You've Got To Be Kidding! Everyone Giving

Today we're going to talk about generosity. To begin, I want to make clear that no one sets out to be a greedy person, but it happens all the time - even in the church. Jesus saw it becoming an issue and makes this sobering statement: "No one can serve two masters; for a slave will either hate the one and love the other, or be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and wealth" (Matthew 6:24 NRSV). Jesus didn't say this to be harsh. He was just stating things the way they are. There is not room for two masters in a single human heart.

What does it take to tame the monster of more? What does it take to transform a heart from greed to generosity? For most of us, it will not come simply by acquiring more knowledge, applying more willpower, or even by studying more Scripture, as important as those things are. The more monster is too strong. We need a way of training. We need a tangible and routine way to say, "Sorry, money, you are not on the throne. You will not be the god of my life today."

What we need, God has provided. It's called tithing:

The literal meaning of the word tithe is a "tenth part." Very early in scripture we see God demanding the tithe. For example, Leviticus 27:30 declares "A tithe of everything from the land, whether grain from the soil or fruit from the trees, belongs to the Lord; it is holy to the Lord." Consider some of the benefits of tithing;

Every time I tithe, I reinforce that all I have is from Him, The tithe is not a tip for good service, as though God were some helper I could patronize. He is the Owner, I am the steward.

Every time I tithe, I make a declaration: "I will trust you, God" -even when trusting doesn't feel easy or natural.

Every time I tithe, I am reminded, even as I calculate the amount of my check, of how much I've been given. I count my blessings, and in doing so, I put to death the more monster in me.

As we wrap up this three week series titled You've Got to be Kidding imagine what it would look like if all Christ-followers were generous with the possessions God has given us to manage? Even more, imagine the blessings and Kingdom impact we would have on our community and the greater community!

On the Victory Side,

Dave