Last week we looked at how we are to earn and save money. We took our cue from John Wesley's famous statement, "Gain all you can, save all you can and give all you can." We also likened finances to a pie to have a visual illustration about how money should be divided. Today we continue with probably the most challenging aspect of living as a Christian: generosity.
Save All You Can:
Britain is not a nation of savers. On average the typical UK person saves 4.7% of their net income.
The average figure for debt has gone up during the austerity years. Personal debt, including mortgages, is now at £28,826 per adult, or 113.1% of net income (http://themoneycharity.org.uk/money-statistics/december-2015/).
Romans 13:8: Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law.
The goal in life should be to be debt free. Whilst this is a goal Sky news recently reported that the average age at who's people will be totally debt free is 69, well after they have retired (Sky News, 3rd February 2016).
Was this what Wesley was saying though? To save money into a bank account? I think there is nothing wrong with this. In fact it is from this slush fund that we are able to do more for others than maybe we could. We can invest. We can save.
The pie is only so big though. Saving does not necessarily create a bigger monthly income immediately, it does create a future income. Here is where he actually got radical.
The saving Wesley was talking about was to examine how much you spend and then see how little you need to live on.
The idea of “save as much as you can” in today’s language would be to live on as little as you can.
In other words, reduce the amount of pie you need to live on.
Surely that’s at odds with the gaining and earning principle? Only of we want to gain for selfish reasons. Only if we want the whole pie to ourselves.
1 Timothy 6: 9-10: Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. [10] For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.
The problem with money is not money itself. It’s the reason behind the desire for money that is the real issue. I have met poor people and I have met rich people who have one thing in common: the desire to more money!
Back to our pie! We all have one pie. I may be large, it may be small, but it's still a pie. Within our pie we then have to decide how much we need to live on to live on. If the answer is, “I need more pie!” then we need to look at our spending priorities.
Some of these choices can be straight forward. Some are more challenging. The simple question we are called to ask ourselves is: do I need this or do I want this?
If we are honest we are not the best judge in this matter for there will be things that we can justify to ourselves all the time. It's a personal issue how we eat our pie!
Wesley's rationale is so foreign to us today because we are so materialistic. There I said it. We are too materialistic.
Saving is good. It is a great habit. Saving for your children's future, your holiday, your next car, your retirement, all these things are good things. I can guarantee though we could all do without a few luxury items. Contentment about this is the key:
1 Timothy 6:6-10: [6] But godliness with contentment is great gain. [7] For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. [8] But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
Philippians 4:12-13: I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. [13] I can do all this through him who gives me strength.
Notice what all says in Philippians? That power, the ''I can do all things statement,'' is based in living through austere times and wealthy times, but knowing that Christ gives the strength for both!
Give All You Can:
I need to entrust someone with the pie I have here (give the pie to someone).
Wesley earned high, lived on a little, so he could give more away than he kept!
Proverbs 11:25: A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
Deuteronomy 15:10: Give generously to them and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to.
Generosity is the hallmark of good budgeting practices. You can only be generous with money that is yours to give, not money you owe someone else.
Generosity needs to be planned and to be part of our lifestyle. Do not fool yourself into thinking that you will be generous when you are rich. Generosity has to do with the size of the heart, not the wallet.
Wesley really meant it. For many of us what I’m about to say would be too impractical, but we all have some movement to make in this area:
Give how much?
Wesley's answer: give it all.
To Wesley money was for giving. You made it, you saved, so you could give it. In fact, on this third point of his trilateral he actually switched the wording by the end of his message from "give all you can" to "give all you have." He meant it.
And he lived it too. In the year Wesley earned today's equivalent of over £2 million, he lived on 2% of his income and gave 98% of it away. He "tithed" 98%. In fact, during Wesley's lifetime he earned the equivalent of £43,750 000 (forty three million, seven hundred and fifty thousand). When he died, left behind only a few miscellaneous coins and a couple of silver spoons. He had given away the rest. He practiced what he preached (http://www.drurywriting.com/keith/wesley.htm; currency change to pound sterling at prevailing rate on 4th Feb 2016).
I am not sure I would go that far, for I know that leaving something behind for loved ones is a biblical principle:
Proverbs 13:22: A good person leaves an inheritance for their children’s children, but a sinner’s wealth is stored up for the righteous.
We can plan to give money away to good caused and people in need. Giving is liberating, for it helps us to remember that we are not on this planet alone. Giving helps us to remember that money is a commodity not our master. It helps us to remember that we cannot take it with us when we die.
Giving also means that money is not my master. It serves me, not the other way around.
18 months ago Barbie and I were challenged about our own giving habits. We were challenged about incremental giving. To plan to give, and each year plan to freely give away a little more. We give to the Lord, other causes, and other needs not to gain anything. That’s not the aim. Giving is done out of gratitude.
Incremental giving meant reorganising the budget. It meant doing away with some of the luxuries. In that last year we did replace Barbie’ s car with a newer one for work, but I’m keeping an older car for a while longer (although not forever). Sometimes you have to do that kind of stuff.
Our aim became to give more of our pie away. I am not going to tell you the exact figures or to whom we have given (but you’d be right to assume we give to the work of the Lord here too). On our current levels of giving this year, at the end of the tax year, we will have given away 15.25% of our household income. That’s not enough. We are aiming for higher. We do not tell you this to laud it over you but show it is possible.
Have we been blessed? Yes. Is that all in monetary terms? No. Barbie though got a new job without asking for it, and she loves it. Two sons are engaged to strong Christian girls with a heart for God. Opportunities to influence others have come our way. God’s blessings are not always financial, sometimes they are not tangible. Blessings are always good though!
Generosity is where money and morality meet; money has no moral value except on where and how it is used. Giving money to good causes feels great.
Give to whom?
Wesley gave a helpful list that should help us:
(1) First, give to yourself all you need for the basics. (2) Then give to your family and employees their fair share, or you are worse than an infidel.
(3) Third, give to the "household of faith" — other Christians, which we assume includes the organised work of the Lord in churches.
(4) Finally Wesley says we are the give to all men in need, which includes the poor, the needy, even if they are not believers.
Can I have the pie back please? (just crumbs left). Thats illustrates the problem many face. It is not that we are not generous, but we only have crumbs left.
May I encourage all of us to rethink our money habits. Too much is said today about not giving to God. Any internet search on tithing throws up lots of reasons people think they have found not to give. I believe in tithing but to argue against is is not generous. We should all plan to give:
2 Corinthians 9:7: Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
To decide to be generous means several things:
- You have planned it. It is not emotional response, but something you’ve prepared for. Preparation can mean having a slush fund to give from even if you’re not aware of the need immediately.
- Money is a heart issue. It is not about the amount, but the heart.
- It is not compulsory, but God loves a cheerful giver. It something that is done willingly without emotional blackmail.
- Generosity comes from a grateful heart, not a grabbing heart.
Perhaps you’d like to join us on our next CAP Money Course in March to see how money can work for you. Details on our church website.
Wrapping This Up:
For some what I have outlined over the last two Sundays will be old news, you’re living it and sharing your pie.
For others it seems a mountain too high to climb.
For all of us it takes a daily discipline and love to be able to move forward in this area.
There is hope though. God can use you as a conduit for blessing to others if you are faithful in the small things. Begin small, move to the bigger (Luke 16:10; 2 Cor 8:15).
Blog Bonus:
A quick thought on lending to others.
Psalm 37: 25-26: I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread. 26 They are always generous and lend freely; their children will be a blessing.
If you are going to lend, do not charge interest, and do not expect to be repaid; the point of lending is this: not to burden someone more and not to lend out of that which you need to live on [Ex 22:25; Psalm 15:5; Luke 6:34-36]. If these are problems for you, best not to lend, but give, knowing it will not come back to you.
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