Are You Generous?
Be careful how you answer. Take a moment, and let's look at Generosity as a Spiritual Discipline and WHY this is Normal for serious Christian disciples.
Everybody thinks they are generous, but how do we measure generosity?
Here are some amazing stats about Church giving:
In 2021 Churches raised $135.78 billion (GivingUSA)
The average gift per person of congregations of 500 was $2,461 for a total parish budget of $1,230,672 (ChurchSalary)
Giving in Orthodox parishes varies greatly, but on average, it usually amounts to less than 3% of the average household income.
When I worked in Evangelical Christian media, the media ministry I worked for in the early 90s had an annual income of about $92 million.
A lady recently emailed me to insist that her family was very generous to the Church. When I asked her how she knew, she told me how much they gave as a family each year. But that doesn’t really answer the question.
Generosity isn’t measured by how much you give but by how much you keep. And generosity is never just about money!
Since the Orthodox Faith lists Generosity as one of the three core disciplines of a Normal Orthodox life (the other two being Prayer and Fasting), how do we learn how to be generous?
Look at our lesson in 2 Corinthians 9:6-11:
Brethren, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that you may always have enough of everything and may provide in abundance for every good work. As it is written, “He scatters abroad, he gives to the poor; his righteousness endures forever.” He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will supply and multiply your resources and increase the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way for great generosity, which through us will produce thanksgiving to God.
St. Paul lays out the Normal Orthodox Way for us to develop a healthy generosity in our everyday lives.
First, Reaping and Sowing. Sadly, this idea has been so very much abused by some in American Christianity. Some have suggested that this has everything to do with “how much” you plant. But there is more to it than that shallow idea! Reaping and sowing take thought, planning, purpose, and a sober mind. This principle of generosity flows from knowing about the Faith you are investing your life into. When you know the Treasure you possess, you are given insight into how that Treasure should be valued in your everyday life.
If you show by your life that your Faith is merely a hobby, you shouldn’t be surprised when it produces so little effect. By the way, your children see this too!
Next, Freely Give. Shame, manipulation, and guilt will NEVER produce generosity. Never! Sadly, most of us make excuses about this reality in our lives. The most negative comments from my preaching and teaching come when I talk about money and, finally, funding the Church, as the Church deserves to be funded. And that’s because people either suffer from the notion they “have to” or are wounded from being “forced to.” Out of that challenge flows all kinds of bad attitudes toward our possessions or priorities for our giving.
When you see your giving change from being based on “need” to being motivated by “gratitude,” you will become generous.
Finally, Giving Cheerfully. The actual Greek word can be translated as “hilariously.” Isn’t that delightful? God wants us to give from a “hilarious heart.” That heart will only be created in your chest from Faith and Love. When you are convinced that God loves you and that He is caring for you, you will be free to hold your life loosely in your hands instead of gripping your possessions to you to “ease” your fear of the future.
When you give as God gives, then you are truly generous.
St. Martin, Bishop of Tours, was born to pagan parents in ancient Gaul in the 4th century. He fell in love with the Faith early in his life and received Christian baptism when he was 22. Soon after, he dedicated himself to being a humble monk. There was a story from his early life when he was a catechumen that powerfully illustrates how a life devoted to Christ produces a generous person. While St. Martin was fulfilling his military obligation, he saw a beggar by the city gate. The people were all ignoring him and passing him by. St. Martin had nothing to give this poor man, so he took his sword and cut his cloak in two to cover himself in the night cold. Later that night. St. Martin saw Christ in a dream as that poor beggar and the Lord holding the cloak that St. Martin shared. St. Martin maintained his generous heart, converting many to Christ from paganism and heretical teachings. Even though he was made a bishop, he refused to stop living as a simple monk. He died in peace in 397.
Today, what kind of “giver” are you? Are you attentive to the power of generosity to make you like Jesus Christ? Normal Orthodoxy is a generous and purposeful Orthodoxy. Is that who you are?
P.S. In signs and in miracles you were renowned throughout Gaul; by grace and adoption now you are a light for the world, O Martin, most blessed of God. Almsdeeds and compassion filled your life with their splendor; teaching and wise counsel were your riches and treasures, which you dispense freely unto all them that honor you.
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Fr. Barnabas Powell is the parish priest at Sts. Raphael, Nicholas, and Irene Greek Orthodox Church in Cumming, GA. He is also the founder of Faith Encouraged Ministries and produces the Faith Encouraged Daily Devotional on Substack. Watch the Faith Encouraged YouTube Channel here - https://www.youtube.com/@FaithEncouragedTV
