As we continue our study of the spiritual disciplines, our focus for today is on the discipline of generosity. I would define generosity as “living with a large heart.” It’s a posture of openness and a willingness to give of one’s self.

• Over the last few months, I’ve been reading a lot of material on the spiritual disciplines in preparation for this series.
• But I’ve noticed something: in a lot of the literature about spiritual disciplines, there’s no mention of generosity.
• I find that really puzzling because generosity requires a tremendous amount of discipline. Jesus has quite a bit to say about generosity in the Sermon on the Mount. In fact, His comments are tucked right alongside His teachings on the first two disciplines we’ve looked at in this series: prayer and fasting.
• It seems that Jesus sees generous giving as a vital part of our spiritual growth.

Matthew 6:1-4

Beware of practicing your righteousness before other people in order to be seen by them, for then you will have no reward from your Father who is in heaven.

Thus, when you give to the needy sound no trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be praised by others. Truly, I say to you, they have received their reward. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.

This is part of a teaching triad in the Sermon on the Mount, three sections where Jesus contrasts hypocritical piety with legitimate God-honoring action.

• We looked at the spiritual discipline of prayer a few weeks ago; Jesus addresses that in the next section of Matthew 6. He says, “Don’t pray like the hypocrites who stand on the street corners to be seen by others. They’ve already received their reward. But pray in secret and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.”
• And Jesus goes on to say the same thing about fasting: Don’t fast to be seen by others. Instead, fast in secret and your Father, who sees in secret, will reward you.
• And as we just read, His teaching on giving and generosity follows the same line of thinking: Don’t give in a showy way that draws attention to yourself. Instead, give in secret, and your Father in heaven will reward you.

There is a reward associated with generous giving. What is it?

• The reward is a heart that is grown by God. God uses generosity to grow our hearts.
• When we practice generosity, we are laying down the appetite to spend our money on ourselves. It’s similar to fasting in this regard. Just as fasting teaches us that there is other food — food from God — which can sustain us, so too does generosity teach us that there are better treasures than the ones we typically hoard. That’s how God uses generosity to grow our hearts.
• Jesus goes on to say in Matthew 6 that money can become a master over us. It can become an object of worship for us, which is why Jesus warns, No one can serve two masters. You’ll love one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and money (Matt. 6:24).
• Godly generosity is a way of keeping money from taking on an outsized importance in our lives.

Through acts of generosity, we also stay in touch with the fact that our resources are gifts from God. 

• We’re tempted to think that we go out and we work hard and we’re compensated for that hard work — therefore, my money is mine to do with as I please. This is just part of the air we breathe.
• But intentional, godly generosity pushes back on that mindset just a bit. It helps us acknowledge that even though we might’ve worked hard for those resources, they come from God nonetheless. And we are utterly dependent upon God for all things. This helps us view those physical resources for what they are: gifts from God.
• In this way, generosity helps to align us with reality. It keeps us from the delusion of our own self-sufficiency and grounds everything in light of God’s grace.

That’s why generosity is a spiritual discipline. It requires practice. It goes against the grain of our natural desires — just like fasting goes against the grain of our natural desire for food.

No one is born generous. We’re born greedy; we’re born with a desire to take and take and take. Generosity is something that we have to learn.

But Christian generosity is born out of a life of spiritual abundance. In John 10:10, Jesus says, I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. Maybe your translation says, …and have it to the full (NIV). There is an abundant life that comes from knowing Jesus.

• It is a life free from the shame of sin. We have been forgiven!
• We are no longer slaves to fear. Instead, we can say, “I am a child of God!”
• It is a life full of fellowship with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
• Jesus says His mission is to give us a life of abundance, a life of overflowing joy and peace and hope.

Generosity simply flows out of this life of abundance. When your life is full of God, you can live with open hands and an open heart.

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Paul points to the Christians in Macedonia as examples of this in 2 Corinthians 8.

2 Corinthians 8:1-5

We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints — and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.

Paul’s drive in many of his letters is to take up a collection for the saints in Jerusalem. The church there was afflicted, desperately in need. And Paul is intent on taking a collection from the Gentile believers to provide assistance. He does this because he is moved by the suffering in Jerusalem. But he’s also wanting to unite these groups who have been divided over theological matters such as circumcision and whether or not to eat meat sacrificed to idols.

He points to the believers in Macedonia. They’re extremely poor, yet they also have an abundance of joy. They don’t have much, yet their generosity is overflowing. How is this possible? Because they have hearts filled with God. They gave themselves first to the Lord and then to His service. Their lives are filled to the brim with GOD, therefore they are able to exercise generosity, even out of their meager earthly treasures.

Their reward runs deeper than their pocketbook. Their reward is eternal — therefore, they have become generous with those things which are temporary: namely, their financial resources.

I’ve seen so many examples of this over the years — examples of men and women who were exceedingly generous in their giving. And they wouldn’t want me to call them by name because so many of them are right here in our midst this morning.

• But I want you to know that it’s more than just finances — in every case, the most generous financial givers I’ve ever known all possessed a deep awareness that their wealth was a gift from God. They felt a need to be good stewards of God’s blessings.
• And those people live with generous spirits — it’s not just their money, but they give of their time, their energy. Paul’s words about the Macedonians ring true in the lives of so many saints today: they gave themselves first to the Lord, heart and soul. Their generous giving was just a natural extension of this, a reminder of what Jesus says: wherever your treasure is, there your heart will be also (Matt. 6:21).

How are you practicing generosity? Does your generosity flow out of a full awareness of God’s love for you?

Maybe you’re at a point in life where you have the capacity to practice a higher level of financial generosity. If so, praise God. We live in a world full of needs, just like Paul and those Macedonian and Corinthian believers centuries ago. What does it mean for you to give according to your means? Does your financial giving flow out of an awareness of the generosity of God? If not, maybe the word of God would prompt you to consider that this week. Maybe God’s Spirit is gently nudging you in this direction, to remember that God loves a cheerful giver (2 Cor. 9:7).

Or maybe you’re at a point in life where you can give more of your time and your energy. Maybe God has gifted you in certain areas and you’re feeling a call to exercise that gift in a way that blesses others. Praise God for that. Maybe God’s spirit is gently nudging you in a direction where you can use your time and gifts in His service.

May we grow in the image of our God, the One who gave us His Son.