Description
U GOT GAME
Generosity
Ed Young
September 24, 2000
Several weeks ago, my family and I spent the day at a “First Monday” in beautiful Canton, Texas. It was fantastic watching all of the people buying all of this junk. It was an amazing sight. After this long day in the triple-degree heat, on a whim, Lisa and I decided to swing by the church. I walked into my office and asked my assistant, Louanne, this question, “Is there anything I need to do today? Any calls I need to return?”
I was expecting the usual list of things to do, but she didn’t give me the usual. She told me something that surprised me, that startled me. She handed me a note and said, “Ed, someone has given Lisa a brand new car.” I said, “Are you kidding me?” She said, “No, someone has given Lisa a brand new car.” I said, “Louanne, I don’t need a car. Lisa doesn’t need a car. We have two great ones.” She said, “Well, here’s the number to call.”
Lisa was down the hall, talking to Preston Mitchell and another staff member. So I thought, “Whoa, today’s my day.” I go to Canton all day, swing by the church, and someone’s giving Lisa a car. I was thinking to myself, “We can sell Lisa’s car”—because Lisa’s car is the first car we ever paid cash for—“pocket the money and invest it. Yeah, this is going to be good. Life is sweet!” I mean, come on, someone giving a car away. That doesn’t happen every day.
So, I’m thinking this as I’m walking into Preston Mitchell’s office. As I walk in, Preston is talking to Lisa and another staff member about a family in our church that has a couple of handicapped children. Preston looked at me and said, “Ed, this family needs a brand new van, but the deal is that this van is very expensive, and they can’t afford it. It’s highly specialized. Do you know anyone, Ed, who can help them with the van?”
Now, Lisa didn’t know this deal had happened. Lisa said, “I don’t know. What do you think, honey?” It was like the Holy Spirit began to nudge me and say, “Ed, you might have an opportunity to step up here. You might have an opportunity to put your money where your mouth is. Remain open.”
So we left the church, and when I got into my car, I called this number that my assistant had given me. It was the number of someone in this church who runs a car dealership. This was not the person who gave the car. This was another individual. The person giving the car had talked to this person in our church who runs a dealership about what he wanted to do. I talked to him and said, “Bobby, I do not need a car. Lisa does not need a car. We have two great cars.” I went through the whole drill.
He said, “Ed, this person who’s giving the car to Lisa will not take ‘no’ for an answer.” And Bobby said, “Ed, you always talk about giving and receiving. Why don’t you practice what you talk about? Just receive the car.” I said, “Well, okay.” He said, “It’s not going to be your car, anyway. Let me talk to Lisa.”
So I handed the phone to Lisa, and I hear Lisa picking out the colors, you know, black with a tan interior or whatever. A few days later, a brand new Suburban was delivered to us, the title in our name and everything. I was thinking, “Who in the world would do this?” Then it hit me.
I made a call and met a man for lunch. I said, “Listen, have you given a car lately.” He began to smile and said, “Ed, I do not want a thank you note from you or Lisa. It’s not about you guys.” He said, “For some reason, God told me, impressed upon my spirit, to give you guys this car.” And I told him once again, “I don’t need a car. Lisa doesn’t need a car. I mean, this car is incredible but come on!” He said, “Take the car!” I said, “Okay, you forced us.” But I had this struggle going on. I was thinking, “Lisa, we sell our car and pocket the money, invest the money.” But this little voice kept saying, “Ed, how about the handicapped family at Fellowship Church?”
So Lisa and I began to pray about this deal. We really felt a leading to sell her car and give the money to this family, because the money would almost pay for this entire van. I told this family about it. “Here are our intentions. Here’s what we’re going to do.” They were elated, and I was feeling good about it. Still that struggle kind of deep was going on, but we decided we were going to do it.
A few days later, we discover—Lisa and I do—from our accountant that we’re going to have to pay a lot more in taxes than we ever thought possible. I said, “Lisa, we cannot sell this car and give the money to this family.” I mean, for me a car is a major item—very, very expensive. Again, we began to pray about it and seek God, and I know that God told us to sell the car. It was a struggle. I called someone in this church who deals in cars, and right now, Lisa’s SUV is for sale. If you want to be a part of this deal, you can buy the car. If you want information on the car, just see Doris Scoggins at the information booth. She’ll give you a number to call, and I think it’ll be a great deal. But we are going to do it. I don’t care what happens. We are selling the car, and the money is going to this family.
I tell you that to illustrate this: God was testing Lisa and me with blessing. There’s no doubt about it. I mean, think about it. There was a need. Someone in our church needed a new van. God could have given them the money. He could have had some heavy-hitter come across their path, and with no problem, give them the money. He didn’t. For some reason, God knew that Lisa and I needed to be tested with our generosity quotient. And because we were blessed, it afforded us the opportunity—only because we received the new car—to potentially sell the car, and give the money to this family. Thus, we are blessed, will be blessed during the whole matter. And this family will also be blessed.
Generosity: It’s one of the key, essential elements of the Christian faith. You might be wondering about now, “What’s up with the stage décor? Why the graffiti? Why the basketball hoops? Why all of this stuff? Why the game theme?” As you read in the New Testament, as you look for a description of the Christian life, one of the most used metaphors to describe our faith is an athletic contest. It’s a game. And during this time of year, most of us will be overdosing on games: The Olympic Games, Cowboy games, golf games, soccer games, flag football games…games, games, games.
But there’s no doubt about it. The marquee game is played within the confines of the local church. Over the next thirty days—I am so fired up about this—we are going to look at something called GAME. The question we are going to ask ourselves repeatedly in this series is, “You Got Game?”
Today, we’re going to talk about generosity, because everything begins with generosity. Next weekend, “A,” we talk about attitude. What kind of attitude do you have? Do you have a bad-itude, a sad-itude. What kind of attitude do you have in your marriage, with your children, around the school, at the office, in the neighborhood?
Then we move to “M,” ministry. What does it mean to get involved in ministry? The Bible is crystal clear on this one. What does ministry really entail? What are the implications of it?
And finally, “E.” That’s for eternity. How do I live in this materialistic world with one eye on eternity? I think at the end of this series, we’ll all understand what it means to “have game.”
When you think about generosity, you can look at many different texts throughout the Bible. But one of my favorites is in the New Testament, the book of 2 Corinthians, Chapter 9. We’re going to dissect this, because this is a very fascinating study, as we look at this essential of our faith.
Before we dive in, let me set the context for this whole writing. The Apostle Paul was collecting an offering for the impoverished members of the Jerusalem church. And he was talking to these Corinthians about giving. A year earlier, they said, “Hey Paul, we’re going to give. We’re going to give a sacrificial gift to make this endeavor possible.”
The Corinthians were freshly redeemed people, and they lived in the Mecca of materialism, the epicenter of finance—something that we can all identify with. We live in Dallas/Ft. Worth, the Mecca of materialism and, in many ways, the epicenter of finance. The Apostle Paul is going to show us what generosity is all about. As I read this text to you, I’m going to lift out several statements about generosity. Things that we need to understand if we’re going to have game.
Right up front, generosity is about impact. That’s what Paul says. It’s about impact. You hear a lot these days about someone being an “impact” player. She’s an impact player. He’s an impact player. What does that mean? It means, if you’re an impact player, that you have a commitment, a skill set that raises the level of your team to another planet. We all have that potential. When we say, “Hey, I’m going to leave the stands and hit the playing field, I’m going to leave the stands and hit the court,” here’s what happens. You become an impact player.
And these Corinthians were impact people. Look at Verse 2 of 2 Corinthians 9. Paul says, “For I know your eagerness to help. I’ve been boasting about it to the Macedonians.” Now, the Macedonians were Gentile believers. They were poor people, and this church didn’t have much money. But this group, the Macedonians, was very generous. Paul says, “I’ve been telling them that, since last year, you and Achaia were ready to give. I mean, you were committed. And your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.” Enthusiasm. Ready to give. Stirred most of them to action.
One of the frequently asked questions I get from parents goes something like this, “Ed, how do I keep my kids grounded in this very materialistic world? I’m living in the Mecca of materialism. How do I keep them grounded?” I usually say, “Become an impact player. Make generosity a lifestyle.” I say, “Giving is not something you do. Giving is something that you are.” That’s what the Bible says. It’s something that we are.
Here’s what I have done and tried to practice throughout my life. I understand being a parent is about modeling. 24/7 we’re on the runway. Values are more caught than taught. So I regularly just give stuff away. And I suggest to you, moms and dads, single parents, that you do the same. Just give stuff away. I don’t always give cars away, but I give stuff away. Give away stuff that matters to you.
If you don’t give stuff away regularly, let me tell you what happens to you. If you’re like me, you begin to think it’s yours. You begin to white-knuckle everything and say, “No, this is mine. I made this. I own this. This is mine.” When you give stuff away that matters to you, you hold on to it loosely, and realize everything comes from God. We don’t own anything. We just manage stuff. So, I’m going to manage a certain amount of stuff from now until my grave, and I want to give it away.
I also try to practice the art of appreciation. Do you have the art of appreciation occurring in your life? I’ll give you an example. This gentleman on the front row—raise your hand—let’s say that he had the coolest watch that you’ve ever seen in your entire life. Let’s say it was the ultimate, a Rolex or a Piaget—how do say that? I don’t know, but I know it’s a pretty expensive watch. And let’s say when you see that watch you get all excited, “Whoa, look at that watch. Wow! That is a watch. Man, if I had that watch, it would be so cool. I’ve just got to have that watch. That watch would look great on my wrist. If I had that watch, people would know that I have made it.”
Okay, let me stop here. It’s great that you have this cool watch. Good for you. I should appreciate that. I should develop the art of appreciation, appreciating the watch without having to own it, without having to buy it. Think about how much it would cost to insure it. Think about how much it would cost to maintain it, just to take it to the jewelry store to be worked on and tweaked and all that. The art of appreciation. When you give stuff away regularly—appreciate stuff without having to own it, operate it, all that stuff—you’ll be way ahead of the game.
Now, I hope you didn’t miss this last statement that I just read. It said, “Your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action.” In other words there were some in their midst who were not generous. They were miserable, and the word “miser” is right in the middle of the word miserable. If you’re miserable, you’re a miser. If you’re a miser, you’re miserable. They were just miserable.
You know those kind of people, don’t you? Every time I talk about generosity, giving money, I know what goes on. People say, “Here he goes again. The church is talking about money. All they ever talk about is money. They just talk about money. I just can’t believe it. I’m going to find a church that never talks about money.” If that is you, if you’re thinking those thoughts right now, let me give you a couple of suggestions. Number one, please do not tell that to me. Don’t e-mail me. Don’t write me. Don’t call me. You’re wasting your time. Talk to God about it. E-mail God. Write God. Phone Him.
Let’s do a little biblical trivia. The word “believe”, a pretty huge word, is used how many times in the Bible? 272 times. The next word: “pray.” That’s pretty big. How many times is that used? 371 times. Okay. The word “love”—714 times. And now, the words “give” or “giving”—a whopping 2,162 times.
16 out of Christ’s 38 parables were about possessions and money. Money is the second greatest theme in the entire Bible. One out of every ten verses in the gospels, Matthew, Mark, Luke and John, were about money. I’ve got to talk to you about money. If you ever go to a church and they don’t talk about money pretty frequently, number one, they’re not biblically balanced. Number two, they’re not reaching anybody. That’s just a fact. So, just relax and chill. The money thing’s between you and God anyway. I can’t force you to give or be generous with your possessions. I can’t, and you can’t force me. It’s between you and God, so just take a deep breath and relax. But it is funny. Some of the people backstage were saying, “It’s cool to watch the audience when you talk about giving and money.” They said that about fifteen percent of the people are just squirming and looking for the exits. Don’t worry about it.
It’s about impact. I wonder what our church will be known as four our five decades from now. Will we be known as a generous church? I think so.
Let’s talk about something else. Generosity is also about trust. 2 Corinthians 9:6, “Remember this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.” There’s this radio station called The Ticket. Let’s be honest, how many of us have ever listened to the ticket before? Ninety percent are male, I’m sure. They have some very creative people on The Ticket. Have you ever heard them use the word “spare.” He’s a “spare.” She’s a “spare.” It’s hilarious. If you look on their website, they have this thing called the “tictionary,” not dictionary, where they have all these phrases they define. And here’s their definition of a spare; I love this: “A player or a person who doesn’t live up to greatness.” “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly.”
God doesn’t want you to be a spare. He doesn’t want me to be a spare. He wants you and me to live up to our level of greatness. In other words, if I give God a little espresso cup offering, I’ll receive from God a little espresso cup blessing. I love espresso. But do you know what? It’s not enough. Sometimes I’ll have an espresso and a bagel, and before I know it, the espresso’s gone. I’m still working on the bagel, and I need something else, something more.
“Whoever sows generously, will also reap generously.” It does not take some business guru, some investment icon, to understand this principle. The more money you invest, the more money you get back. The less you invest, the less you get back, the smaller your return. So, “whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly. Whoever sows generously will also reap generously.” It’s about trust. When you talk about giving, you can talk about a lot of stuff. But it’s about trust.
I want to give you a little exercise about trust. Take your wallets out with me, or if you don’t have a wallet, take your checkbook out. Hold it there in your hand. This is just an exercise. Don’t freak. Now, as you hold this leather temple in your hand—because it’s the 21st Century temple—you can caress it if you want to, talk to it like a little baby. A lot of people think it’s the answer. “Oh, if I had more of this, life would be good to me.” It’s all about that little leather temple.
Now, take your wallet or your checkbook, and give it to the person seated next to you. We’re going to take a special offering right now, and we’re going to give like we’ve never given before! Ushers come on down…. No, I’m kidding. I’m joking. We’re not going to do that. Give the wallets and checkbooks back. A wife, last night, just kept it. “I’m taking it.”
It’s about trust. We either trust God or we don’t. It’s about stewardship, not ownership. It’s about management. Do we really trust God? Here’s what will happen. Here are the results of being generous. If you made the decision and said, “Ed, I am ready to leave the stands and hit the court, hit the playing field. I’m ready to be a player. I realize that generosity is not something that I do; it’s something that I am. I understand that.” Here’s what will happen.
Check this out—2 Corinthians 11:9, “You’ll be made rich in every way.” Whoa, is that good. I’ve got to read that one again. If I give, I’ll “be made rich in every way.” Does that mean financially? Could be, but you can’t just say finances. I tell you this, though, if you give generously to those in need. If you give generously, for example, to the local church, you will be blessed in ways that far outweigh anything you could ever give: relationally, emotionally, occupationally…the list is limitless. When you begin to get involved in generosity, God will step up in your life in a supernatural way. But if you’re not generous, God will never, ever bless you like He wants to.
Also, you’ll never hit the depths of spiritual maturity that He wants for your life. “You’ll be made rich in every way, so that you can be generous on every occasion.” Is that cool? “On every occasion,” when it comes up, you can be generous. And God will do this, “And through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God.”
“Ed, you’re telling me I can be blessed financially?” You can be. “You’re telling me I can be blessed relationally?” You can be. And you’re going to be, but I can’t tell you which one. I know there are people in this church who have been financially blessed just to help finance Fellowship Church. I know it’s from God, because I know a lot of you. You’re not that smart. Just face the fact: it’s from God. It’s from God.
I was over at the Apex several Wednesday nights ago, watching over 1,000 junior and senior high school students worship the Lord. And I thought to myself, “Boy, we have such a generous church.” I remember only eighteen months ago we had a few hundred showing up, but because many here stepped up, many here left the stands and hit the court, many here gave to that endeavor, look at what God has done. You just trusted Him. I’m going to tell you something. It fires me up. When someone’s generous, I want to be more and more generous. It’s an infectious disease.
But we’ve got to understand that the Bible knows that we will have stuff in this life. Part of life is having stuff. Some of us have a small pile of stuff. Some of us have a medium pile of stuff. Some of us have a big old pile of stuff. So, we’re going to have stuff. In my book, “Fatal Distractions,” I talk about what we do with stuff.
There are two types of “getters.” The first getter is called the Velcro getter: everything just sticks to you. “Man, I love the Lord. I’ll take forgiveness, I’ll take forever, but this stuff is sticking to me, Jack.” We’re not to be Velcro people. A lot of people are choked up on this green stuff. Don’t do the Velcro thing. Do the Teflon thing.
A Teflon getter is someone who says, “Thank you, God, you’ve done it all. You’ve blessed me. I’m just going to give out of my resources. Give out of who I am. Give out of my sustenance to others, to your Church. When people see me, I want them to see You. It’s the essence of Christianity. What kind of getter are you? Velcro or Teflon.
Generosity—it’s about impact. Generosity—it’s about trust. Generosity is also about heart. I like that: heart. 2 Corinthians 9:7, “Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” Do you know the word cheerful in the original language is pronounced “hi-lar-i-os.” We get the word hilarious from it. When we give, when we do this Teflon thing, we’re saying, “God, I’m just going to give to You. Thank you for letting me live on 90%. It’s all Yours. I’m just going to give 10% back to the local church and give stuff to the poor and those in need. This is great!” So, I can’t wait for laughter to break out when we pass the offering plate later on.
We don’t operate by doing stuff under compulsion. We don’t force people to give. We don’t have all of this gimmicky stuff going on: bake sales, bingo blasts, and raffles. We don’t raise money like that. We don’t put thermometers on the wall. We don’t put your name in lights if you give. We don’t. It should be a private pact between you and God. Now, as a whole, we tell you what our church has committed financially.
That’s what Paul was talking about earlier, “Hey, Corinthians, this is what you’ve committed. You better hold to your commitment.” But we don’t say, “Oh, this person wrote a transcendent check. This person wrote a six-figure check. Let’s put his name in lights.” We don’t want to give people the opportunity to say, “Oh, yeah, I’m the big stud. I’ve got some serious stroking power at Fellowship Church because I wrote a six-figure check. I want this done and that done.” We don’t operate that way. God doesn’t operate that way. And we don’t, because we don’t know if that check is a sacrificial gift or just pocket change. If Mark Cuban is in the house, it’s just pocket change. No one knows but God.
So if you are not a Christian, or you are thinking about joining Fellowship Church, isn’t it cool that we are not going to do this gimmick stuff, this pressure stuff. We’re not going to plead with you, “Oh, you’ve got to give. We’re going to shut the doors if you don’t.” We’re not going to do that. It’s between you and the Lord. But the Bible would argue that your heart has not been converted, if your wallet has not been converted. Your heart has not been converted, if your material possessions have not been converted. The math doesn’t work.
Well, it talks about being a cheerful giver, but where should I give. Obviously, we should give to others in need. But the Bible says, historically both in the Old Testament and New Testament, that we should give to the local house of worship. We are to give sacrificially part of what we have to the church. It’s the hottest thing going.
Think about it: business does not reclaim, refurbish, and redeem lives. Education does not reclaim, refurbish and redeem lives. Only the local church reclaims, refurbishes, and redeems lives. That’s it: the local church. Jesus has been about one thing since He ascended to the father. And He’ll be about that one thing until His glorious return: the local church. If this is your church, give to her. If it’s somewhere else, give to that.
It shows that Christ is number one. For some reason, He knew that we would have trouble, that we would struggle with things, that we would white-knuckle things, that we would keep things. He knew that if we weren’t careful, we’d think that everything is ours. We’d think that we were self-made.
Here’s the pattern, and it should be a consistent pattern. 1 Corinthians 16:2, “On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income.” In other words, it should be proportional. It doesn’t matter if you make $15,000 a year or $100,000 a year or $15 million a year. It should be proportional.
Nowhere in the Bible do you have a tax situation going on, some kind of levy or paying dues. It just doesn’t work that way. It’s a heart issue. Jesus said this in Matthew 6:21—a powerful verse—“Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” It’s a treasure test. What I’m passionate about and what I’m really into is where my money will go and flow. You can look at my check stubs and see what I’m passionate about. And I can look at your check stubs and see what you’re passionate about.
Are you passionate about the things that Christ was passionate about? Are you? He said in Matthew 6:2, “When you give.” He didn’t say “if.” “If” wasn’t in His thought process. It was inconceivable for Jesus to think that people might question whether they should give or not. It’s a part of the Christian life…a treasure test.
We have an opportunity to give to something great, over and above our regular giving. You’ve already heard about it. We’re going north: we’re building a new Creative Communications Center that will have classroom space for adults and children—because right now our children and small groups are meeting in the atrium and down the halls. We’re totally maxed out, out of space—a great problem to have. If you show up here on Tuesday mornings or Tuesday evenings, all of our adult educational space is packed, standing room only. We’re meeting in the halls, in side rooms. It’s wheels off, out of control.
And our atrium, it’s like S.O.S.—scoot over some. We’re jammed. You can’t even move. We’re a church family, and we need a family room, a place for community, a place where small groups meet, a place for weddings and funerals and special events.
How about the traffic challenge? We’re building a road going south, connecting this property to Bass Pro Drive. It’ll be sweet. And we’ll have an opportunity to give.
We’re going to challenge everybody here who comes to Fellowship Church to make a two-year commitment over and above their regular giving to make this happen. Some of you are saying, “Wait a minute. How much is this puppy going to cost?” Try on $20 million. That hurts. Twenty million dollars. “Ed, you mean to tell me that Fellowship Church can give $20 million in two years over and above our regular giving. Come on, man.”
Well, do the math with me for a second. We have around 12,000 people showing up every weekend when the Cowboys aren’t playing at Noon. Let’s say, hypothetically, that all of those 12,000 people made below the poverty level: $15,000 a year. And let’s say that those 12,000 people earning below the poverty level of $15,000 gave 5% of their income to Get in the Game over the next two years. That would be $18 million. I don’t have to explain myself any further, do I? We can easily do this.
God’s going to test you, and He’s going to test me. He tests us with blessings. What are we going to do? I could talk all day and night about impact and trust and about the heart, but it’s about reaching people, isn’t it? I mean, who’s going to be the one to erect the “Enough is Enough” banner on the side of Fellowship Church to say that’s enough? Who’s going to be the one to “flip off” the rest of the Metroplex, and tell them to go to hell. It’s not going to be me. And it better not be you in God’s economy.
It’s about a decision. Yeah, I’m talking about giving to the church. I’m talking about Get in the Game. I’m talking about the whole thing of generosity. I’m talking about generosity just assaulting and ambushing you and me. If you want to get into a life of generosity and adventure, you don’t just float from the stands to the court. “Wow, I’m playing. This is incredible.” You’ve got to make a decision. You’ve got to be intentional about it. You’ve got to say, “Okay, I’m ready to step up and start giving. I’m going to give stuff away. I’m going to appreciate stuff without having to own it. I’m going to start giving stuff to others, giving stuff to the church.” Just start. Some of you need to start right there. You need to say, “Okay, I’m ready to be a player. I’m ready to do this stuff.” It’s about a decision.
Also, it’s about the grace of God. This whole thing is about Jesus. Once people receive Christ, the grace of God opens up resources. It shows us the resources we have received. It shows us that everything comes from God, and that God’s a giver. The word “grace” and the word “generosity” are inseparably linked. Where you have grace going on, you have generosity going on. If you know Christ personally, you cannot help but give. Grace doesn’t look for a reason. Grace looks for an opportunity, and, boy, do we have opportunities.
This past weekend, I was in Houston speaking at my father’s church. A very insightful reporter from “The Dallas Morning News” was down there, and she talked to me. She asked me a great question. She asked me to describe someone in my life I’m very close to, a great Christ-follower, in five words or less. She said, “How would you describe this person in five words or less?” I started going down the list of qualities, and about half-way through the list, I came to “generous.” If a reporter interviewed one of your family members or your best friends and asked them to describe you in five words or less, would the word “generous” be used. If you say, “Yes,” well, guess what? You’ve got game. But if you say, “No,” then you need to get in the game.