Giving Til it Hurts.

Jesus said, "How hard it is for the rich to enter the Kingdom of God! Luke 18:24

Jesus said this after a rich young man turned away when Jesus asked him to sell all he had and come be one of his disciples.

All his disciples had left their jobs to follow Jesus. They all depended on the offerings and gifts of those who believed in Jesus' work. It was risky. Jesus had nothing with which to pay them wages. Peter was married and presumably had children. James and John had worked with their father in the fishing trade. Their father must have had to hire other workers. Matthew was a tax collector and wealthy; Jesus had probably asked him to sell everything too.

Jesus once sent his disciples out to preach and heal the sick. After they returned from their trip he asked them, "When I sent you without purse, bag or sandals, did you lack anything?" "Nothing," they answered. God will supply our needs when we work for him.

There is a story of another rich man, Zacchaeus. He was also a tax collector. In those days that occupation was looked on with disgust. Most tax collectors lied to the people and charged them more than the Romans had asked for. Also, people hated paying taxes to the Romans.

But Zacchaeus had heard of Jesus' teaching and had repented. He heard Jesus was going through town and wanted to see him. He was surprised when Jesus told him he would come to his house.

And Zacchaeus stood and said to the Lord, “Behold, Lord, the half of my goods I give to the poor. And if I have defrauded anyone of anything, I restore it fourfold.”

And Jesus said to him, “Today salvation has come to this house, since he also is a son of Abraham."

It certainly isn't a sin to be rich; but it is important what we do with our money. All of us, rich and poor. All through the Bible God tells us to help the poor. I like what C.S. Lewis said about giving, "Giving to the poor is an essential part of Christian morality. I do not believe one can settle how much we ought to give. I’m afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, and amusement, is up to the standard common of those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little."

What Do You Treasure?

"The good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth what is good; and the evil man out of the evil treasure brings forth what is evil; for his mouth speaks from that which fills his heart."  Luke6:45

"For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also."  Luke 12:34

Jesus said that whatever we treasure fills our minds and hearts. If we want to make a lot of money then money is on our thoughts a good deal of the time and we will talk about that. I have met people like that. They talk about money and what they would do with it every time you visit them.

If we worry about our children, then we talk about them all the time. We worry and fret and try to fix their problems. If we we care about our career too much then our thoughts are always at work and we can't relax. Take any subject on earth, sex, drugs, or video games, it can become our treasure.


What's the answer?  "And He (Jesus) was saying to them, "Take care what you listen to. By your standard of measure it will be measured to you; and more will be given you besides." Mark 4:25

Being careful of what you listen to is the first step. The Bible says that faith comes by hearing the word of God. (Romans 10:17)  

"For if you cry for discernment, Lift your voice for understanding; If you seek her as silver And search for her as for hidden treasures; then you will understand the fear of the LORD and find the knowledge of God." Proverbs 2:3-5

God promises us that if we seek for knowledge of Him we will find it. He says to search for him as for hidden treasures. If you knew the general area of a place that had a hidden treasure of gold pieces, wouldn't you spend lots of time trying to find it? 

"The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in the field, which a man found and hid again; and from joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field."  Matthew 13:44

God says it is worth all we have to find Him. He is the treasure above all other treasures. He is worth more than gold, silver or lands and houses. 

Jesus said to him, "If you wish to be complete, go and sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."  Matthew 19:21

For the man Jesus was talking with, his treasure was his wealth. Jesus asked him to be one of his disciples. He could join the 12 in following Jesus day by day and learning of salvation. But his heart was in his riches and he turned away from Jesus.

"Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, By doing this they will be storing up their treasure as a good foundation for the future so that they may experience true life."  1 Timothy 6:18,19

"For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul?"  Matthew 16:26

The Rich Fool.

Photo by Hugh Lee

http://www.flickr.com/people/40609437@N04

Then Jesus said to them, "Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions. 

And he told them this parable: "The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, 'What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. "Then he said, 'This is what I'll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain. And I'll say to myself, "You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry."'

"But God said to him, 'You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?'"
This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God."
Luke 12:15-21

Someone once asked C.S. Lewis how much one should give. 

“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 can spare. In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.”

http://www.goodreads.com

"Sell your possessions and give to the poor. Provide purses for yourselves that will not wear out, a treasure in heaven that will never fail, where no thief comes near and no moth destroys."  Luke 12:33

Jesus taught about our earthly possessions more than he taught about heaven and hell combined. One out of every three parables is about the relationship between a person and his belongings. In the book of Luke, one out of every seven verses mentions a person's relationship with money.  (I'm paraphrasing from a sermon by Jeff Miller.)

I think when Jesus said to sell our possessions he meant all the things we have that we don't really need. But, I could be wrong. He did tell some to sell all their goods, give it to the poor and be his disciple. To each person God will reveal what he wants them to give.

Giving Privately.

"Be careful not to give to charity in public in order to attract attention. If you do, your Father in heaven will not reward you. So when you give to the poor, don't announce it with trumpets. This is what people do in order to be praised by men. Truly, that will be their only reward."

" But when you give to the needy, don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing. Give your money privately. Your Father sees what you do in private. He will reward you." Matthew 6:1-4

Jesus is speaking of our motives for giving in this passage. Do we give so people will praise us and think we are wonderful people? Or do we give because our hearts are filled with compassion?

I remember once being in church and a lady who was in charge of money given to missions wanted people to stand up and tell everyone what they gave. No one did, because I think they felt it might be wrong to tell people. Not letting your right hand know what your left hand is doing means to give the money and then forget about it.

Giving and Lending.

Jesus said, "Give to  him who asks you for something. Don't turn away anyone who wants to borrow something from you." Matthew 5:42

When I lived in Vancouver, BC, there were many homeless and young people who asked for money. My mom and I always gave them at least a dollar. But the city asked people not to give because there was free food and lodging all over town and they wanted the begging to stop. So we began to say no. It never felt right - in fact, it felt awful. We both decided to go back to the way we did things before.

If someone is homeless, it usually means they have a mental condition, a drug or drink habit, abuse by parents etc. There is always a reason behind everyone's lives. No one wants to be homeless and poor. I think it is better to err on the side of love, even if we end up giving money to those who don't deserve it. This is what one of the commentaries says:

larke's Commentary on the Bible

Give to him that asketh thee, and from him that would borrow - To give and lend freely to all who are in need, is a general precept from which we are only excused by our inability to perform it. Men are more or less obliged to it as they are more or less able, as the want is more or less pressing, as they are more or less burthened with common poor, or with necessitous relatives. In all these matters, both prudence and charity must be consulted. That God, who makes use of the beggar's hand to ask our charity, is the same from whom we ourselves beg our daily bread: and dare we refuse Him! Let us show at least mildness and compassion, when we can do no more; and if we cannot or will not relieve a poor man, let us never give him an ill word nor an ill look. If we do not relieve him, we have no right to insult him.

To give and to lend, are two duties of charity which Christ joins together, and which he sets on equal footing. A rich man is one of God's stewards: God has given him money for the poor, and he cannot deny it without an act of injustice. But no man, from what is called a principle of charity or generosity, should give that in alms which belongs to his creditors. Generosity is godlike; but justice has ever, both in law and Gospel, the first claim. http://bible.cc/matthew/5-42.htm

Helping the Poor.

Yesterday, I wrote how God said one of the sins of Sodom was that they were rich, yet they did not help the poor. This is a grave sin in the sight of God. All through the Bible God tells us to help the poor and needy. In Leviticus chapter 19 he told Israel not to reap all the food, neither grain nor fruit, but to leave it for the poor. Here are some more verses on helping those in need.:

"How blessed is he who considers the helpless; the Lord will deliver him in a day of trouble." Psalm 41:1

"He who oppresses the poor taunts his Maker, but he who is gracious to the needy honors Him." Proverbs 14:31

"He who shuts his ear to the cry of the poor will also cry himself and not be answered." Proverbs 21:13

"The righteous is concerned for the rights of the poor, the wicked does not understand such concern." Proverbs 29:7

"Open your mouth, judge righteously, and defend the rights of the afflicted and needy." Proverbs 31:9

"What do you mean by crushing my people and grinding the face of the poor? declares the Lord of hosts." Isaiah 3:15

"The people of the land have practiced oppression and committed robbery, and they have wronged the poor and needy and have oppressed the sojourner without justice." Ezekiel 22:29

"For I know you sins are many and are great. You distress the righteous and accept bribes and turn aside the poor in the gate." Amos 5:12

Jesus said, "Give to everyone who asks of you, and whoever takes away what is yours, do not demand it back...Give and it will be given to you." Luke 6: 30 &38

"Sell your possessions and give to the poor; make yourselves money belts which do not wear out, an unfailing treasure in heaven, where no thief comes near nor moth destroys. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also." Luke 12:33,34

Sharing.

Acts 4:32-35

"And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own, but all things were common property to them.

And with great power the apostles were giving testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and abundant grace was upon them all.

For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostle's feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need."

I wish our churches were like this. I know churches do a lot of good, but think of the good each member could do if he sold the extra things he had and gave to the poor. I know of a person in the news who owns 7 houses. What if he sold 6 and gave to the poor? He would still have one house, which is all he needs.

I have read that Bill Gates has challenged all the billionaires of America to give half what they have to the poor. I was thrilled to hear him say this, and excited to see that a lot of rich people have agreed with him. This is a wonderful thing and I hope they especially help the people who are out of work right now and people who are losing their homes. May God bless them for what they are doing.