Ten minutes later when they’re bored with your gift, the shine may have come off a bit. Still, it’s more blessed right? The thing is, I think the western societies in which we’re raising our children, are the sorts of societies where for most adults receiving is by far the superior alternative. So much so, that receiving or getting is seen as more of a human right really. You only have to think back to the summer riots in London and the many links to consumerism to see that attitude in its grossest expression.
If, generally speaking, those are the sorts of adults we are producing and I want my children to be different from that (less rioting would be good for a start), then I need to start training now. However, the early signs are not encouraging. This year, really for the first time, we are helping our three year old son discover the joy of giving. His initial reaction was grave concern, ‘I’ll still get presents won’t I?’ but even with that fear calmed, he remains unconvinced that giving is anywhere close to as good as getting.
We want giving to be in many ways, it’s own reward, we want the act of giving to radiate joy and fun, and lead to more cheerful giving. We’re going to introduce giving to those poorer than ourselves, and other such things, because giving is a habit that needs early introduction. It seems we have a default setting and it’s not ‘give’.
Any ideas, how have you seen giving best demonstrated, shared and taught to children?
If you hadn’t noticed it’s nearly Christmas, that time of year where we go slightly loco with money and stuff, and it’s a unique event. Rampant consumerism and the celebration of the birth of Christ in a stable, and it was combining those two things that led to this very clever advert. Of course in the race to condemn all this excess we may kill all the fun or so thinks Sarah Dunn. This chart shows Christmas spending by country.
Unsurprisingly, in America despite not having the most money they will spend nearly the most on gifts. This is because, as Eugene Peterson says in this short video, the most materialistic we have ever known and shows how to handle wealth! (Ht: Mark Meynell)
It was following a drive through America that Tim Challies began to seriously think about the issue of money. He found this prayer on stuff and contentment and then ways to think wrongly about money. He then asks the questions do I have to give? And if so how much do I give?
This all goes to show that we live in a consumer age and it’s a pressure not evenly felt. By that I mean, as this post says, ‘UK parents seem to find themselves under tremendous pressure to purchase a surfeit of material goods for their children. This compulsive consumption was almost completely absent in both Spain and Sweden.’ A thesis that our personal experience can anecdotally support.
The best antidote is to be generous and to cultivate gratitude and that takes some thought. It’s worth thinking about.
“Despite massive material progress, people in Britain and the US are no happier than they were 50 years ago, while there are many societies in which people are much happier than in Britain. Rejecting a societal focus on materialism and self-obsessed individualism, the movement instead prioritizes healthy relationships with others and meaningful activities as a means to happier living.”
I’d agree with that. People matter more than possessions. Ironically however Foreign Policy have an article that inverts the equation suggesting that ‘happy people will be more financially successful.’
Of course that begs the question, how can I be happy? You could download your happiness action pack and start there or you could turn to a more ancient source of wisdom (Matthew 5:3-12 for example).
So while in America a debate rumbles on about tithing which sets a figure, a rule, a measure and a box to tick. Can you really tick a box marked ‘generous’? The key remains delighting in giving.
As Karen observes that through giving we discover that ‘Isn’t it great to know that you have the power and ability to put a smile on somebody’s face.’ We can be happy by making others happy and investing in people.
We can discover joy by investing in the kingdom putting our treasures into something other than ourselves (Mt 6:21). So remind yourself to take one more step on a journey towards generosity.
“Regardless of your perspective on big fat gypsy weddings, to get married is to invite rampant capitalism into your life. I’m surprised the government hasn’t done more to promote marriage as a means of kick-starting the economy because there is clearly so much money to be made from it. Even breathing the word ‘wedding’ in some shops makes them double all their prices. We’ve done fairly well (we think) in avoiding many of the cash-splash traps by spending a lot of our budget on food and entertainment for our guests, and ignoring enticements that begin ‘Don’t forget to treat yourself…’. But the gift list is about things for us, so how could we escape materialism here?”
And
“Except that the Bible is very concerned with wealth and what we do with what we’ve been given. The quote I started with is from one of the many discussions about money – Jesus has more to say on this issue than He does about sex, not that you’d know it from the amount of attention those two topics are given by many of His followers. What we do with money is an indicator of what we’re really like, that’s why it’s important. If lavishing money on myself is normal and giving to others is abnormal, then there must be a fault somewhere inside. The desperate tactics used by companies to persuade me to give them money must either have fooled me or more likely pandered to a tendency that was already there.”
Read the whole thing
CS Lewis says,
“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, amusement, 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 giving does not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say it is too small. There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot because our commitment to giving excludes them.” [Mere Christianity; see here].
Tom Schreiner says,
“Those who are blessed with wealth are to enjoy the good things God has given them, but they are also to be generous to those in need (1 Tim. 6:17–19). The New Testament clearly teaches that wealth is dangerous because it can seduce us so that we stray from the Lord. God is to be our treasure, and hence believers are to give generously and freely. For most believers in the West, that means giving more than a tithe.”
So let me ask you this, when was the last time you planned to increase your regular giving?
The Gospel is not a product
The challenge for the church, as always, remains to demonstrate through its life how the kingdom of heaven gives something far greater than anything the world can offer. Martin Robinson in his book, Planting Mission-shaped Churches Today says, “Christianity packaged as a consumer message can’t compete. There will always be a more seductive package awaiting the consumer than a faith that makes some demands on the consumer’s time, concentration and allegiance.”
Instead the church (especially in the West) needs to rediscover the antidote to consumerism – generous giving, joyful sharing and simple living as an essential part of our discipleship. Every time we give away to care for the poor or to plant churches we win a victory. We win when we choose to share what we have with others and when we sacrifice our comfort for the joy of bringing love to the broken, safety to the vulnerable and delight to the downcast.
By choosing to live more simply we can also live more generously, releasing time, energy and financial resources into the kingdom of God. By cultivating generosity instead of consuming church we cultivate Christ-likeness (2 Corinthians 8:7-9).
A church that becomes a consumer product, full of consumers will inevitably slow down in its nation-reaching, church-planting, leadership-raising, money-giving and poor-embracing mission because we will only give what time, money and energy we can spare after our comfort has been maintained.
The church of Christ needs disciples whose identity is in Christ and not in the logos they wear, whose treasures are in heaven and whose home is wherever God calls them. The church of Christ needs people who value eternal security more than financial security and spiritual gifts more than Christmas gifts who have discovered that it is truly more blessed to give than it is to receive (Acts 20:35) and so take hold of the life that is truly life (1 Tim 6:16).
But even if it is legitimate to not apply Jesus’ instruction in Mt 19:21 it’s quite a bit harder to avoid Luke 12:33 where Jesus repeats the instruction (not suggestion or advice) but this time to his disciples, the ones who will inherit the kingdom (Lk 12:32).
And yet, at least for me, it remains an incredibly difficult thing to do. Yet because this is genuinely difficult I think that reveals something to me about my heart so perhaps I need to do it. In the next 6 months or so we’ll move countries and it’s a perfect opportunity to put this into practice. But it’s hard. Right now it’s a position of compromise. There’s plenty of stuff we’ll simply give away to anyone who’ll take it. So it might not go to the poor or needy. Some stuff we’ll give to charity who will sell it and give the money to the poor (close enough). Today they received around 100 books (barely made a dent in the shelves) from us as a start.
But then there are things like the car, the motorbike which we’ll sell and then keep the cash. We will after all by going to Sweden become poor or at least poorer (ie with no source of income and dependant on others generosity) so that feels like good stewardship. Or is it living by sight? I can easily give away those things of little value but something that to me amounts to some serious cash is much much harder. But why should that be the case? Perhaps because I am of little faith, perhaps because I am afraid.
Perhaps the point, though, is not necessarily what answer I come up with (after I genuinely do believe in God’s grace and freedom in this) but that I actually wrestle with the question. Am I being obedient to Jesus’ in this instruction, am I trusting and living by faith here? After all a disciple is one who obeys all he commanded (Mt 28: 20).
Of course if this becomes a law which we must follow to become righteous then we’re in trouble. My only chance is to sell and keep on selling, I find my righteousness in my lack of things but 1 Cor 13:3 warns me against such folly. Instead Jesus (and Paul) say something very different. If we have love and I’d argue that means we have received God’s love (1 Jn 4:10) then we need not fear, for God has already given. We give because He has already given. We don’t give to get, we give because we have. Although what we have requires faith, because we have a promise. A promise that giving away now means eternal reward. Giving becomes an opportunity to put my treasure and my heart in a beautiful place – in the kingdom of Jesus.
The giving pledge is a truly remarkable act of philanthropy and generosity (although most of those pledging will remain massively wealthy even after their giving). I just hope they all see it through. It will be interesting to see how these phenomenally successful people put their money to work for the betterment of humanity.
Lastly to make you smile, this link from Breathe on reasons to be thankful
The Theology of Generosity from Randy Alcorn on Vimeo.
The reason why, because this couple knew that had enough. “We haven’t bought one thing. That’s because there is nothing that we need,” Wonderful.
* For those interested in the theology of generosity, this book looks interesting
HT: Tim Challies
In the 4th century AD Julian became Roman emperor and in 361 threw his weight behind the old pagan religions in an attempt to reduce or wipe out Christianity. Here is how Chadwick describes the task Julian faced:
“Julian set about the reorganization of paganism. He saw that it could only meet the Christian attack by modelling itself on its hated opponents…There was to be a system of stipends for [pagan] priests who would preach sermons and organize works of charity for the poor: ‘No Jew is ever seen begging, and the impious Galileans support not merely their own poor but ours as well.’ The standing and moral character of the pagan priests also had to be sharply raised. Like the Christian clergy, they were required to keep away from obscene shows, taverns, and all disreputable employment.” [emphasis added]
Wouldn’t it be great if it was obvious to everyone that Christians were of such moral standing and character that for atheists and whoever else decries the church that they had to get their own act together to our standards before they’d be listened to?
Which, if my calculations are correct, should make Christians the most consistently reliable and generous givers of all. After all knowing Jesus is the best, His joy is our strength, we have a sure faith, inexhaustible grace, unmerited favour, boundless love and eternal hope and as a result we lack nothing. So we should be happy with out lot right?
Freed and ready to give right?
Chadwick writes that in the 2nd century AD a ‘vivid and cruel portrait [of the church] was painted by the pagan satirist Lucian of Samosata (c.170)’ and then he says this,
“Lucian had a low opinion of the human race, and treated Christianity as merely additional evidence of human absurdity and folly. But he knew that the Christians were unbelievably generous with their money and preferred to be open-handed rather than inquire too closely into the recipients.” (p57)
Emphasis mine. Could our opponents possibly say that of the church today? Unbelievably generous and open handed?
“God was and is the owner of all things. I was and am simply His money manager. He has never revoked his ownership, never surrendered his claim to all riches and treasures. God didn’t die and leave this earth to you and me. He still owns it. The more I thought about it, the more real it became.”
And
“Do Nanci and I go to bed each night thinking, “It sure is a big sacrifice giving away all that money”? Not at all. I go to bed feeling joy, because there’s nothing like the thrill of giving to God’s purposes and His people. It’s participating in God’s grace. It’s exactly what we were made for.”
And there’s more
“We didn’t need a higher standard of living. We didn’t need a better house or car. We didn’t need a better retirement program or more insurance…We don’t need a million dollars or a hundred thousand dollars. We do just fine on a lot less, and God will provide for us every step of the way.”
Read the whole thing here
“In June, Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett started the Giving Pledge: an initiative aimed at getting billionaires to pledge at least half of their net worth to charitable donations. So far, 40 individuals have signed up. The roster includes household names like George Lucas, David Rockefeller, Ted Turner and, not least, founders Gates and Buffett, who have pledged significantly more than half of their net worth. While some have already argued that part of the estimated $600 billion that this initiative could raise would have been donated anyway, the impact of the Giving Pledge remains astounding. We break down the numbers in this infographic.”
See it here
I discovered Bill Clinton’s Giving: How each of us can change the world a few months back for the bargain price of £2.50 down at the haven that is Hay-on-Wye. I was hopeful.
It’s a straightforward enough guide to giving, talking about money, time, things, skills. It also takes a look at giving into a variety of areas such as micro-finance such as Kiva, or to entrepreneurs, foundations and NGOs and the role government plays in poverty reduction.
It’s a view of the world that very few people could provide, with almost unparalleled access to the world’s biggest organisations, richest donors (like Bill & Melinda Gates), biggest stars (like Bono) that allows him to see the best ideas, the best practices and the best opportunities. And there are a lot of good ideas around, from the chess clubs that help raise exam performance in the poorest schools in the US, or malaria reduction in Rwanda its evident that there are a lot of people working at doing a lot of good. There is hope.
There are a lot of resources too, with plenty of links to useful organisations and a helpful bibliography. I’ve noted a few of the books to try and get hold of.
The emphasis is on encouraging giving but it demonstrated to me that the world knows very little when it comes to the issue of giving, the sums and percentages are quite small and the framework for giving quite limited. It’s quite an opportunity for the church, we could be (and absolutely SHOULD be) at the forefront of giving – people who regularly hit 10% minimum and desire to go far beyond it.
However this is not a great book, the style is quite dry with one case study after another, no real passion and no real style in the delivery, inspirational stories told without inspiration. Workmanlike was the word that ran through my brain as I read this book. I devour books on giving and this one was tough chewing, not because it’s bad but because it’s dry.
If you’re involved in development work then actually this gives a good big picture of some very interesting and innovative programmes, if you don’t have faith then this indeed may be a good book to read on giving, but there’s a bigger and richer world on giving out there for those of us who follow the Great Giver.
We worshipped, listened to my friend Mark Powley on consumerism and freedom, and then we watched this video
(let me know what you think)
Then we talked and it was just encouraging to see people engage with ways we can live that go against the culture and towards generosity and simplicity. Try it out for yourself, it’s liberating.
After having recently visited this school in Pakistan and writing about it, I was contacted by Michael Wakely of Starfish Asia who support the school financially.
Michael is the author of this excellent little book on generosity (my review here) and he generously has given me a few copies to give away. I’ve shamelessly pinched Tim Challies‘ way of handling this giveaway:
“You may only enter the draw once. Simply fill out your name and email address to enter the draw. As soon as the winners have been chosen, all names and addresses will be immediately and permanently erased. Winners will be notified by email. The giveaway closes Saturday at noon.”
I’ll also send a copy to the best comments on how you’ve seen generosity in action.
“‘Life’ and ‘life-style’ obviously belong together and cannot be separated. All Christians claim to have received a new life from Jesus Christ. What life-style, then, is appropriate for them? If the life is new, the life-style should be new also. But what are to be its characteristics? In particular, how is it to be distinguished from the life-style of those who make no Christian profession? And how should it reflect the challenges of the contemporary world—its alienation both from God and from the earth’s resources which he created for the enjoyment of all?”
It’s a pretty deep conviction of mine that because the church has largely failed in its thinking and response to materialism and consumerism that the church is not at all distinguished from the life-style of those who don’t believe. A challenge to the simple living movement is also not to simply draw a new line with the environmentalists and eco-friendly brigade, not that that’s all bad. Instead we need to be thinking about redrawing the connections between our life style and Jesus. So I agree with this:
“Those of us who live in affluent circumstances accept our duty to develop a simple-lifestyle in order to contribute more generously to both relief and evangelism.”
In 1996, five years before I was asked to plant a church, I felt the call of God to do that. The call to plant churches, to teaching, preaching and justice. It would have helped if I’d had that notebook in 2001!
More encouragement to come because there are things that God has spoken about that I cannot let go. How about these things from the summer of 1996:
“Commitment to the poor, to live with open hands, to discipline myself to give generously and make it a lifestyle.”
Long before I knew what consumerism was, it seems God was speaking to me about generosity, compassion, simplicity, church. I’m very grateful for God’s grace to me in all of this…so we keep going.
“If we reject materialism and asceticism it seems to me we are left with the biblical way of generosity, which in turn is linked with simplicity. Simplicity is not to be understood in ‘nothing’ but ‘enough.’ When we consider the needs of the poor, and indeed the needs of world mission, then there is a challenge to generosity – something that can always be increased as we simplify our lifestyle.
This is a sensitive area, for simplicity can easily become pharisaical when we begin to bring our opinion and judgement to bear on how others should simplify their lifestyle. (And particularly pharisaical if others should suggest how we might simplify our lifestyle!) The reality is that we are all extravagant in different ways. Voluntary simplicity of lifestyle is a way to increase our generosity.”
“In early July 2009 a woman pulled up in the drive-thru at the Steamin Bean coffee shop in Blue Springs, Montana. She bought her coffee and insisted on paying for the driver in the car behind. Within a week over 1300 people had done the same thing. It’s happening in other places too.
Stories of random kindness are not new. The whole idea was beautifully told in the film Pay it Forward – well worth an evening; tissues needed. But two things struck me about this one. First, no one wanted to break the circle of generosity. Once we embrace it giving is deeply attractive, compelling. Secondly, generosity is more than giving money. To be sure, giving money is the hallmark of generosity but generosity is richer: an awareness of others, the freedom to let go when the world says hold on to it, an attitude to all we have.
In a church in Manchester I sat under a ‘freecycle’ board where stuff, good stuff, was not ebayed but given away free to those who need it. Leading seminars at New Wine, as the rain came down in stair rods, I saw stewards, unpaid and giving up a week of their holidays, parking cars, marshalling crowds; soaked to the skin but with the light of grace in their eyes.
Because giving is first and foremost about grace. At the Steamin’ Bean someone set the ball rolling; someone gave first. Paul knew this. In 2 Cor 8:1-3 he tells the Corinthians not about the money that the Macedonians gave but the grace given first to them. He then points to the fountain of all grace: You know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich for you he became poor that you by his poverty might become rich (2 Cor 8:9).
By Steve Pierce
Tim Creber from Journey Beyond writes,
“Because life is a gift… we live with open hands.
Imagine in your mind tightly clenched fists – what does it make you think of? I think of control.
It is absurd to think that we are ever really in control. Life happens – young people get cancer, the poor die unjustly, good people suffer, banks fail, hard workers lose their jobs… When we face these realities, chasing control is futile, unrewarding and, I would argue, in no way contributes to human fulfilment.
So why do I still chase control?
Jesus epitomises what it means to live with a life posture of ‘open handedness.’ With an open hand we are vulnerable – we surrender a position of strength. Facing life without chasing control forces us to trust. Having an open hand permits generosity without discrimination. Having an open hand allows us to travel light. By allowing room for grace we can let go of emotional wounds. By allowing generosity we do not horde our possessions.
An open handed life is profound – it gets to the root of the human condition, and sums up so much of the person of Jesus. Because life is a gift, we live with open hands… in the hope and expectation that when we do so, our God is able to give us more than could ever be taken away.”
To subscribe if you’re new: in@breathenetwork.org / Unsubscribe: out@breathenetwork.org
“The more sacrificially generous you are on earth, the greater will be your enjoyment of heaven. Therefore, since Jesus loves us and summons us to maximize our eternal joy in heaven, he demands radical freedom from the love of money and radical generosity, especially toward the poor . . . The reason money is so crucial for Jesus is that across all cultures and all ages it represents the alternative to God as the treasure of our hearts, and therefore the object of our worship. . .There are two things being said here. One is that a selfish spirit will keep us out of heaven. And the other is that there are degrees of reward, or degrees of joy, in heaven, depending on how sacrificially generous we were on earth.”
HT: Adrian Warnock
If you know of anyone who has preached a cracking sermon on money, generosity, consumerism and the like I’d be grateful if you could let me know.
This is great (HT: Tim Chester)
I first had to ask myself do we need a car at all? Not what sort of car but just any car. The answer is a yes and no. We could, of course, live without a car but it is a different sort of life we’d live. As my friend Jeremy says in his review of Car Sick,
“Unfortunately, we have structured our whole way of life around cars – to get to work, do the shopping, meet friends, or take children to school. Fifty years of motoring has radically re-ordered our towns and cities around the automobile, and it is hard to do without one even if you want to.”
And that’s what we found, hard to do and right now too hard for us. So while we could do without a car for many away from Shrewsbury trips, public transport in town is quite poor. Another friend, relayed to me how it would cost his wife and three kids £10 to make the short-ish 2.5 mile journey to the hospital by bus and return. In the end the sheer inconvenience and hassle of it told us we weren’t ready for (or possibly not brave enough) a life without a car.
The second issue we had to grapple with was generosity. We’d been given money by various people (who having seen our old car took pity on us) and their gifts were for a replacement car. You honour the giver and the gift by using it as intended. God has blessed us with friends who love us, care for us and incredibly generous to us.
I have to say I’ve been hugely fortunate when it comes to transport. I’ve owned (including this new one) 6 cars and I’ve been given 4 of them. Every time I get into the car I drive I have reason to be thankful, grateful and humble.
Then, from generosity we needed to think as stewards. The 19 year old, 164000 mile Golf has been a great car. Worth every one of the £750 we paid for it more than 5 years ago. But at the same time we were given a substantial gift for a new car, our old one needed around £400 spending on it to get it through the next MOT. Was it good stewardship to sit on a gift and spend money on the old car? We thought not.
By now we’ve decided the right thing to do was to replace the old car but what with? Our criteria was something that would hopefully (barring the arrival of quads or quins) should see last our family some time. We wanted something economical, efficient, safe, reliable and within our budget. We weren’t going to borrow for this.
So what did we get? A 2004 Skoda Octavia 1.9 TDi Elegance with 45000 miles on the clock. Diesel is better than petrol and it can (I think) run on bio-diesel which is something I’ll definitely be researching. It it is economical, hopefully reliable, cheaper to tax and with less emissions than our old trusty Golf, should last us ages. It is also fun to drive and a bit more comfortable.
We’re seeing how we can give the Golf to someone so it will be a blessing to them too.
What have I learnt? One that my car was a symbol of my simplicity, I worried that with a new car people would judge me as consumerist and someone who doesn’t practice what he preaches. My old car was my way of showing how simply I lived. It did become a weird badge of honour. I’ve a long way to go to free myself of consumerism and its trappings but being a joyless moaner isn’t the way to go.
Matt Perman was the second half of the audio and he blogs here. I’m not sure quite what made me uneasy but it really did. A few things bugged me. His justification for having 4 laptops was in case he went away on a trip and left one at home, was just lame for someone who blogs on efficiency. Just don’t forget your laptop Matt, it’s not difficult.
At one point he said having ‘too much’ wasn’t wrong and we shouldn’t feel guilty about it. I’m not so sure about that because the point of ‘too much’ is that it’s ‘too much’. If I eat too much it’s gluttony. If I sleep too much its laziness. If I work too much its unhealthy. If I want too much its greedy. The whole point Matt is that it’s too much. It’s too much for us, it’s not good for us because it’s too much. If God has given us an abundance then that means we have enough, we can enjoy our enough, we can enjoy our plenty AND we get to give.
It was OK when he talked about money and possessions being a relative good but when we make it an absolute it fails us. By that he means when we make something more important than the kingdom of God.
Even so I was left with the distinct impression that he gave comfort to the rich and comfortable, that he began by justifying wealth and then in talking about the texts that challenge our wealth was just a bit average, saying nothing new and let the listener off the hook in the way he accused others of doing.
I’ve listened to Tim Keller on money and it’s been excellent, so I had high hopes for TGC on this subject and this seminar but it was a disappointment.
I believe Jesus when he said 'life does not consist in the abundance of our possessions'. I believe he offers something better. This blog is mostly about that search.
I'm also a husband, a father, church planter, keen runner, reader, and motorcyclist. These and a few other things make guest appearances from time to time.
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