Redefining Generosity: Serving the God of Giving

To be generous means to be ready to give more than what is necessary. Churches would most likely be familiar with the notion of generosity. The majority of us know what it means by definition but the way it expresses itself can get lost in our culture. Typically, when we give generously in the world it is met with an expectation that we will receive in return. We see it as transactional.

When we do not receive something in return, after sacrificing time, money, or effort, we can resort to withholding our God-given gifts. We scope out who is deserving and who is undeserving of the money we accumulated, and we become slow to give, let alone give freely. Our grasp on our possessions tightens.

“One of the effects of the gospel going deeper into our souls is that it frees our fingers to loosen their grasp on our goods.” - Kent Hughes

And while there is good reason for just wages and mutually giving relationships, our world seems to operate too often on these transactions. I do this for you on the condition that you will do this for me. This mindset follows us at work, it leaks into our friendships and into our churches, blinding us to the truth of generosity we find in God’s Word. So, how is Christian generosity different than the way our culture defines it?

1. Christian generosity involves recognising what God has supplied with deep and heartfelt gratitude (Rigney 2021).

Christian generosity relies on believers recognising that the things they have ‘earned’ in this world are gifts from our giving and compassionate God. 1 Corinthians 4:7 says, ‘What do you have that you did not receive? If then you received it, why do you boast as if you did not receive it?’. By recognising all that we have been given, as much as eternal life in Christ Jesus, we are motivated to not withhold our blessings but to give in ways which further God’s kingdom. Failure to do so would be a discredit to God’s grace that we have been shown.

2. Christian generosity is unconditional.

Ephesians 2:8 famously says, ‘For by grace you have been saved, through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is a gift from God’. God is the ultimate example of generosity and His greatest example was sending His Son to die for us, that we may have eternal life in Him. We did not earn this gift, it was free. If our unity is with Christ, we strive to be like Him to express thankfulness for this free gift (Galatians 2:20). And to be like Christ means to give, expecting nothing in return, knowing that in Him we are promised all we need (2 Corinthians 9:8).

3. Christian generosity is cheerful.

2 Corinthians 9: 3-7 famously states that God loves a cheerful giver. Cheerful giving cannot be cheerful without a want to give. We need to want to be giving for it to be genuine. But why would we want to give away what we have ‘earned’ or been given? If we love God, if we see how abundantly he gives and how he delights in generosity, then it is not surprising that God wants us to give cheerfully as children born in His image (Hughes 2014; Guzik 2018).

4. Christian generosity is modest (Rigney 2021).

It is tempting to want to advertise how giving we are, particularly when we give large sums of money or donate expensive items to charity. Some might say we deserve a grand thank-you for such acts of giving. But Jesus cautions us away from this desire for credit and attention (Matthew 6:4). Christian generosity involves acknowledging what we have been saved from (our sinfulness) and displays our gratitude and humility by turning around and showing grace to others (Piper 2008).

The Big Give aims to demonstrate this kind of generosity. November 25th is an opportunity to demonstrate the grace and love of our God and Saviour Jesus Christ through our giving and sharing of our gifts, talents, and riches. It is not too late to become involved!

“When God gives grace, He does not reluctantly open a little finger and maintain a clenched fist full of gifts. I would tell you today that God’s hands are nail-pierced hands, and they are wide open. This fountain of grace is always pouring itself out with no limitation on heaven’s side at all.” - Alan Redpath