I have to admit, we tend to think of “sharing” as something that we tell children to do as they rip toys out of each other’s hands.  But, if we are being honest, the instruction to “share” seems to disappear with our tea sets, tater tots, and superman sheets.  The entire notion that it is a virtuous quality to share what we have seems to go out with the tide of youth.  Think about it.  When was the last time you heard an adult being told they needed to share their “toys”?  What does the Bible have to say about our practice of “aging out” of the necessity to share?
 
As I was reading some of Randy Alcorn’s work, I was challenged by some of his ideas and dug deeper into the scripture regarding the simple word “share”.  I have to confess, I have always considered the word “share” to be synonymous with the word “give”.  Essentially, sharing meant giving in any and all translations, and there are many verses that encourage believers to share what they have.  In several of them, I think we could simply walk away from the verses equating sharing with giving and more or less be correct (Luke 3:11, Eph. 4:28, Heb. 13:16, NIV, for example).
 
However, while it might sound like I am splitting hairs (I’ll get to why this all matters in just a moment), I think there are several verses that depict sharing as a separate and different act of generosity.  Consider the following:
 
“Instruct them to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share.” (1 Tim. 6:18, NASB)
 
“The one who is taught the word is to share all good things with the one who teaches him.” (Gal. 6:6, NASB)
 
“Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.” (Rom. 12:13, NIV)
 
These verses present sharing as something different than giving.  Paul tells the rich to be generous AND ready to share.  In the passage from Galatians, if share means give, then we are called to give all good things we have to our teachers of the word.  This doesn’t seem quite right.  Hospitality implies inviting people into our lives…not giving them our home.
 
In all of this, I present a different layer of Christian Generosity:  Sharing.  The simple act of allowing our resources to be used by others (willingly) is a biblical strand of a believer’s call to give.  I think that sharing has at least four impacts on a Christian’s life.
 
1. It creates another layer by which to reach the world with our generosity.  In some ways it’s easier and certainly more affordable!  Maybe we can’t buy/give a car to a ministry that operates primarily on Saturdays, but we could “share” our vehicle.  Opening up our minds to sharing greatly expands our capacity for generosity, and in many ways, stretches us differently than giving does.
 
2. It frees us of being owned by our possessions.  The Bible speaks strongly on the subject of not holding tightly to the things of this world.  What Alcorn calls “possessiveness”, we tend to be tenaciously protective of possessions we have convinced ourselves we hold loosely.  Essentially, if we aren’t willing to share a possession, it has an unhealthy grip on our hearts.  Sharing keeps us from putting too much priority on a worldly possession.  Letting someone else use our stuff forces us to loosen our grip (or get ulcers!).
 
3. It testifies that God is the owner of all things.  If we honestly believe that God owns all of us and all we have (all the world for that matter), then sharing is rather easy.  If we believe we own what we have, sharing is very difficult.  Christian sharing can be a strong testimony to a world that craves ownership.
 
4. It shows that God’s kingdom is our first priority.  If we share all we have for God’s glory, it shows that our possessions are not our purpose.  When everything we own is out on the table to be used as God sees fit, we can be assured that His kingdom is first in our hearts. Sharing is the product of a mindset focused on God’s purposes for our lives, our house, our car, our lawn mower, our ladder…
 
I think room remains for us to be inspired by the earliest days of the church:  “All the believers were one in heart and mind. No one claimed that any of their possessions was their own, but they shared everything they had.” (Acts 4:32, NIV)  There is something liberating about extending our generosity beyond giving.  Sharing stretches us to consider that even ”our” possessions are not really our possessions–they are God’s, fully available to serve His purposes.  It requires a different type of generosity.  We can’t stay uninvolved when we share.  It requires communication, trust, and a perspective that puts God’s purposes above possessions, dings, dents, scratches, rips, tears, and maybe, even losing the item we are sharing.
 
When we tell children they must share, they often protest, “But this is mine!”  Will we respond in the same manner when God asks this of us?

Many Christians struggle with whether or not it is good, or godly, to spend money on our own enjoyment.  While there are a lot of ways one could respond to this question, I read a passage the other day that made me think of the very difficult question of how much should, could, or can a Christian spend on themselves.  It is found in first timothy:

“Men who forbid marriage and advocate abstaining from foods which God has created to be gratefully shared in by those who believe and know the truth.  For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with gratitude.” (1 Tim 4:3-4, NASB)

First and foremost, we must consider the context.  Paul is not speaking about spending money in these verses…he is speaking of eating various foods that were considered by Jewish standards to be “unclean”.  (This is not the only place he tackles this issue and arrives at the same conclusion, Col. 2:16.)  Therefore, I want to say loud and clear that I am digging a principle out the passage today, and if my conclusions stretch the context more than you are comfortable with, you have every right to disagree.  That being said…

Paul argues that forbidding marriage and abstaining from foods is not the purpose of the gospel.  In fact, he claims that ALL things are good if we receive them with gratitude.  Going even further, God created these things to be gratefully shared in.  Now, if you are a biblically astute believer, a few hairs should be raised on the back of your neck.  Paul makes one more statement we ought to consider before we go hogwild into hedonism carrying our “thankfulness card”  in our back pocket!  He wraps up this thought in verse five:

“For it is sanctified by means of the word of God and prayer.” (1 Tim 4:5, NASB)

We ought to consider all that God created to be good, and our enjoyment of those things are to be sancified by the means of God’s word and time spent in prayer.  What that means is that we should gratefully enjoy all that God has created with the wisdom of His word and His Holy Spirit (in prayer) to guide our enjoyment.

There is a real temptation to take a verse like 1 Tim. 4:4, say that “all things are good if we are thankful”, and run in the opposite direction of everything the Bible teaches.  This is not what Paul intended.  Instead, we are left with the principle that:  Our ability to enjoy things (including our money) is sanctified through our willingness to dig into the word and prayer regarding how to best utilize those resources.  When we do so considering our money, we will find the importance of things like generosity and contentment to short curcuit our apparently limitless capacity for selfishness.  When we pray, we are enlightened to the needs of people other than ourselves.  On the other hand, we find verses like these that give us the freedom to enjoy some of what God has created with gratitude rather than guilt.

In conclusion:  When we “baptize our budget” in the word and prayer, we will find freedom to enjoy some of that with which God has blessed us and wisdom for what to do with the rest.  When we proclaim everything we have ever recieved is for our own enjoyment as long as we are thankful, we are far from honest prayer and study of God’s word.

Do we ever stop to ask ourselves what we are going to do when we get there?  I know what you’re thinking:  “Of course I do!  I am going to sleep in, spend time with my kids, stare at the ocean, and do something really significant with my time–you know, give back.”  We all have an endless list of things to do when “financial independence” finally moves into the guest bedroom.  However, the point I am trying to make here is that most of us never REALLY stop and think about what would come after reaching this elusive utopian destination.

If I had to boil it down into its simplest terms, I find that we usually go in one of two directions:  luxury or philanthopy.  Regarding the first option, the Bible speaks rather clearly.  Jesus told a parable about a rich man who had reached what we would call “financial independence”.

“Watch out! Be on your guard against all kinds of greed; life does not consist in an abundance of possessions.  And he told them this parable: ‘The ground of a certain rich man yielded an abundant harvest. He thought to himself, ‘What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops.’  Then he said, ‘This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store my surplus grain.  And I’ll say to myself, ‘You have plenty of grain laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat, drink and be merry.’  But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’  This is how it will be with whoever stores up things for themselves but is not rich toward God.” (Luke 12:15-21, NIV)

Plain and simple:  The Bible teaches that a life long pursuit of wealth in the name of personal comfort, luxury, and ease is greedy and foolish.  Though it may seem appealing on the surface, this approach to life is nothing more than a self-revolving, self-indulging, pursuit of short-term and superficial satisfaction.  And, sadly, this person’s deepest hopes are placed in temporal things with no guarantee they will actually get to enjoy what they have stored up.  There is nothing wrong with working hard to enjoy some of the fruit of your labor, but the life dedicated only to this purpose is ultimately meaningless, self-absorbed greed.

The rest of us place our bets on door number two (philanthropy).  Often Christians aware of the parable above defend their pursuit of financial independence in terms like:  “Once I get there, I will serve and give, etc.”  We have dreams of using our adundant resources to help others…once we get our stockpile high enough.  We tend to be quite stingy now as we strive towards our goal, and push our generosity off to the day our ship comes in.  Let’s stop and think about that.  Will we really dedicate our life to something we never have the time for now?  Are fooling ourselves? 

Jesus told another parable along these lines, the parable of the talents (Matt. 25:14-30).  “You have been faithful with a few things; I will put you in charge of many things.” (23)  Would God be wise to bless our pursuit of financial independence if we don’t do what we are supposed to with the little amount we have?  I don’t think so.

In conclusion, I will leave us with two principles to consider:  First, supposed “financial independence” is not evil unless it is the only thing we are trying to define our life by (greed).  Second, we fool ourselves if we think we will be a different sort of person when our assets increase.  We should feel free to work towards this goal, but should never define our lives by it or convince ourselves we can wait until then to start acting like we ought.

I grew up a little different than your run of the mill American. When something broke in our house, we fixed it. Doesn’t matter what it was, we fixed it. I was probably the only kid in my third grade class that knew how to change out a flapper valve, understand the difference between regular and galvanized nails, and could swap out an oil filter! Seriously! At career day in elementary school, I had no idea what a plumber, mechanic, or electrian was–those people all went by the name “dad”. (Can I get an amen in the comment thread from everyone out there who grew up like I did!?!) Anyway, to understand today’s post you have to know a little bit about cutting boards…so I will do my best to make it sensical for everyone who didn’t grow up quite like I did.

When you are cutting a board with a circular saw, you have to do a couple things at the same time to get the result you are hoping for: a clean, straight cut. First, you draw the line. You make your marks on both sides of the cut, draw a clean line, then pick up your saw. Now, here is where it gets tricky. You have to do two things at the same time to get a straight cut.

1. You have to constantly watch the line out in front of the saw and…

2. You have to constantly watch the point where the blade is intersecting the board.

Both things must be done at the same time. If you stare out in front of the saw–looking only at your guideline, then your blade will get off. Your cut will look like the edge of a lasagna noodle. Crooked. At the same time, if you stare constantly at the blade and never look out in front of the line, then you will get the same result, a crooked line.

Right now, you might be wondering if you have accidentally stumbled upon a DIY site, but I promise: There is a huge lesson in leadership hiding behind this simple example. As leaders, we naturally we swing the pendulum to one side or the other. We either: constantly look towards the future (and neglect the day to day necessities), or we only look at the daily operations (and totally neglect our future vision).

VISIONARIES: These people stare at the line out in front of the saw. They are creative, innovative, and think outside of the box. They have great ideas, but struggle desperately to execute on a daily basis. Details are not their strength. While they might have great ideas, they struggle to get the saw from point A to point B. They only stare out in front.

PRAGMATISTS: These people stare at the saw intersecting the board. They are excellent details people. They are great planners and strategic. They can get from point A to point B–it’s what they do. The struggle with this population is that they are often driving to a point B that is totally irrelevent, out-dated, or illogical. They are great at day to day operations, but often lose sight of just where they are trying to get to in the first place.

Everyone leans one way or the other. To be a good leader you have to recognize which way you lean and strive for balance. If you are a visionary, strive for discipline and day to day balance with details–look down. If you are a pragmatist, strive to set appropriate and purposeful goals–look up. And, if you are looking for the icing on the cake, try to work closely with someone who compliments your leanings. Team up, and build upon each other’s strengths.

(I have to give credit to my pastor for using a variation of this analogy in a recent sermon. Thanks, Rick)

I heard a sermon the other day that got me thinking about discontent in a different light.  When researching for my second book: Christ-Centered Contentment, I stumbled across 100 different perspectives on subject.  But, not once did I come across the following thought:  Discontent can be a good thing.  What!?!  How!?!

When it comes down to it, discontent (which is spiritual in nature) is often an ill condition of the heart.  For this reason, it is spoken against so strongly in Bible and churches across the world.  When we have all that we need in Christ (2 Pet. 1:3), and we read verses like…

“Make sure that your character is free from the love of money, being content with what you have; for He Himself has said, ‘I WILL NEVER DESERT YOU, NOR WILL I EVER FORSAKE YOU,’ so that we confidently say, ‘THE LORD IS MY HELPER, I WILL NOT BE AFRAID.  WHAT WILL MAN DO TO ME?’ (Heb. 13:5-6, NASB)

…it is hard to rationalize discontent in the life of a Christian (other than attributing it to sin and self).  God is for us and God is with us.  How could anything we lack compare with this?  A Christian can learn to be content in all circumstances. (Phil. 4:11)  These are some of the key points I discuss in my book on contentment, and I am not straying in anyway from those beliefs.  However, I have been challenged to add another layer to my definition of discontent.

Discontent is a motivator.  It can be a powerful force to bring about change.  There are plenty of examples of this in day-to-day life: 

• We might look in the mirror after stepping out of the shower or putting on those pants that used to fit last season, and find ourselves discontent with our health. 
• We might be up to our neck in bills and feeling more lost and behind with each passing month, and find ourselves discontent with our finances. 
• We might find ourselves struggling to connect and struggling to keep the romance alive with our spouse, and find ourselves discontent in our marriage. 
• We might admit that we distant from our Savior and are having our relationship with Christ growing cold and stagnant, and find ourselves discontent with our walk. 

In all of these places, discontent can be a springboard for positive change.  While I don’t think I am ready to move the word “discontent” on to a list of virtues, I am beginning to see that God often uses discontent to draw us to Himself.  Ultimately, we are discontent whenever we try to define ourselves, our life, or our satisfaction in anything other than Him.  In a matter of speaking, discontent—and most importantly, our reaction to it—can be a good thing.  Discontent has a power to drive us to change.  It has a power to drive us back to the only places our hearts and souls can find true contentment.  Discontent can drive us back to God. 

In conclusion, I still don’t believe discontent is a good thing in the life of a Christian.  It shows that we are defining ourselves by things other than Christ.  However, I recognize that it can be a powerful tool God uses to convince us to allow Him to enter into the places where we are discontent.

Putting “Me First” is the worst financial move a Christian can make.  Jesus clearly said, “The last shall be first, and the first last.” (Matt. 20:16, NASB)  The phrase itself is a little bit enigmatic at first (and definitely speaks far deeper than finances), but closer inspection reveals the wisdom of God.  We have a tendency to put ourselves first.  Big surprise I know, but we must begin to realize that our natural tendency is to make ourselves numero uno.  

Putting ourselves first —or perhaps I should say paying ourselves first—while it might sound a little arrogant, it seems like the path to finding the most enjoyment in our financial life.  Spending our money on ourselves seems like a logical way to get the most satisfaction from our finances.  The Bible says otherwise.  Observe this passage from Haggai:

“Is it time for you yourselves to dwell in your paneled houses while this house lies desolate?’ Now therefore, thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Consider your ways!  You have sown much, but harvest little; you eat, but there is not enough to be satisfied; you drink, but there is not enough to become drunk; you put on clothing, but no one is warm enough; and he who earns, earns wages to put into a purse with holes.” (Hag. 1:4-6)

The people of God lived in luxury at the expense of the Lord’s house.  There is nothing inherently wrong with luxury or “paneled houses”, only when our pursuit of such things leaves the Lord’s work “desolate”.  The Lord’s response is something I think a lot of American Christians, if they are completely honest, can identify with.  He responds to their self-centered “Me-first-economy” by saying that their hard work reaps little harvest, their food and drink doesn’t satisfy, their clothes aren’t warm enough, and their financial life can be wrapped up in the phrase: easy come, easy go. 

This is a really challenging passage for the contemporary church to reflect on.  How much have we focused on “our house” before “the Lord’s house”?  I know that we don’t live in the old covenant with the Temple of the Lord, but how real is this principle today?  There are so many of us that have so much, yet reap so little—that consume so much to so little satisfaction.  How many of us might feel like we are putting money into a pocket with holes, finding ourselves at the end of the month scratching our head wondering where our paycheck went?

While there are a multitude of reasons for this effect, I think one of them is that God’s kingdom lies somewhere far down on the list of our financial priorities.  We do not give first.  We must consider our ways:

“Thus says the LORD of hosts, ‘Consider your ways!  Go up to the mountains, bring wood and rebuild the temple, that I may be pleased with it and be glorified,’ says the LORD. ‘You look for much, but behold, it comes to little; when you bring it home, I blow it away. Why?’ declares the LORD of hosts, ‘Because of My house which lies desolate, while each of you runs to his own house.” (Hag. 1:7-11, NASB)

While it might seem self-contradicting, the following principle is true: when we put ourselves and our satisfaction at the top our list, we lose every time.  We “look for much, but behold, it comes to little.”  The first will be last.  We must begin putting God first, and by doing so, actually do what is best for ourselves.

Among the many instructions the Bible has for our giving, it calls for us to keep our giving “secret”. Jesus plainly told us to give in this manner:

“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, NASB)

The call for secret giving is unavoidable. The reasoning behind such a command can be a little less obvious. I have tried to come up with what I believe are some sound rationales for a Christian to not let his left hand know what his right is doing.

GIVING SECRETLY…

 1. Keeps us from giving for the praise of others. This idea is plainly stated by Christ. Often, we are tempted to give because of how it will other people think of us. We want people to see us as generous, compassionate, and charitable. In this senario, we give not for the benefit of those receiving our contribution, but for our own benefit–selfish giving, if you will. It’s counter-productive. Giving in secret prevents this backwards motivation.

2. Allows giving to bring praise to God. In essence, this is the flip side of the previous point. When we choose to give secretly, our contributions bring praise and glory to God, not ourselves. He gets the credit when we give in a way that only He can be credited. We simply all ow the glory to fall where it ought when we give in secret.

3. Prevents self-righteousness. Not only do unsecretive contributions attempt to boost other people’s opinions of us, they also do a lot to inflate our own thoughts of self. This is why Jesus not only instructs us to keep our giving secret from others, but also to keep it a secret from ourselves. When we give generously, our flesh has a way of twisting our generosity in our own self-righteous favor. We no longer give because of how great God’s generosity has transformed and controlled our hearts, but because of how great we esteem ourselves. Not letting our left hand know what our right is doing, keeps this from happening.

4. Brings attention to the corporate not individual. I have already discussed the negative effects of giving for show, but giving secretly also brings glory to God corporately. When the world says that “John” or “Susan” is generous, John and Susan are honored. When the world says that “Christians” are generous, God is glorified. The church, as the body of Christ, brings glory to God.

5. Keeps the focus on others. When we give for our own acclaim, we care little for those to whom we are giving (after all, we are motivated by our own gain not theirs). This is hardly the call of biblical generosity. When we give in secret, our attention is focused on the benefit of the recipient. In this, we see true compassion in contribution.

Certainly there are more, but I think this post gets the ball rolling in the right direction. When we give secretly, we do what is best for ourselves and what is best for God’s kingdom. Jesus said that God is watching our contributions. Those who give in secret will be rewarded by God who sees in secret. Let us not miss out on the reward of the Father to gain the praise of men!