Happy are those who
do not follow the advice of the wicked, or take the path that sinners tread, or
sit in the seat of scoffers; but their delight is in the law of the Lord,
and on his law they meditate day and night.
They are like trees
planted by streams of water, which yield their fruit in its season, and their
leaves do not wither. In all that they do, they prosper. – Psalm 1:1-3 (NRSV)
A
common complaint I have heard over the years is that the church is only
interested in people’s money. For
Lutherans this may be carry-over from families who immigrated from countries
with a state-church tradition. Taxes
paid for the major expenses like building upkeep and salary, so there wasn’t as
much need to cover costs through weekly offerings. Much personal giving could be directed toward
social ministry or mission work. But
when those Lutherans started congregations in the United States, the model
changed from state-supporting to self-supporting. Pastors and councils had to appeal for basic
expenses. Clergy depended on their
congregations to make a living, leading to strange, new tensions, the potential
power of the generous giver. We cannot
offend this person. If you make that
decision, I will withhold my offering.
Why is the church always asking for my money?
An
unfortunate consequence of this shift is that appeals to generosity always seem
to have a hidden agenda. Be generous….so
that we can make our budget. Be
generous…so we can fix the roof. Be
generous…so we can pay our pastor. It
also feeds into a consumer-driven culture, where people are motivated by what
they might get if they are generous or what they might lose if they are
not. Be generous…so we can keep our
music program. Be generous…so we can
have a children’s program. Be generous…so
we can finally make the bathroom accessible.
Those who peddle the prosperity gospel have turned this into a divine quid pro quo. Be generous…so that God will bless you with
more.
What we
miss as the body of Christ is that generosity is meant to be as much a gift as
it may be a challenge. Generosity is
about freedom. Generosity is about
joy. Generosity is about bearing fruit,
making something beautiful. Generosity
is fundamental to the nature of God. The
creation story; the Israel story; the Jesus story; the Pentecost story are all
stories about the generous nature of God; generous in creation; generous in
forgiveness; generous in love; generous in empowerment. The generosity of a community may well keep a
church building open, but that is a side effect of stepping into the stream of
God’s generosity.
Generosity
is a joy, but it is also a challenge.
Paul describes generosity as one of the spiritual gifts of the church in
the book of Romans:
We have gifts
that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to
faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the
exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in
generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness. (Romans 12:6-8)
One implication of Paul’s understanding is that there will
be some people in any congregation who will naturally be generous. Just as there are people we meet and think
are natural leaders or natural teachers, there are also people who are natural
givers, who can share what they have without the qualms or concerns that affect
many; who don’t second guess their giving; who give because is feels good to
give.
For the
rest of us, generosity can be a learned skill and the primary way to learn a
skill is through practice. The best
musicians and best athletes you know are a combination of natural ability and
intentional practice. Generosity is not so
different. We learn by practicing. We learn generosity by intentionally giving
things (money, possessions, time, attention) away.
Here
are some practices that you might try to grow more generous. Be generous in attention. When someone is talking to you, practice
paying full attention to what they are saying.
Often we mull over our response as someone is talking, which means we
are only giving partial attention to the person talking to us. Try simply to listen until a natural pause
arrives.
Be
generous in praise. Here I don’t mean
being disingenuous or heaping empty compliments, but if someone does a good
job, tell them so. If someone shows you a
simple kindness, acknowledge it. Show
gratitude even when unnecessary; even if it just someone doing his or her job.
Be
generous with time. I have met a number
of people who tightly plan their schedules for the sake of productivity. They are the first out of the meeting, always
heading to the next event. No time to
talk. No time to by fully invested in
any one thing. I suggest that we hold
onto time loosely. Pad the schedule so you
can give yourself fully to whatever you are doing.
Give
more money than you have to. I could go
into a whole spiel about why tipping is not the best practice and can be seen
as an unjust practice. As a society, I
think we would be better off paying people in service positions a living wage
rather than making every meal a performance review. Yet, since tipping is a part of our culture,
it becomes an opportunity to practice generosity. Try giving more than you feel that you have
to just because you can. I also suggest
this in terms of church giving. In my
congregation, as in many others, most people pledge a certain amount at the
beginning of the year. If this is your
practice, I urge you to meet the commitment, but I also challenge to throw
something on top of that pledge, not because you have to, but because you
can.
Again,
these are suggestions and not rules. Try
and see what works. Think of other way
that you can share what you have and who you are. Remember that although generosity can be a
challenge it is also the gift of participating in the fundamental nature of
God. God has been infinitely generous
with us. May that stream of generosity
continue to the flood into the world through us.
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