Beginning With Money
Today we
get to look at two chapters that on the surface seem to be about money. And they are – at least on the surface they
are! You see, Paul is making a
collection for the orphans and widows in Jerusalem who are unable to provide
for themselves. There were several
regional famines in the Roman Empire, and at the time Paul is writing this
there is a famine going on in the eastern part of the Empire (Jerusalem and the
surrounding areas). As you can guess,
when the demand of grain goes up because the supply of grain goes down, then
the price of grain goes up as well.
Without grain – and with meat being expensive already – we have people
in Jerusalem who literally cannot buy the food that they need to survive. Paul has taken upon himself to make a collection
to bring back to Jerusalem and give to the poor and the needy.
Furthermore,
Paul has a general belief that if he can bring a big collection of support back
to Jerusalem to help carry the widows and the orphans through the famine, then
the Jerusalem Christians will have a much easier time accepting that Gentiles
have been added to their number. After
all, if Gentiles that have converted to Christ care enough about the orphans
and widows starving in Jerusalem, then the Spirit of God must be at work within
them, right? Well, that’s Paul’s
thinking at least. Furthermore, Paul is
hoping that as word spreads among the Jews in Jerusalem about the compassion of
the Christians that more Jews might be willing to consider believing in the
power of God at work in Jesus Christ.
This is
what Paul means when he mentions his collection. This is what Paul is talking about when he
speaks of the Christians in Macedonia giving themselves fully to God and out of
that being led to give to Paul’s collection.
Paul isn’t beating the bushes to make money for his own coffers; he is
beating the bushes to collect money for the poor in Jerusalem.
This
brings us back to the beginning of chapter 8 as well as the whole of chapter
9. God loves a cheerful giver. God loves a person who gives because they
hear of a need and desire to help. God
loves a person who sees what they have as a shareable gift that they have first
received from God. This is why so many
of our church liturgies have a prayer over our offerings that contain words
like “we offer with joy and thanksgiving what you have first given to us.” God loves the person who joyfully gives out
of what they recognize as having first com from God.
You Reap What You Sow
Paul also
gives another great piece of advice here.
To the person who sows generously, they will reap generously. This doesn’t mean that if I give a lot of
money to the church that God will find a way to have even more money come back
my way. Unfortunately, it doesn’t quite
work like that. If it did, I’m sure
financial planners would have figured it out by now and it would be a part of
our financial portfolios! Rather, what
Paul is talking about here is that if we give generously of our time, talents,
and treasures that we will gain things back that are far more valuable that
what we give away. We will gain back
relationships, experience changed lives, and see the Holy Spirit at work in the
people around us. We will store up in
heaven treasures where moth and rust cannot destroy. We will receive the blessing of the Almighty
– and honestly, what’s worth more than that?
Giving of the Holy Spirit
I think
this passage also speaks not just of the giving of our time and talents, but
also of the giving of the Holy Spirit.
The person who sees everything in their life in spiritual terms will be
able to identify and spread the work of the Spirit everywhere. These people will be identified easily by
other Christians. These people will be
able to speak to other people who need God in their life at that moment. These people are the ones that God will use most
vibrantly in propelling the kingdom forward.
On the
other hand, there are some people that keep the Spirit locked up tightly within
themselves. They genuinely have the Holy
Spirit within them, but they are very timid about letting it all out. These people will not spread the message of
God’s work very far. They will be harder
to identify by other Christians. They
will be used less frequently by God in propelling the kingdom forward.
Paul
commends those who give freely of themselves.
Paul commends the person who dedicates their life to God first and works
in this world out of that dedication.
Paul commends the person who after commending their life to God they
find out where God is working and join in the work with their whole being.
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