grace abound toward you; that ye, always having all sufficiency in all things, may abound to every good work” (II Corinthians 9:8). Those who received the gifts praised God for the grace that prompted them. They prayed for the givers and desired “the exceeding grace of God” which the givers possessed. (See II Corinthians 9:14.)

Stewardship The concept of stewardship is also involved in generosity. A steward is one who is entrusted with the assets of the master and is responsible to make wise investments with them. A wise steward understands that the assets under his control do not belong to him and should be returned to the master with increase. Jesus gave a parable of wise stewards who doubled the resources entrusted to them. They were praised. A third steward returned only what he was given and was condemned.

who are generous receive far more than they give and in a wide range of areas.

1. A bright countenance Generosity is at the very heart of the nature of God, and because God is light, those who are generous share in His brightness. When Jesus spoke of giving, he related it to the eyes. A good eye is a generous eye, and a stingy eye is an evil eye. “The light of the body is the eye: if therefore thine eye be single, thy whole body shall be full of light. But if thine eye be evil, thy whole body shall be full of darkness” (Matthew 6:22–23). A further reference to light and giving is in Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven.”

2. The love of the Lord “God loveth a cheerful giver” (II Corinthians 9:7). The qualities and motivations of a cheerful giver are described in this passage: one who purposes in his heart to give, not “grudgingly, or of necessity.” The love that God has for a generous giver is an agapao love, which is a giving love. Thus, when we give to others cheerfully, God gives back to us. The Greek word for cheerful is hilaros and means “joyous, merry, willing, prompt to do anything.”

3. The fear of the Lord

The Rewards of Generosity Many people refuse to be generous because they falsely believe that what they give, they lose. Yet the opposite is true. Those

With its large bill, the pelican generously provides fish for its young as well as for other pelicans unable to feed themselves.

The fear of the Lord is the continual awareness that we are in His presence and that He watches over all that we think, say, and do. There are three aspects of the fear of the Lord. The first aspect is

he test of generosity is not how much we give, but how much we have left.

ho gave more than everyone yet less than anyone? (See Mark 12:42–44.)

“Take my silver and my gold, not a mite would I withhold.” —Frances Ridley Havergal

ack of money is God’s “school” to teach us the importance of being generous when we abound. (See II Corinthians 8:14.)

n this world, it is not what we take up, but what we give up that makes us rich. “There is that maketh himself rich, yet hath nothing: there is that maketh himself poor, yet hath great riches.” —Proverbs 13:7

“We make a living by what we get; we make a life by what we give.” —Sir Winston Churchill

a fear of punishment for wrongdoing in His presence. The second aspect is a fear of damaging His reputation. The third and highest aspect is a fear of endangering an intimate relationship with Him. The great reward of this third aspect is described in Proverbs 22:4: “By humility and the fear of the Lord are riches, and honour, and life.” The fear of the Lord is learned by generosity. “Thou shalt truly tithe all the increase of thy seed. . . . That thou mayest learn to fear the LORD thy God always” (Deuteronomy 14:22–23).

4. Treasures in Heaven We are not to lay up treasures on earth where moth and rust corrupt and where thieves break through and steal, but rather we are to lay up for ourselves “treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal” (Matthew 6:20). The promise of treasures in Heaven was given to the rich young ruler if he would exercise generosity. “Go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me” (Mark 10:21). 5. Victory over the “root of evil” Generosity breaks the bondage of greed and overcomes the love and worship of money. The love of money gives us the illusion that our life is made up of the things that we possess. It also makes us idolaters when we expect from money what only God can provide, such as security, peace, and joy. 6. Escape from lusts and sorrows Those who desire to be rich “fall into temptation and a snare,

Generosity

and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows” (I Timothy 6:9–10).

The Motivation of Generosity In addition to the rewards of generosity, we should be motivated by the realization that whatever wealth we have is not the result of our ingenuity but of God’s generosity. We are not to say in our hearts, “My power and the might of mine hand hath gotten me this wealth. But thou shalt remember the LORD thy God: for it is he that giveth thee power to get wealth” (Deuteronomy 8:17–18). Because God gives us our wealth, He also has the authority and power to take it back. Job acknowledged this when he stated, “The LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD” (Job 1:21). If we are generous in giving back to God, He protects and increases our wealth. However, if we do not honor God with our increase, we are actually taking what rightfully belongs to God, thus robbing Him. He then allows our wealth to be devoured by situations and circumstances beyond our control. “Will a man rob God? Yet ye have robbed me. But ye say, Wherein have we robbed thee? In tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in mine house, and prove

me now herewith, saith the LORD of hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it. And I will rebuke the devourer for your sakes, and he shall not destroy the fruits of your ground; neither shall your vine cast her fruit before the time in the field, saith the LORD of hosts” (Malachi 3:8–11). An even greater motivation for generosity should be to gain more of Jesus Christ and to experience more of His power. It was for these goals that Paul “suffered the loss of all things” (Philippians 3:8).

Steps for Generosity Dedicate all resources to God. The first step toward generosity is to dedicate all our resources to God, including our money, time, possessions, and strength.

Practice personal frugality. Based on the requirements of stewardship, we must spend as little as possible on ourselves so that we can have as much as possible to reinvest in ways that will bring multiplied returns.

Give as God directs. The goal of generosity is to demonstrate the love of God so that others will be drawn to Him. When a person in need receives an anonymous gift that meets the need, God is glorified and the giver is in line for eternal rewards. If we give with the motivation of public praise, we receive the praise of people, but lose out on the greater rewards that come from God. “But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what

thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly” (Matthew 6:3–4).

enerosity is the result of focusing on God’s riches rather than our resources.

Personal Evaluation

“For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills.” —Psalm 50:10

How generous are you?

Spare or share?

• Do you see God as the Provider of all wealth?

If we give grudgingly, wondering how much we can spare, we will never have the joy of discovering how much we can share. (See II Corinthians 9:7.)

• Do you view yourself as a steward of God’s resources? • Have you dedicated all your resources to God? • Do you honor God with a generous portion of all your (His) increase? • Are you living as frugally as you can so you have more to reinvest? • Do you distribute to the needs of fellow believers when you know about them? • When you give, do you base it on what you can afford or on what God can provide through you? • Have you rejected the goal of being rich in money, but made it your goal to be rich in good works? • How often have you sacrificed things you wanted in order to give to the needs of others?

enerosity is God’s highway to prosperity. Stinginess is our pathway to poverty.

Generosity is paying on the debt of love that every believer owes to the Lord. (See Romans 13:8.)

“I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we —C. S. Lewis can spare.” Generosity