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Adjusting to Sacrifice Luke 21:1-4 |
August 20, 2006 Pastor Tom Marcum |
Years ago, I was the Youth Pastor to a large group of kids, the vast majority of whom came from very affluent families. This was especially true of one particular boy whose family had amassed mega-millions of Texas oil dollars. And they lived the life-style to prove it.
I led a weekly Bible study in the mansion they called home and, one night, I decided that it would be wise to introduce these kids to a concept that, it appeared they’d never even considered, namely, sacrifice. I asked the kids to look 20 years into the future and describe what their life would look like if they were to judge themselves, “successful.” One by one the kids responded and, in every case, great wealth was at the center of their vision of success. Without exception, they defined a “successful life” in terms of wealth and all the stuff that wealth can buy. Until we came to the young man in whose family mansion we were meeting. This kid from the wealthiest family of all went in a completely different direction with his answer.
He said, “I’ve got to be honest with you. I’m surprised and disappointed by the shallowness of these responses. All you guys have talked about is money. Don’t you realize that money can’t make you happy. 20 years from now if I have a wife and kids who love me and a job that I enjoy…well, that’s what I’d call success. The amount of money I have really doesn’t even matter. As long as I have enough to maintain the lifestyle I have right now, I’ll be perfectly satisfied.”
As I recall, he never did figure out why I was laughing so hard.
How do you teach the concept of sacrifice to kids who’ve known nothing but wealth their entire lives? I think it’s a good question. I also think it’s one that’s worth expanding to a much broader perspective and here’s why.
We live in one of the wealthiest nations on the earth. ½ the population of the world cannot even begin to imagine what it would be like to have our standard of living. If you go to bed at night with a roof over your head and have heat that comes out of the walls you already have a higher standard of living the most of the rest of the world. By any reasonable standard we are a wealthy nation. Even so, the average American donates a meager 1% of their income to charitable causes. 1%. Now, thankfully, Christians give at a completely different level. But you would expect that from people who acknowledge God as the source of their abundance. That’s why the average Christian now gives a full 2% of their income to charitable causes. 2%.
Question: How do you teach sacrifice to people like that? Let’s be honest—to people like us?
I think we do it the very same way that we teach every other important lesson and that is by studying God’s Word.
--What does the Bible have to say about sacrifice?
--What does the Bible say about the kind of sacrificial giving that is pleasing to God and appropriate for His children?
To find out, let’s read Luke 21:1-4, which says,
“As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. ‘I tell you the truth,’ he said, ‘this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.’”
So, here’s the scene. Jerusalem’s wealthiest citizens are slowly making their way past the temple treasury to proudly deposit their offerings of gold and silver. And there, in the midst of Jerusalem’s finest, is a poor widow who quietly deposits 2 tiny copper coins; the modern equivalent of a couple of pennies.
Immediately, Jesus directs His disciples’ attention to the scene and says, “Let me tell you something. The gift of that poor widow was of greater value to God than the combined gifts of everyone else up there and here’s why—everyone else gave out of their wealth but she gave out of her poverty.”
Now, let’s take a moment to explore these notions of “wealth” and “poverty.” The Greek word translated here as wealth conveys the idea of abundance. It speaks to that which still remains after your own basic needs have been provided.
For instance, when Jesus fed the 5,000 with the 5 loaves and 2 fishes we’re told that after everyone had been fed there were 12 baskets of food left over. Well, those 12 extra baskets of food were the abundance or the wealth of Jesus’ provision.
So, here’s the point. The gifts being offered to God by the wealthy were gifts that had come out of one of the extra baskets in their lives. Once they had fully satisfied all of their own wants and needs and desires then they looked around to see if there was anything left over. And it was out of these left-overs; out of this wealth, that they determined the gift they would bring to God.
Now, before we go any further let’s make sure that we understand the nature of Jesus’ concern. Jesus is not saying that there is anything wrong with being wealthy or in having a nice standard of living. There’s not. Jesus’ concern was not with their wealth but, rather, with their priorities. They were putting themselves first and God was coming in a distant second. Their priorities were exactly opposite of what God expects and requires of us.
What a contrast to the example seen in this poor widow. This woman didn’t have any abundance. There wasn’t anything extra in her life. It took every penny of her resources simply to provide life’s necessities. Consequently, when she gave a gift she felt it. When she dropped those pennies into the treasury she did so knowing that she would be doing without something as a direct result of that gift. She had determined in her mind that she would sacrifice some of her own needs, wants, and desires so that she could give to God the very best that she had to give.
And that’s why her gift was pleasing to God. That’s why Jesus singled her out as a model of the kind of sacrificial giving that is appropriate for God’s children. While others put their own needs first and gave to God out of what was left over, the widow put God first and then made the necessary adjustments in her lifestyle to live on what remained. And that’s the essence of sacrificial giving.
To give sacrificially is to choose to do without for the specific purpose of giving a greater gift to God. To give sacrificially is to make the personal decision to deny your self so that you can give more to God. So, the bottom line here is very clear: until our giving causes us to adjust our lifestyle, our giving has not reached the level of sacrifice.
Now, folks, any way you look at it that’s an awfully high standard. Especially so in a culture like ours which celebrates acquisition and upward mobility and detests the very concept of self-denial. “After all…if I want it, I should have it...because I’m me.” Sacrifice is not popular in our culture. And, sadly, as evidenced by the giving percentages I reported earlier, sacrifice is clearly not popular even in the Christian culture.
So, how do we encourage one another to embrace the biblical standard of sacrificial giving… the standard that Jesus himself holds out to us as the model of giving that is pleasing to God? Let me offer 3 words of encouragement, beginning with…
…the desire to follow the example of Jesus. The greatest motivation we will ever have for giving sacrificially is the desire to be like Jesus. Just last week we talked about living each day with the desire to reflect more and more of the character of Christ. Well, folks, one of the clearest glimpses we will ever have into Jesus’ character is seen in his willingness to sacrifice himself to be fully obedient to God.
Ephesians 5:1-2 speaks directly to this issue. It says, “Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”
Folks, every time we get ready to bring our gifts to God we need to stop and remember that…
…our presence in the family of God;
…our participation in the Kingdom of God;
…the forgiveness of our sins;
…the salvation of our souls;
…the security of our eternal destiny in heaven;
…all of it is the result of what Jesus’ accomplished for us through His obedience to God at the cost of tremendous personal sacrifice. When we give sacrificially we are following the example of Jesus.
A second encouragement toward the sacrificial giving is the desire to build up the church. Sacrificial giving strengthens the fellowship that we experience with one another.
Some years ago, Ken Burns produced a wonderful documentary called, Baseball. It’s a fascinating look at the history of America’s favorite pastime.
In one segment former New York Governor, Mario Cuomo says, “My favorite play in baseball is the bunt. Some people hate it. But I love it because it embodies the biblical principle of sacrifice. Giving your self up for the good of the whole. Sacrifice builds community.”
And he’s right on both accounts. Sacrifice is a biblical principle and sacrifice builds community. More specifically, it builds the community that we call, church.
Paul writes about this in his letter to the Corinthians. The early church was made up of people across the economic spectrum—rich, poor and everything in between. And this economic diversity actually strengthened their sense of community as they sacrificially offered their resources to God so that He could use them for the blessing of the whole.
Paul describes the process like this in 2 Corinthians 8-9 (8:1-4, 7, 9, 13-14a; 9:12-15).
“And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints… …just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving.
For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.
Our desire is not that others might be relieve while you are hard pressed, but that there might be equality. At the present time your plenty will supply what they need, so that in turn their plenty will supply what you need.
This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God’s people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. Because of the service by which you have proved yourselves, men will praise God for the obedience that accompanies your confession of the gospel of Christ, and for your generosity in sharing with them and with everyone else.”
The point is this—when we offer our resources to God in a spirit of generosity and sacrifice God not only meets all of our needs but He also strengthens our fellowship at the very same time. He strengthens our church family through the sacrifices of each member of our family.
A final encouragement toward sacrificial giving is the desire to demonstrate our commitment to God.
In Matthew 6:21, Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Or, we might say it like this: Show me the things to which you give your money and I’ll show you the things to which you are committed.
Let me ask you a question—If you had access to the checkbook of a total stranger do you suppose you would gain any insights into their priorities, passions, and commitments? You bet you would. Because we give to those things that are important to us.
Let me ask you another question—If the person sitting behind, in front or next to you right now had access to your checkbook what would they conclude about your commitment to God? We give to those things that are important to us. And we give sacrificially to those things that matter most. Sacrificial giving is a tangible demonstration of a wholehearted commitment to God.
Folks, think about this—God doesn’t need our money. God’s not in danger of going broke if we don’t all pitch in to help Him out. God’s doing just fine. So, if God doesn’t need our money, why does His word tell us to give? Because we need to give and we need to give sacrificially…
…because that’s the way that Jesus gave;
…because it builds up the church;
…and because it demonstrates a wholehearted commitment to God.
© Copyright 2006 Pastor Tom Marcum