Characteristics of Generous People
2 Corinthians 8:1-5; 9:1-13
I have been looking so forward to being here with you this morning. I’ve had the privilege of
meeting your entire team over the past two years, and what an incredible team God has given to
The Bridge Church. I am so blessed at what God is doing here, and I know that you are as well.
I am not originally from Wilmington, as probably most of you are not. I am from Louisiana. I
was born into a Cajun family. My mom couldn’t speak English until she was nine years old.
Now Cajuns are unusual people. Let me give you an example. In any zoo in America you will
find the name of the animal written in English and underneath the name you will find the species
in Latin. In Louisiana you will find the name written in English and underneath you will find the
recipe.
Turn to the person next to you and repeat after me:
I am so glad…
God is going to say something…
you really need to hear!
Isn’t it funny sometimes you are sitting in church and Ethan says something and you think of
someone else who needs to hear it? This morning God is not going to speak to the person next to
you. He is going to speak to you.
For the past several weeks you’ve been looking at Kingdom Economics. A few weeks ago
Clayton spoke to you about God’s warning with respect to money, not to worry about money and
a way forward. I love the one point that he made: giving to God’s kingdom ties your heart to
God. Nothing identifies the my connection to God than that of money and possessions. I have
discovered that there are two types of people when it comes to money and possessions:
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Some Are Velcro People. Everything sticks to them – money, home, cars, stocks and on
and on it can go. They don’t share, give, or help others in need. The problem with Velcro
is that it has the tendency to collect unwanted stuff as well, like lent, fuzz, or dirt. The
prevailing attitudes of Velcro people are greed, selfishness, covetousness, and uncaring.
That’s my two-story and it’s sticking to me.
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Some Are Teflon People. Nothing sticks to these people. What they possess slips
through them. They hold on to nothing tightly, but stand ready to give to others in need.
As a result, these people avoid the prevailing attitudes of Velcro people. I have often
wondered if nothing sticks to Teflon, how does Teflon stick to a pan or pot? Many
wonder the same about Teflon people. How is it that they can live a life of generosity?
The Bible answers that question for us by giving us the characteristics of generous
people. God’s desire for you and me is to practice a lifestyle of generosity.
One of the greatest pictures of Teflon people, or generous people is found among some Gentile
believers. Paul speaks of them in his second letter to the Corinthians. Open your Bibles, or scroll
in your devices to 2 Corinthians, chapter eight, beginning in verse one. Let me set the scene as
you are finding this text. A famine and economic depression devastated the church in Jerusalem.
So Paul is encouraging Christians from many churches to join a campaign to financially help the
Jerusalem Christians. The Corinthians had previously made a commitment to give toward the
need but they have fallen short in their commitments. So Paul tells them in chapter eight about
some Teflon people. They were the Macedonians, a group of Gentile believers, who
demonstrated themselves to be incredibly generous people. Paul uses them as an example of
generous people. Let’s read verses 1-5.
“We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches
of Macedonia, for in a sever test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty
have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” 2 Cor. 8:1-2
“For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own
accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints, and this, not as
we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.”
2 Cor. 8:3-5
As we unpack these significant verses I find six characteristics of generous people.
6 Characteristics Of Generous People
1. Generous people take the initiative in giving.
“For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own
accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints, and this, not as
we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us.” 2
Cor. 8:3-5
Generous people do not have to have their arms twisted, or a guilt trip placed upon them.
Generous people don’t have to be manipulated in to giving. Some people are like a rock; the only
way to get anything out of them is to pound them with a hammer, and all you get are sparks.
Some are like a sponge; they are filled with resources, but the only way to get anything out of
them is to put the squeeze on them. The more needed, the greater the squeeze. But generous
people are like a honeycomb, it just flows from their lives without any kind of pressure. The
Macedonians were honeycombs. They took the initiative. They came to Paul and begged for the
privilege to give; they desired participation; they wanted to be financial partners in this great
work.
After all, God has always been in the business of giving, hasn’t he? In Genesis he gives life; in
Exodus he gives the Law; in Joshua he gives the Land; in Psalms and Proverbs he gives wisdom;
in the prophets he gives warnings; in the gospels he gives his son; in Acts he gives the Holy
Spirit; in the Epistles he gives kingdom principles, and in Revelation he gives eternal hope. If my
heart is really tied to Jesus, then how can I not be generous? Look at verse 9:
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He
became poor, that you though His poverty might become rich.” 2 Cor. 8:9
What is it that causes generous people to take the initiative? Verse five says it all – they gave
themselves to the Lord. Before Paul, before a campaign, before Jerusalem Christians who were
in need, they belonged to Jesus. There is always a correlation between giving oneself to Jesus
and giving generously.
Several years ago a man began visiting our church. I had the opportunity to go by his home one
evening and we sat and talked about the emptiness he felt in his life. I shared with that there is
only one person who can fill that emptiness – Jesus. He broke down and wept. He surrendered
his life to Jesus. The next week he came by my office and handed me a check. I asked what this
is for. He said he wanted to start giving to the church because of what God had done for him. He
is a new believer and doesn’t know about stewardship yet but knew the importance of money. He
said from now on he would give a certain percentage of his income to the kingdom’s work. I
thanked him for his obedience and he left. The whole time I was wanting to look at the check.
When I did I was blown away. He handed me a check for $60,000. You see, it pays to lead
people to Jesus. After I saw the amount, I quickly checked to see who he made it out to. It was to
the church. That man has been a faithful giver since his surrender to Jesus.
There are three reasons people may give:
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Some Give Out Of Emotion.
Some Give Out Of Promotion.
The Generous Give Out Of Devotion.
My generosity is simply an overflow of my love for Jesus and what he has done for me.
Generous people always take the initiative in giving.
2. Generous people consider their level of income to be irrelevant when giving.
“for in a sever test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have
overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.” 2 Cor. 8:2
The Macedonian Christians were some of the most persecuted and most impoverished of all
Christians. These were people who were mistreated for their faith and who struggled day to day
to make ends meet. In fact, the Christians in Jerusalem were in better shape than they. What is
amazing is that Paul never asked them for any help, but being the generous Christians they were,
they gave out of their extreme poverty. This would be like asking someone who lives in the
ghetto to give to someone who lives in the suburbs. Whether they had any money or not was
irrelevant to their generosity. No doubt their gift would have been small, but in comparison, their
gift was huge. Like the widow that Jesus spoke about in the gospel of Mark, who gave more than
all. While everyone else gave out of their abundance, she gave out of her poverty. Income is a
poor motivator for generosity.
We are taught in America that the amount of income determines when and what I give. We have
bought into the lie that if we made more money we would give more. Those who wait to have an
abundance before they demonstrate generosity will never give much. Statistics show that the
wealthiest households only give 2.5% of their income to charity, while the poorest households
give 5.5% of their income to charity. Giving during the Great Depression was at 3.2% of their
income. Giving today in the average church is 2.9%. Making more money is not the answer
either. Eight percent of people earning $20K a year give regularly. For those who earn $75K or
more, only one percent give to any causes. So, the amount of income is irrelevant. These
believers in Macedonia were in abject poverty, yet they gave with all liberality.
We all carry around with us small leather temples (taking out wallet). And we base our
generosity upon what we think we can afford. Everyone take out your wallets or checkbooks for
an experiment. Hold these little temples in your hands – now give it to the person sitting next to
you. Now we are going to take up a special offering and you give freely. Give the wallets back –
with the money or checks. Why did I do this? Isn’t it easier to give away someone else’s money?
Why? It costs you nothing.
John Wesley once said, “The last part of a man to be converted is his wallet.”
If I am waiting for a certain financial level before practicing generosity, I will never be generous.
Many of you are college students. That means you are just like the Macedonians. You have
nothing. But you are in the right place to begin practicing generosity.
3. Generous people impact others through their giving.
“for I know your readiness, of which I boast about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that
Achaia has been ready since last year. And your zeal has stirred up most of them.” 2 Cor. 9:2
You hear a lot these days about ‘impact players.’ That means you have a commitment and a
skills set that raises your team to another level. Paul turns his attention from the Macedonian
Christians to the Corinthian Christians, because they were the ones who made an impact on the
Macedonians. One year earlier Paul had encouraged the Corinthians to get involved with a
giving campaign. They were excited to participate in such an endeavor. As a result of their
generosity, they were able to make an impact on the Macedonian Christians. Paul says that their
commitment to generosity ‘stirred up’ the Macedonians. The word means ‘to provoke or to
stimulate through competition.’ The Corinthian Christians made such an impact on the
Macedonians that they too, joined in the effort. In fact, the Macedonians surpassed the
Corinthians in their giving so much so, that now Paul uses them as an example to challenge the
Corinthians to fulfill their commitments. The generosity of the Corinthian Christians moved the
Macedonians to another level. When I practice the art of generosity I impact the lives of others.
How do you impact your children in a materialistic society? Model before them the art of giving
stuff away. My wife is good at this. She is always giving stuff away, without asking if we were
done with it. One day I came home and she was in her impacting mood, and packed up all of
Ryan’s cool toys – we were not done playing with them. I came back from Ecuador with a cool
leather cowboy hat. Some friends came over and she offered my hat to this young lady. My kids
give stuff away. Leslie had some little girls over one day and she gave them some of her clothes.
Generous people impact others by giving away stuff.
One day our family was traveling back from Louisiana. It’s a 15-hour drive. We stopped at a gas
station to get gas and a snack. While I was standing in line an elderly African American lady was
standing about four people behind me in line. She was all deck out. She must have come from
church the way she was dressed. She just looked so cute. Then a thought came to me, ‘Pay for
her stuff.’ I thought, cool. So when I got to the clerk at the register, I told her I wanted to pay for
the little lady with the coffee and some snacks. She asked me if I knew her. I told her no. She
couldn’t believe it. She said she had never known anyone to do such a kind gesture. I paid for my
stuff and hers. We were parked right in the front where we could see the people in front of the
cash register. I told my wife, ‘Let’s wait a minute to see how she responds.’ So we waited. She
came to the register and I could see the clerk telling her it was paid for. She looked around, and
with a great big smile, she grabbed a handful of lottery tickets.
But not everyone is impacted by the generosity of others. Notice that Paul said their zeal had
impacted ‘most of them.’ In other words, there were some who did not like the message of
giving. In this culture it was not customary to give to people outside one’s own family. Offerings
were seldom given to strangers. And many feel the same way today. They don’t like to hear
messages about giving. They say things like, “There goes the preacher talking about money
again. That’s all the church ever wants is my money.” Too many preachers apologize about
preaching on the topic of money. Why? Giving and stewardship are part of spiritual disciplines. I
am so glad to know that your pastors love you enough to teach you principles that will actually
set you free. Besides, speaking about money and giving is biblical. Let’s conduct a test by
looking at some key word usages in the Bible:
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Believe – 272 times
Pray 371 times
Love - 714 times
Give - 2162 times
Two-thirds of Jesus’ parables dealt with money or possessions; one out of ten verses in the
gospel deal with money and possessions. Jesus spoke more on money than He did on hell. Why?
Because he knows the strongholds that money and possessions can have on our lives. So if you
are going to be a biblically balanced church, your leaders must speak about money. And if you
want to be an impact player, you will practice generosity.
4. Generous people enjoy an increase because of their giving.
“The point is this: whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows
bountifully will also reap bountifully. 2 Cor. 9:6
You don’t have to be broker or investment guru to understand the principle of sowing and
reaping. Paul uses a picture from agriculture that the Corinthians knew well. The size of your
crop is directly proportional to the number of seeds that were planted. This is also a spiritual
principle that is true in the area of giving. Those who give sparingly will receive sparingly. Do
you know what a spare is? It is something that never lives up to its potential. A spare tire is used
only in emergency situations; a spare player is someone who is used only in emergency
situations. A Christian who gives sparingly is a child of God who never lives up to his potential.
But the Christian who gives generously is one who fulfills the potential that God has for him.
And the one who gives generously is one who not only blesses others, but enjoys an increase
continually. There are more promises in reference to giving than to any other area:
Proverbs 22:9 – “A generous man himself will be blessed.”
Proverbs 11:25 – “A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be
refreshed.”
Psalm 112:5 – “Good will come to him who is generous.”
Luke 6:38 – “Give and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together,
and running over will be poured into your lap.”
2 Cor. 9:11 – “you will be enriched in everything for all liberality”
Warning: If I give with a lottery mentality, that is, I give only for the reason of personally
benefiting for my own selfish pleasures, then God will not honor my giving. The generous
person gives so God will bless him to give more. Paul says that sowing generously will enable
you and me to be enriched in everything for the purpose of practicing more liberality in giving.
Generous people enjoy great blessings in order to bless more.
5. Generous people are not impulsive in their giving.
“Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for
God loves a cheerful giver.” 2 Cor. 9:7
Generous people have a plan in their giving to the Lord. They have a plan that is not driven by
impulse or guilt, but by obedience. They had determined in their hearts what they would give,
and they would do this with great joy. Some people start with a percentage, such as the O.T.
principle of the tithe. Others begin somewhere else. The goal is that giving is not flippant, but
determined and consistent.
Perhaps the most interesting word in this passage is the word cheerful’. In the Greek it literally
means hilarious. Something hilarious is a knee-slapping laughter that brings tears to our eyes. It
is almost uncontrollable. That’s the kind of emotion that should be demonstrated when you and I
have the opportunity to give. Can you imagine the church breaking out in hilarious joy as the
offering plates come around? Some do this every Sunday, laughing and thinking, “You expect me
to put something in there?” But the generous person gives according to a plan that is full of joy.
6. Generous people incite others to praise God through their giving.
“For the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but is also
overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, they will glorify
God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ, and
the generosity of your contribution for them and for all others.” 2 Cor. 9:12-13
First, generous people help meet the needs of the saints. It’s generous people who supply the
resources for ministry. There is no way the ministries of The Bridge Church can be realized
without your financial support. It would be very difficult to fulfill all the goals of this church
without your help. Remember, I’m not talking to the person next to you, but to you.
Secondly, Paul says that their generosity resulted in many thanksgivings to God and as a result,
others glorified God because of their obedience.
You and I will never know this side of heaven how much praise God receives because of our
generosity. I tried to put this in perspective for our people who give so generously. I told them:
How many missionaries give thanks to God for your gift? Because of you they can continue in
their work in a foreign country. How many church planters glorify God because of your gifts?
Because of your obedience they can reach their communities with the gospel of Jesus. How
many parents who can barely make ends meet from week to week give God glory for the school
supplies they received from your gifts? How many homeless people have glorified God because
of your obedience? How many families of prisoners are grateful to God because of your gift to a
struggling family during the holidays? The list can go on and on, and there are so many that we
will never know. But that’s ok. Because the goal is that we receive glory for our generosity, but
that the Lord Jesus receives all the glory and our generosity only points them to a generous
Savior.
So, what has God said to you today? Not to the person next to you, but to you? Are you a Velcro
person or a Teflon person? If generosity ties your heart to God, then who has your heart?
Practical Application:
1. Give yourself fully to Jesus.
2. Release all you have to Jesus.
3. Use what he has blessed you with to bless others.