“Put your outdoor work in order and get your fields ready; after that, build your house.” (Prov. 24:27, NIV)

In order to fully understand this proverb, I must take a moment to mention its historical context. During the time these words were spoken, Israel was predominately an agriarian society. Most people were farmers. The reap of the harvest was life or death to the average Israelite of Solomon’s day. Secondly, it was not uncommon in biblical times for people to live in tents. Certainly upon entering and conquering the Promised Land life became more stablized and houses began to appear, but it would not be unheard of or unthinkable to live in biblical times without a permenant dwelling.

Therefore, a house symbolized a luxury–a level of financial security and success not necessary for existence. In this simple example, Solomon illustrates a timeless principle: Do what is essential first. Then, “build your house”. Cover your necessities, prepare for your needs, after that, build your house. This proverb is anything but outdated. Financially speaking, we must plan, prepare, and provide for our future needs long before working towards our future wants (all the while recognizing that ultimately it is God who provides).

So when do we build our house? After all of our needs have prepared and provided for–after we have the essentials covered. Now, we could argue all day long about just what exactly a household “needs” as wise provision, but I will leave that up to your prayerful consideration of God’s word and leading of His Spirit (but I will caution you that Solomon’s list was pretty short!). It is biblical to “take care of our household” first (1 Tim. 5:4,8). Solomon’s proverb furthers this idea and helps to point our ship in the right direction: keep first things first.

This sounds simple and obvious, but if we look at our lives honestly, we should be reluctant to cast any stones. In countless ways, I will admit to letting secondary things slip into the drivers seat. It is not all that uncommon for a person to build their house before getting their fields ready. How so? First off, we could take this proverb literally and look only at home ownership. Many Americans jump into home ownership. We graduate college, and shocked by the difference between our first paycheck and that coffee shop we worked at part time in college, we jump into a big fat mortgage. Only after we have lived in the “real world” for a while, we start to discover that we should have paid off those pesky student loans, car notes, and credit cards before signing up for a mortgage (not to mention preparing an emergency fund, organizing a budget…) “Get your fields ready, after that, build your house.”

For some of us advising caution on a home purchase may be a little too late, but I think the principle extends far beyond home ownership. We must be careful to keep first things first before burying ourselves in unnecessary purchases. (The Bible instructs our giving to be first as well, but that is a discussion for another day.) Prepare for retirement, then buy a flatscreen. Pay your bills, then go to the movies. Get out of debt, then go on a vacation. You get the point. “Get your fields ready, after that, build your house.”

“If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.  But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great.” (Luke 6:34-35)

Christ gave quite a surprising twist to generosity–expect nothing in return.  This got me thinking about what types of “expectations” we bring to the table of generosity. [Intro previously posted]

HEAVENLY

This post will highlight one often overlooked portion of the passages we have used throughout this mini-series.  Each portion of scripture we have looked actually tells us what our expectation should be:

“and your reward will be great.” (Luke 6:35)

“your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matt. 6:4)

“for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:14)

The Bible instructs our generosity to be motivated by a desire for heavenly reward.  In a sense, we are only to “expect nothing in return” in this life.  However, the expectation of return in the next life should in fact be a passionate motivation.

What exactly heavenly reward is, is never fully described in scripture.  To a certain extent, we don’t really know what heavenly reward is.  I believe this is intentional in order to call us to live by faith.  The only thing that we know for certain is that Christ, the author of our salvation, instructs us to seek after it. 

Taking an honest look at your expectations for generosity (because believe me, you do have expectations of some kind) can free us to give as the Bible instructs, and ultimately, to reap a bountiful harvest in heaven.

Expectation Series: Part 1- Repayment, Part 2- Praise, Part 3- Heavenly.

Check out the latest deals on Dollars and Doctrine here.

“If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.  But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great.” (Luke 6:34-35)

Christ gave quite a surprising twist to generosity–expect nothing in return.  This got me thinking about what types of “expectations” we bring to the table of generosity. [Intro previously posted]

PRAISE

Accolade is another common expectation following a contribution.  People often, though perhaps not openly, expect praise for their generosity and philanthropy.

“So when you give to the poor, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, so that they may be honored by men.  Truly I say to you, they have their reward in full.  But when you give to the poor, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving will be in secret; and your Father who sees what is done in secret will reward you.” (Matt. 6:2-4) 

Christ spoke plainly against this sort of motivation.  He explains that the only reward of “praise seeking generosity” is just what you hoped for–praise from men.  At first it sounds reasonable to get what you expect, perhaps even legitimate.  But we cheat ourselves if all we seek is the recognition of men.

A couple handshakes, a letter of appreciation, or a plaque.  These are nothing compared to the recognition and reward of God.  Christ encouraged us to seek greater things.  We cannot let our desire for praise and recognition rob us of true generosity.  Take time to reflect over how much you anticipate praise, recognition or appreciation.  How do you react when a contribution isn’t met with these things?

One mark of of true Christ-centered generosity is a freedom from recognition.  In fact, such an action actually aspires to secrecy in order to avoid this all to common snare.

Expectation Series: Part 1- Repayment, Part 2- Praise, Part 3- Heavenly.

“If you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners in order to receive back the same amount.  But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great.” (Luke 6:34-35)

Christ gave quite a surprising twist to generosity–expect nothing in return.  This got me thinking about what types of “expectations” we bring to the table of generosity.

REPAYMENT

“But when you give a reception, invite the poor, the crippled, the lame, the blind, and you will be blessed, since they do not have the means to repay you; for you will be repaid at the resurrection of the righteous.” (Luke 14:13-14)

As mentioned by Christ, the anticipation of “receiving back the same amount” destroys a pure-hearted sense of generosity.  When God’s people give or lend, it must be done with a certain level of detachment.  To a certain extent, we must separate ourselves from our contributions and credits.  This is how we love our enemies.  This is how we prove to the world that Christ is all we really need.  When we act in a manner completely opposite of the world, when we take the very paradigms of earthly existence and flip them upside-down, then we give weight to the idea that there really is something different about Jesus.

Before we let ourselves off of the hook too easily, we must think clearly about what type of “repayments” we expect for our generosity.  If we make a contribution to our church, do we expect certain services to be provided with the use of our money?  Do we expect certain “favors” to be called in by friends we have helped out in the past?  Do we expect a certain level of control in exchange for our contributions?

There are countless ways we expect repayment (other than a literal repayment of funds).  We are free from a moral standpoint to act as we choose, but Christ is speaking of something much deeper here.  He is speaking of a life lived for heaven (Part 3).

Expectation Series: Part 1- Repayment, Part 2- Praise, Part 3- Heavenly.

Check out the latest deals on Dollars and Doctrine here.

(In case you are unfamiliar with this work, the basic idea is this:  Screwtape is a senior demon writing letters back and forth with Wormwood -a lesser demon- about how to distract and destroy Christians.  It sounds twisted, but is actually a fascinating read.  Far from a book on systametic theology, it does provide some interesting nuggets to ponder...like this one.) When writing to Wormwood, Screwtape says:

You can download the talk in a variety of formats here.

Are you a Spender or Saver? The Pros and Cons of BOTH

Life seems to throw dichotomies at us often: Be it Extravert/Introvert, Planner/Spontaneous, Yankees/Red Sox. Whatever it may be, it seems that often we can draw the proverbial line in the sand and divide ourselves up one way or the other. In countless ways, we seem to split across a variety of personality traits that oppose or compliment our counterparts.  I find the financial realm to be no different.

Most people gravitate towards one extreme: Spending or Saving. I find both traits to have their ups and downs:

SPENDERS:

Pros – The spender is often a very generous person. Giving money as the Lord calls-liberally and willingly-provides no butterflies in the stomach for the spender. I find people who hold their money loosely tend to be the best, biggest, and most generous givers. They enjoy their financial blessings with themselves, family, friends, the cause of the gospel, and those in need.

Cons – Just as I mentioned before, the spender holds his or her money loosely. While this can lead to joyful generosity, it can lead in negative directions as well. Spenders can tend to take their financial responsibilities lightly, slack in preparing for the future, or most commonly-spend money foolishly. The Bible challenges us all to be wise stewards of our resources. The tendency towards generosity can also lead spender to be extremely generous to…themselves, and thus in some cases use their resources very selfishly.

SAVERS:

Pros – Savers often are very wise with their money. They plan and prepare for the future (thus the saving). This is Biblical and wise. They have resources available, love the parable of the talents, and take the responsibility of stewardship seriously. Since they are not naturally prone to spend, they give careful thought to the money they do spend.

Cons – The saver holds their money tightly. This can lead to them managing it well, but just as likely lead a person to being stingy, miserly, or scrooge-like. The saver needs the help of the Spirit to find joy in generosity. Secondly, savers can have a hard time enjoying spending because they hate to part with their hard-earned-squirreled-away funds. In some cases, this feeling is so excessive it is detrimental to the saver, his or her family, friends, the cause of the gospel, or those in need.

The biggest error in approaching matters like this is to think that your natural tendency is the best way. They both have pros and cons, and ultimately, the Bible will call us to balance.