“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:21, ESV)

This week we have talked about when we give. Giving is not something that we do because the calendar obligates us to do so. Generosity is motivated by the heart.

We have also talked about what we give. Too often we default to giving material things during the holiday season. But there are gifts that are more valuable that cannot be measured in dollars.

Today, I want to talk about how we give. And if there is one word to describe how we should give it would be “joyful.” 2 Corinthians 9:7 tells us that God loves a cheerful giver.

Giving is not an obligation nor a responsibility. Giving is a privilege. It is a natural response of faith. In many ways, it is a measure of our faith. Greater faith will lead to greater generosity. Generosity is a spiritual gift that provides evidence of the Holy Spirit at work in our lives.

We rarely find joy in things we do out of obligation. There are many things that are tied to religious practice that easily become an obligation. Examples include worship attendance, serving, and giving. We teach these things as expectations when a person becomes a member of our church.

But it all goes back to the “why.” What is the motivation? It is not about maintaining good standing as a member of a church. Our motivation is God. It is the gift of Jesus in the manger. It is the forgiveness offered through the cross. It is the hope he gives through the resurrection.

Our giving is worship that we offer. Worship is about what is worthy. It is about what is worthy of our time, our money, and our energy. We give our resources to the things that are important to us. For some of us, work is important. So we give our time to our work. Our desks become our altars. For some of us, entertainment is important. We give our money toward tickets and systems that allow us to witness the entertainment. The places of worship are stadiums and concert venues. We have little reluctance to give time and money to these causes when we deem them worthy. There is no second thought.

Most people are generous. That is not the question. The bigger question is: what we are generous towards? The way we spend our time and money shows our priorities. They weigh the affection of our hearts. Kingdom generosity will never happen because we need to be generous. Generosity is developed out of the affection of our hearts. It is motivated by the gospel of Jesus.

Reflection

1. Do you consider yourself a reluctant or joyful in your generosity? Why or why not?
2. Where does the affection of your heart lie?

Prayer

Lord, thank you for your generosity shown in the gift of Jesus. Thank you for the forgiveness of the cross and the hope of the resurrection. Forgive me for my misplaced affection. Give me a deeper understanding and appreciation of your amazing love in my life that I would be motivated and inspired to live lavishly generous. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places. (Ephesians 1:3 ESV)

The primary thing we think about when giving gifts at Christmas is material things. But consider some other things that you have to give. Consider the intangibles that cannot be measured in dollars.

How about:

• Respect
• Forgiveness
• Love
• Gratitude
• Affirmation

These are gifts that can be 100 times more meaningful than anything that can be wrapped in a box.

If you are a parent consider giving to your children the gift of:

• Time
• Attention
• A shared experience
• Words of blessing

Come home early from work. Take an extra day off. Turn off the phone. Set aside the chores for an evening. Allow yourself undistracted time with your kids.

When your kids are older they will not care about the toys you gave them. But they will remember the gift of your presence.

Keep in mind that God’s answer to the world’s problem was never material stuff. Instead, he gave us the gift of his presence. He is Immanuel – God with us.

Reflection

1. Is there anything particular in the lists above that resonated with you?
2. Take the a moment to give one of these gifts right now.
   

Prayer

Lord, you gave us the amazing gift of your presence. You have blessed us in so many ways. You have given us the gift of your love, the gift of salvation, and the gift of the Holy Spirit. All these gifts are more valuable all the money in the world. Thank you for your lavish generosity. In Jesus name. Amen.

“For which of you, desiring to build a tower, does not first sit down and count the cost, whether he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who see it begin to mock him, saying, ‘This man began to build and was not able to finish.’” (Luke 14:28–30, ESV)

I have a confession to make. I bought something for myself during a holiday sale. It was a new and shiny Apple iPad. I had my eye on it for some time. I was watching the prices. One day it was being offered for $200 off the full retail price.

I snatched up the offer and have been enjoying my new iPad ever since. I am a heavy user of my iPad. I do most all my reading on the iPad. I buy books to read on the Kindle app. I borrow electronic books from my local library. And I use the Bible App for my daily devotions. I also do video editing and lot of my writing is done on this iPad. I strive to get my money’s worth.

But there is a twinge of guilt for buying it. It was a lot of money and there were cheaper iPads I could have bought. The truth of the matter was that I already had an iPad. Yes, it was an older iPad. It did not have a large screen. The battery life was getting short, so I was finding that I needed to recharge the battery more often. The keyboard I used would sometimes miss the letters I was typing. I could find reasons to justify my new purchase. But the old iPad was sufficient. I didn’t “need” a new one. But I still bought a shiny new one that was expensive.

You have probably bought a few things that you didn’t need. Maybe you feel a bit guilty about it. Maybe you have some buyer’s remorse. But I want to offer some thoughts on how you might avoid regret and buyer’s remorse this holiday season:

Sleep On It

I did not make this purchase in the spur of the moment. I contemplated it for several weeks. I examined the benefit compared to the cost. If you have a big purchase to make, take the time to sleep on it. Don’t rush it. That too-good-to-miss sale will come back again. You might even happen upon a better sale. camelcamelcamel.com is a great website for tracking the historical price of an item on Amazon. You can get an alert for when the desired item might drop to your desired price. Patience is rewarded. By waiting, you may realize that you don’t want the item as much as you thought you did which leads to the biggest savings. Not making the purchase at all!

Don’t Finance It

I had the money for the purchase. I did not need to finance it. I did put it on a credit card and got 5% cashback on the purchase. But I also made sure to pay the credit card off immediately so that I would not be charged interest. This was not something I went into debt to buy. I also sold my old iPad on eBay to help supplement the cost.

There are financing deals available everywhere that allow us to bring home our new items today. But such financing locks us into the bondage of debt. It is another example of how our possessions often possess us. If you don’t have the money to buy it outright, don’t buy it.

Make It the Exception

My wife tells me this is my iPad is my Christmas present, my birthday present, and my anniversary present. And that is true. A purchase like this is a splurge but is something special that will not soon be replicated. Which ultimately, causes me to treasure it more. The more we have the less we will treasure and enjoy our individual possessions.

Consider Your Motivation

Think about your motivation for a given purchase. Why do you want it? What value does it offer you? There is a quote that has been attributed to several different people. I am not sure where it originated. But it goes like this:

We buy things we don’t need with money we don’t have to impress people we don’t like.

So many things are purchased to signal a certain status. In the community where I live, there are many people who drive luxury cars. What I see when I see someone with a new Mercedes is someone who probably has a tremendous amount of debt and lacks contentment. I am quite happy and content with my Honda with 90K that is fully paid for. For me, a car is a mode of transportation and not an indicator of my self-worth.

What Is Your Investment?

When you have a purchase to make, ask yourself what you will get back?

• I will not get back my money for the iPad. I will likely sell this iPad a few years from now for much less than I paid for it.
• I get joy. I find delight when I turn it on. But the pleasure I have in turning it on will probably wear off after a few months. It will become just another tool in the belt. And there are certainly other things I could find that would bring me joy.
• I will get efficiency. It is a tool that helps me be more productive in my work.
• I will get better organization. I strive to live a paperless lifestyle. I try to eliminate as much paper as I possibly can. I scan and store documents electronically and use the iPad to access them.

Jesus tells us to store up treasures in Heaven. He points us to deeply consider the investments we make. Are we being good stewards of the wealth he has entrusted to us? In the end, I determined that I believed the efficiency and organization that I would receive from my purchase would be worth the investment.

The holidays are a time of the year when we often grow weak in our stewardship. But this is a time when we need to be even more aware as we are bombarded by the consumerism of the season. Maybe I did make a poor investment with the purchase of the iPad. Time will tell. For all of us, the lesson is that we are called to be aware of our stewardship and accountability to God in all the ways we spend the money he entrusts to us.

Reflection

1. Have you bought or financed something you soon regretted? What are the lessons you learned from making that purchase?
2. How do you examine your motivations and consider the investment you are making when you make a purchase?

Prayer

Lord, you have blessed us with more than we need. We are able to buy things for enjoyment and pleasure. But we are easily tempted to be wasteful and make purchases without the proper motivation. Give discerning wisdom to count the cost of everything, that ultimately we would spend less to live more fully. Amen.

Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. (2 Corinthians 9:7, ESV)

The calendar turns to December and we are given the burden to be a bit more generous. But the challenge today is that we should not be obligated by the calendar.

Our church regularly volunteered at a local soup kitchen. One December, I called the soup kitchen coordinator to schedule a time when our church could serve. I was surprised when the coordinator asked if we would consider not coming in December. She told me that there were more than enough volunteers for December. In fact, they had as many volunteers in December as they had the entire rest of the year. She asked if we would please consider volunteering twice in January. She knew that many of the December volunteers would not return and that finding volunteers in January would be much more difficult.

It got me thinking a bit about how we often strain to do something “good” in the month of December. We do so because that is what we are supposed to do at Christmastime. We think that the calendar somehow obligates us. But it can become just one more thing that can leave us exhausted during the holiday.

We should not only consider what we give, but also consider when we give. With so much giving going on at Christmastime, your gift might be more appreciated at another time of the year. If you are a person who often serves, you might consider December as a time to step back and let others fill the gaps while you are refreshed. Then you can serve with even more vigor after the holiday.

Another example of this is all the baked goodies. I love sweets. But every Christmas season I am overwhelmed by all the cookies and chocolates that are found in our church office. I appreciate all the gifts, but unfortunately a lot of it goes to waste because it is too much all at once.

When I was serving as a vicar (an internship for future pastors), my supervisor sent out Epiphany cards. As a pastor, he was busy during December. So he would send out cards in January. It was unique and it was enjoyable to receive his card in a calmer season. I probably took a bit more time to savor the words because it was the only card I received at that time.

Generosity is not to be a once-a-year tradition. Rather, as believers, it is a lifestyle we live as we seek to follow Jesus.

Reflection

1. What holiday traditions of serving and giving might you move to a different time of the year that is less hectic?
2. What is the benefit of giving at different times of the year?

Prayer

Lord, thank you for blessing me in so many ways that I might be a blessing to others. You have given me time to serve. You have given me money and possessions to share with others. You have given me talents and abilities for me to uniquely benefit your kingdom. Give me the wisdom to use all those things wisely and to be timely with my generosity. In Jesus’ name. Amen!