The Heart of Generosity | 2 Corinthians 8:1-9
Have you ever had to have an awkward conversation? Like talking to your kids about the birds and the bees: they don’t want to hear about it from you and you don’t want to tell them. But you know it’s important that they hear the truth about it. I have learned that conversations are as awkward as you make them. Today we going to see what the Bible says about generosity. Did you know that virtually all of humanity values generosity? The reason is because God’s values generosity because He is a generous God. If you look at the writings from various religions: Atheism: Richard Dawkins: “Let us try to teach generosity and altruism because we are born selfish.” Islam: The Quran: “You shall never be truly righteous until you give in alms what you dearly cherish.” Hinduism: “They who give, have all things; they who withhold have nothing.” Confucianism: Confucius “He who wishes to secure the good of others has already secured his own.” Jesus: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (25% of Jesus’ teaching was somehow tied to money and generosity.) We all know that it is good to be generous, but if we are honest we hope that others will be generous so we don’t have to be. But extensive scientific research has proven that giving is really good for you. Intentional and regular practices of generosity have been associated with a release of good hormones including oxytocin, dopamine, and various endorphins. It is connected with a sense of purpose in life, personal happiness and overall health. Giving even activates the same portion of the brain that lights up when winning the lottery or getting a raise. Conversely, a lack of giving is bad for you: you have higher levels of cortisol (stress) which is linked to headaches, stroke, heart disease and depression. As good as those reasons are for being generous, they will not be enough to make you truly generous. There needs to be something more; there needs to be a change of heart that beats for living generously. This is what God wants for all His children.
Paul is writing to a very gifted and wealthy church concerning an offering for the poor saints in Jerusalem: the Jerusalem Project. The last time he wrote them, he gave them instructions about it, but the church hadn’t followed through with it. Paul is putting it all out there and is writing to remind them about this offering and to encourage them to live generous. Why? Because generous living is of the most important ways, we know that the grace of God has changed our hearts. Generosity is the overflow of grace in my life based on the generosity of Jesus.