SACRIFICIAL GIVING

About a month ago, you might remember there was a hurricane by the name of Matthew that ended up going up the Southeastern United States coastline. Before it got to the US, it inflicted its wrath on a number of smaller countries including the Bahamas, Cuba, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. In all, about 1650 people are believed to have died. Almost all of them (1600 or more) were in Haiti. Matthew left Haiti devastated—people were buried in mass graves as cholera broke out. All this, while still trying to recover from a 2010 earthquake that killed more than 200,000 people. Even now, over a month after Mathew, 800,000 people are still in need of immediate assistance and many of those only possession, is the clothes on their back.

59% of all the people in Haiti live in poverty, with 25% living in extreme poverty. 15% of the children are orphaned or abandoned. Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, with an average income of $350 per year and an average rural income of $100 per year.

The economy is heavily dependent on farming which employs 60% of the labor force. Mathew destroyed pretty well all of the crops and even though it would take 3-4 months for new crops to mature, the people have no seeds to plant.

Haiti, less than 800 miles off the Florida coast, is the 20th poorest country in the world. Unfortunately, that means there are 19 other countries in worse shape than they are. Nearly 1/2 of the world—more than 3 Billion people live in poverty, making less than $2.50 per day. More than 1.3 Billion live in Extreme poverty making less than $1.25 per day. One Billion children in our world live in poverty. According to UNICEF 22,000 children die each and every day due of the effects of poverty.

And then I look at me and at us. I look at all that we have—all that God has given us—homes, cars, money, food, family, comfort, health and financial security. Most of us want for absolutely nothing. We have so much more than what we need and if we really want something else; don’t we just get it. We look forward to retirement when we can just sit back and enjoy the good life. But even then, don’t many of us think “but only if I had this or that“.  Then I would be happy, then I would feel secure, then I would be content, then I wouldn’t have to worry.

Whether we think it or not, many of us are so preoccupied with Us. How much thought do we give to Them—the 50% of all humanity who have practically nothing, who are hungry and have no food, who are homeless and have no real place to sleep, who are thirsty and don’t have access to clean water to drink, who are sick, who are suffering and who are dying and have nowhere to turn for medical care, comfort or even love and compassion? When Jesus says we have to love our neighbor does that include Them—they’re so far away—we can’t see them—we don’t know them—we might not have even known they’re there?

What does God Really expect of us?

If someone who has worldly means sees a brother in need and refuses him compassion, how can the love of God remain in him?  1 John 3:17

Are people we don’t know and will never see our brothers and our sisters—and if so, are we really expected to be our brothers and sisters keepers?

Oh I know, you might say like me that “this doesn’t apply to me. First of all, I’m not wealthy, I don’t have that much myself. And secondly I already give to the poor, I give to numerous charities, I always give to the monthly collection for the poor at church—in fact, I give a lot, probably a whole lot more than many people. Besides just giving money, I even volunteer my time and go out and help the less fortunate personally”.

And that’s good, because not that many people do even that. But don’t we usually give from our surplus—our extra—our money and our time that we don’t really want to part with, but that we know we can give up without creating much if any discomfort? Do we really believe that everything we have is a gift from God and that we are just stewards of those gifts? And if they really belong to God, how often do we ask what he wants us to do with those gifts?

What would happen if instead of giving from our surplus, no matter how large or how small the amount, we began to give sacrificially—what if we started to give until it hurt—what if we had to give up something of ours—what if we had to make adjustments in our lives? What if we even slightly lowered our standard of living so that others might be able to live slightly better?

If we started to give sacrificially, would it matter to God?

Here’s what Jesus said;

He sat down opposite the treasury and observed how the crowd put money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow also came and put in two small coins worth a few cents. Calling his disciples to himself, he said to them, “Amen, I say to you, this poor widow put in more than all the other contributors to the treasury. For they have all contributed from their surplus wealth, but she, from her poverty, has contributed all she had, her whole livelihood.”  Mark 12:41-44

What if instead of being so concerned with Our comfort and security, we started focusing more on what is really important—The Kingdom of God and Eternal Life?

Jesus, looking at him, loved him and said to him, “You are lacking in one thing. Go, sell what you have, and give to [the] poor and you will have treasure in heaven; then come, follow me.” At that statement his face fell, and he went away sad, for he had many possessions. Jesus looked around and said to his disciples, “How hard it is for those who have wealth to enter the kingdom of God! The disciples were amazed at his words. So Jesus again said to them in reply, “Children, how hard it is to enter the kingdom of God! It is easier for a camel to pass through [the] eye of [a] needle than for one who is rich to enter the kingdom of God.” They were exceedingly astonished and said among themselves, “Then who can be saved?” Jesus looked at them and said, “For human beings it is impossible, but not for God. All things are possible for God.” Peter began to say to him, “We have given up everything and followed you.” Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, there is no one who has given up house or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or lands for my sake and for the sake of the gospel who will not receive a hundred times more now in this present age: houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions, and eternal life in the age to come.            Mark 10:21-30

What if we just began by living with a little less and what we saved, we gave to the poor?

What if we sold all that stuff that we have laying around filling our closets and attics and garages—that stuff we don’t really need and rarely if ever use and took the money and gave it to the poor?.

What if we dedicated just one month out of the year and really sacrificed? What if we didn’t buy anything but the real necessities in life—no restaurants, no Starbucks, no movies, no trips, no department stores, no Amazon? What if we lived really frugally for just a month—plainer less expensive food—and maybe less of it, no television, no internet, less driving—less cell phones, less Facebook and texting, less everything? And what if at the end of that month we gave every cent we hadn’t spent to the poor?

What if for our birthday and Christmas and anniversary, we asked people to make a donation to the poor instead of giving us a gift—a gift we probably didn’t need or care about anyway?

What does God Really expect from us?

If a brother or sister has nothing to wear and has no food for the day, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, keep warm, and eat well,” but you do not give them the necessities of the body, what good is it?   James 2:15-16

I know people who make light of those who only give money but never go out and directly help the poor by physically doing something like working in a soup kitchen. I would be surprised if those people have ever given money sacrificially. I would be surprised if they really felt that way after sacrificing their security and comfort –after having done without for others—especially strangers they have never even met and probably never will. We all know that giving from our surplus—our extra might make us feel better for a while, but we also know that feelings are fleeting—they fade and when they do, it leaves us feeling empty. Only joy lasts and true joy only comes from the Holy Spirit after giving him control of our lives.

So, what does God Really expect from us?

Then the king will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Then the righteous will answer him and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? When did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? When did we see you ill or in prison, and visit you?’ And the king will say to them in reply, ‘Amen, I say to you, whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me.’ Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you accursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, a stranger and you gave me no welcome, naked and you gave me no clothing, ill and in prison, and you did not care for me.’ Then they will answer and say, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or ill or in prison, and not minister to your needs?’ He will answer them, ‘Amen, I say to you, what you did not do for one of these least ones, you did not do for me.’ And these will go off to eternal punishment, but the righteous to eternal life.”   Matthew 25:34-46

Our purpose in life is not to sit back and enjoy ourselves with these gifts we have been entrusted with while so many of our brothers and sisters  are suffering and dying due to a lack of something we possess in abundance. Our purpose in life is union with Christ. And for that to happen, we have to become like Jesus. Jesus is Love. And we too are to become Love. To do that we have to learn to give ourselves away—we have to have faith that we can let go of our riches and the security that they bring and learn to rely totally on God and not on ourselves. We have to have faith to know that He was truthful when he promised to take care of us. We do that when we finally let go of all of our plans and goals and fears and allow the Holy Spirit to fill us and to flow through us and every pore of our being and out again into the world.