I have long maintained
that those who want to read the Bible literally should begin with
Jesus's words to man who comes along asking how to inherit eternal
life. In Matthew 19, Jesus advises the man, "Sell all your
possessions and give alms."
But what if someone really
did this? I read an article recently about a woman whose family was
taking her to court to have her declared incompetent because she
wanted to give her money away. Perhaps this woman was really being
swindled by someone. You will notice that Jesus did not say, "sell
all your possessions and give me the money." I don't know the
particular merits of the case involving the woman, but it occurs to
me that generosity is considered a form of insanity in this world.
I am trying to picture the
man in Jesus's story if he actually did what Jesus told him to do.
Would the family take him to court?
On the other hand I knew a
minister who lived very frugally and everyone regarded him as a
saint. When he lost weight as he got older he took in his pants by
hand. It became more and more obvious to everyone how poor this man
was. I am sure everyone around him assumed he was poor because he
had given away so much of what he earned and had inherited. But
when he died he left close to a million dollars in high yield
accounts. No one ever questioned his sanity.
So why is generosity a
form of insanity, but hoarding is just business as usual?
In the kingdom of God into
which we have been called to live, things look different.
In the story in Matthew
19, Jesus tells the man to sell all he has in response to a
question. Luke also recounts that story, but in Luke 12 Jesus
repeats the advice following a longer story of a man who had barns
to hold all that he possessed and it availed him nothing. Then Jesus
talks about the lilies of the field and the birds of the air,
concluding with, "Do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father
has been pleased to give you the kingdom. Sell your possessions,
and give alms" (Luke 12:32).
So is this talk for the
woman selling her possessions or for the family who rushes to court
to try to stop their inheritance form being given away? Perhaps it
is for the one who sits on the money so that he or she will have
lots to leave heirs who do not need it. Perhaps it is for all of
us.
And I do not think it is
necessarily about giving it all away in some grand gesture. One of
the most generous women I know lived frugally and gave very
generously (12 percent) to church and then also to other causes.
She had little left to give when she died because she had been
generous all her life. She got to see the fruits of her giving.
Those of us who leave it when we die never will. I just picture the
joy I always saw in her face and know what inheriting the kingdom is
all about, because I picture Christ's face glowing that way when He
gives to us.
Lord,
We give you thanks that you have given so generously to us. May we
be as richly blessed in giving as in receiving.
Amen
