LIBERALITY

The LIBERAL soul shall be made fat: and he that watereth shall be watered also himself – Proverbs 11:25 (KJV)

LIBERALITY or generosity springs from the heart. A liberal attitude and generous hands are products of a heart of gratitude. God looks at the heart more than the hand. He looks at the giver more than the gift. Liberality is about sacrificial caring and sharing. God gives us all we need, so we can give to others in their need. We all have things we cherish or hold dear, for which we may have thought, “I could never part with that.” It may be a dress, an expensive car, a valued possession, or our precious few hours during the week. Liberality asks: “Will you be open to share and willing to give when someone obviously needs something you have?” Liberality is about God making you a channel of blessings to others. If you sense His Spirit leading you to let go of your time or possession, you can be sure that He will be glorified through your liberality.

Jesus used an unnamed widow to teach us what liberality is all about. He sat in the temple near the treasury and watched as people walked by and deposited their offerings for the temple. Just then a poor widow came by and dropped two mites. A mite was the least valuable coin in circulation. Her gift was almost negligible in most folk’s eyes; but our Lord saw what others did not see, and commended her for her extravagance (Lk.21:1-4). This was not because of the how much she gave, but because she gave all she had: “she out of her poverty has put in all the livelihood that she had” (Lk.21:4b). It made no sense for a widow to donate her last few coins to a corrupt institution in Jerusalem, full of scribes “who devour[ed] widows’ houses” (Mk.12:40). But in that widow’s act of liberality, Jesus saw a moving display of the proper attitude toward money (Mk.12:41-44). Her sacrifice was an example and encouragement to the disciples – and to us. Her kind of gift not only honors God, but also reminds us of the most extravagant of gifts to us – Christ Jesus!

Acts 20:35b teaches a vital lesson about liberaility: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” Of course, the poor need financial help; but the need to give may be as important as the need to receive. The act of giving reminds us that we live by the grace of God. If little creatures like birds and flowers do not fret about their future, why should we? Liberality offers us an opportunity to express our faith and confidence that God will care for us just as He cares for the sparrow and lily (Mt.6:25-34). People all around us need compassion, encouragement, friendship, financial help, time, and prayers. Proverbs 11:24-25 challenges our natural inclination to be miserly: “There is one who scatters, yet increase more; and there is one who withholds more than is right, but it leads to poverty. The generous soul will be made rich, and he who waters will also be watered himself.” You can hide your eyes from opportunities to give, or you can seek them out.

Some Christians regard their giving of money or material substance as little more than a goodwill gesture to God for the service He has rendered us; more like giving a “tip” to a restaurant’s steward. But the Christians life is about so much more than money. Paul used the Macedonian Christians as an illustration of what our liberality should resemble in the light of God’s incredible liberality towards us. The Macedonians, who were in “deep poverty,” gave with “liberality” (2Cor.8:2). But they “first gave themselves to the Lord” (v.5). Authentic liberality begins with giving of one self, followed by one’s gifts. Self-sacrifice is the true measure of liberality. In reality, God the Creator of the universe is complete in Himself; He does not need anything from you (Ps.50:10,12). Everything comes from Him, and everything you are and have belongs to Him. He doesn’t want your tips. He wants You!