When Giving, Consider ‘Future Value’ Not ‘Present Cost’

A Generous Life:
10 Steps To Living A Life Money Can’t Buy

Author: David Green, with Bill High

Publisher: Zondervan, Grand Rapids, Michigan, 2019

Generosity is one of those human characteristics that we often attribute to others and seldom speak of it in reference to our own way of life. That may be because few of us are generous; or it may be because we really cannot describe what being generous means or have any way of measuring it. In his book, A Generous Life, David Green as a minimum (and with every right to do so) implies he has and is living such a life, but more importantly, he gives us great insight into how one may describe generosity and perhaps even measure it.

Green says we really need to start off our lives asking the questions we normally save for our deathbeds.  Those are the ones that matter.  Secondly, we need to realize that while we are the keepers or holders of things or assets, they ultimately do not belong to us. If we recognize the proper Owner, generosity becomes much easier. Because Green accepts there is an afterlife, he proposes we put people before profit and the mundane things of life.

Those are the prerequisites. He then proceeds to suggest a process by which we may pursue a generous life. And it starts with counting our blessings – but not the ones that can be lost. (That takes a little more thought than the usual approach.) The next step is to determine what he calls a “destination” in our “generosity journey”. He’s not talking about a geographic destination but rather a goal that we want to achieve with respect to our giving.  Like any trip worth taking, a plan needs to be developed which we will require following to reach our destination.

But Green also wants us to get the message that we’ll not fully enjoy the destination unless we bring our loved ones along – as his parents did with him and his siblings, and as he has endeavored to do with his own children, and even grandchildren.

Legacy creation is a key topic of the book. Green helps us to create one for our own family and he reminds us that a complete legacy is not only about what one leaves behind, but also what one sends ahead.

The author writes most candidly. He humbly realizes that he has been greatly blessed. He knows many readers would discount his advice for that reason. But as I read his book, I believe he attributes that blessing to three things: a parental model of generosity; a realization that God is the owner of everything; and a disciplined following of an intentional plan to be generous.

The book makes a great gift for any of our businessperson contacts.  It is also perfect for our children and grandchildren.  But first you and I need to make sure that we’ve bought into what Green recommends and start applying it ourselves, if we haven’t already.

n  Ken B. Godevenos, President, Accord Resolutions Services Inc., Toronto, Ontario, October 10, 2019, www.accordconsulting.com

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

A Case of People Giving Too Much To God's Work? Yes.

Exodus 36:1-7:

¹ “Now Bezalel and Oholiab, and every ^[a]skillful person in whom the Lord has put ^[b]skill and understanding to know how to perform all the work ^[c]in the construction of the sanctuary, shall perform in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.”

² Then Moses called Bezalel and Oholiab and every ^[d]skillful person in ^[e]whom the Lord had put ^[f]skill, everyone whose heart stirred him, to come to the work to perform it.

³ They received from Moses all the ^[g]contributions which the sons of Israel had brought ^[h]to perform the work ^[i]in the construction of the sanctuary. And they still continued bringing to him freewill offerings every morning.

⁴ And all the ^[j]skillful men who were performing all the work of the sanctuary came, each from ^[k]the work which ^[l]he was performing,

⁵ and they said to ^[m]Moses, “The people are bringing much more than enough for the ^[n]construction work which the Lord commanded us to ^[o]perform.”

⁶ So Moses issued a command, and a ^[p]proclamation was circulated throughout the camp, saying, “Let no man or woman any longer perform work for the ^[q]contributions of the sanctuary.” Thus the people were restrained from bringing any more.

⁷ For the ^[r]material they had was sufficient and more than enough for all the work, to perform it.

Footnotes:

1. Exodus 36:1 Lit man wise of heart
2. Exodus 36:1 Lit wisdom
3. Exodus 36:1 Or connected with the service of; lit of the service of
4. Exodus 36:2 Lit man wise of heart
5. Exodus 36:2 Lit whose heart
6. Exodus 36:2 Lit wisdom
7. Exodus 36:3 Lit lifted offering
8. Exodus 36:3 Lit to perform it for the work
9. Exodus 36:3 Lit of the service of
10. Exodus 36:4 Lit wise
11. Exodus 36:4 Lit his
12. Exodus 36:4 Lit they were
13. Exodus 36:5 Lit Moses, saying,
14. Exodus 36:5 Lit service for the work
15. Exodus 36:5 Lit perform it
16. Exodus 36:6 Lit voice
17. Exodus 36:6 Lit heave offering
18. Exodus 36:7 Lit work

New American Standard Bible (NASB)

Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation

Thoughts on the Passage

As Moses continues to speak to the children of Israel, he makes an interesting comment about those who God stirred their hearts to give and/or to work on the Tabernacle. He says, they “shall perform in accordance with all that the Lord has commanded.” Here is the assurance, because God is involved, that this project was going to succeed. How great would it be that when we are embarking on a new project, we have made sure that God is so involved to the point where it is His project, not ours so that we can be assured that it will succeed?

In verse 3, we read that as they began their work, the workers received from Moses “all the contributions” which the Israelites had made for the building of the Tabernacle.  Nothing was held back by the General Contractor.  There was no middle-man fee to be charged. There was no overhead to pay. Moses gave it all to the workers to get the work done. What does that say about commissioned fund-raisers? What does that say about unified church budgets whereby one gives to missions after the local church has taken care of all its needs as its leaders see fit?

I am taking the position that these offerings for the Tabernacle were separate and apart from any offerings or levees people may have brought to Moses each morning for his own upkeep as leader or more likely as a judge (see Exodus 18:13) in keeping with eastern magistrate traditions of the day, according to Robert Jamieson.

And how did the people react to Moses’ honesty and the way things were being done? They continued bringing him more offerings every morning. Wow. That’s the best time of day for each of us to bring our offerings to the Lord.

And then even the workers said, “Enough, already. We have more than what we need.”  Can you imagine a pastor or a mission leader saying that? Well, in this case, Moses had to get this – he had to “command” via a “proclamation” telling people to stop working or figuring out what else they could bring. No more donations needed. And this action was necessary because of the “zeal” of the people to contribute to the work of God – they had to be “restrained” our text says. How is our zeal when it comes to Kingdom work?  Do we have to be “restrained” from doing too much?  Interesting question.

So not only did God do His job, Moses did his, the people kept on giving, and the workers also should honesty in saying, “We have enough.” How wonderful would it be if all charitable workers and also public workers were as honest?  What a terrible thing to cheat those that count on you – whether it be in marriage, at work, or in missions? We need men and women today who put the interest of God and His people, and the public they serve, ahead of their own self-interests. As the current president of the United States suggests “the swamp needs cleaning out”.

Go ahead, tell me what you think.  

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.

Not Given with a Willing Heart? Forget It, No Contribution Required

Exodus 35:4-9:

⁴ Moses spoke to all the congregation of the sons of Israel, saying, “This is the thing which the Lord has commanded, saying,

 ⁵ ‘Take from among you a contribution to the Lord; whoever is of a willing heart, let him bring it as the Lord’s contribution: gold, silver, and bronze,

 ⁶ and blue, purple and scarlet material, fine linen, goats’ hair, ⁷ and rams’ skins dyed red, and porpoise skins, and acacia wood,

 ⁸ and oil for lighting, and spices for the anointing oil, and for the fragrant incense,

 ⁹ and onyx stones and setting stones for the ephod and for the breastpiece.

Thoughts on the Passage

Moses is telling “all” the congregation about what God “commanded,” of “all” of them. God wanted them to make a contribution of what was theirs to God. And God wants that contribution to come from our very best possessions – in this case, gold, silver, and bronze, and a slew of other valuables Moses lists.

The other requirement for this offering was that it had to be with a “willing heart” – otherwise, forget it; no contribution required. The Apostle Paul echoes that requirement in 2 Corinthians 9:7. The lesson for us today is this – someone (e.g. a church leader) can state the need, but they should never force or manipulate anyone to give – because then the giving may not be “cheerfully” given. God can work directly with one’s heart and cause it to give willingly without the assistance of pastor Jones or elder Smith. David Guzak emphasizes this by saying, “This offering came from God’s command, not from Moses’ clever fund-raising techniques.”

We also note that what God asked for were all things necessary to build His Tabernacle. In today’s terms, what we give to should directly or indirectly contribute to the building of His Kingdom – and sometimes that includes the necessary upkeep and maintenance of the local structure through which part of the outreach for His Kingdom is done.

We may well ask, “Could God not have just provided all these things by dropping them from heaven as He did ‘manna’ for the people to eat?” And the answer of course is “Yes, He could have. But no, He did not.” God wanted His people to have a stake (or as we say in sport, He wanted us to have “skin in the game”) when it came to building His Kingdom. However, we are never to forget that God could provide everything that He needs without our help. He is God. But this loving God has chosen to involve His children in the work.

In the passages ahead, we’ll see how this plan works out. In the meantime, we can reflect on our “giving with a cheerful or willing heart”. How are we doing? Or, we can reflect on our church’s approach to raising funds. Does it follow the model that God established and shared through Moses?

What has been your experience in your own giving or in the church's giving programs?

It would be great if you would share your thoughts or questions on this blog in the comments section below or on social media.