The Contentment We all Want

I grew up learning about Christ as early as I can remember. My dad was a Youth Pastor at the time. And my mom a stay-at-home mom who poured lots of intentional training and prayer into parenting. I appreciate them both so much. And am truly grateful to the Lord for their leadership and parenting.

Maybe like you, I’ve read passages of Scripture many times, but they just didn’t make sense or sink in until further understanding of Scripture. That was Luke 11:39-41 for me. And it’s become one of my favorite passages on generosity.

Jesus is eating with some Pharisees. They gasp at Jesus not performing the ceremonial cleaning before they eat together. Jesus responds saying “Now you Pharisees cleanse the outside of the cup and the dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. You fools! Did not he who made the outside make the inside also? But give as alms those things that are within and behold, everything is clean for you.”

Don’t just skim over that last verse! This is true for us too! Jesus is laying out a generosity message for us.

Greed? Well I’m not sure about you, but that hits a bit too close to home for to me.

Wickedness? This is a generic term – so insert your sin of choice here.

LEAN INTO THIS: Jesus calls out the practice of generosity as a way to deal with greed and wickedness in our hearts.  Sheer will power alone will not deal with sin.  It’s not how the human heart works.  We can’t just hear a great sermon on contentment and determine to be content.

But the practice of generosity can be used to form our hearts.  It can bring contentment, freeing money’s hold on our hearts. Generosity is the antidote to wealth.  

Later in that same passage Jesus references Micah 6:8: “What does the Lord require of you? But to do justice, love mercy and walk humbly with your God.”

What does justice mean? It means to disadvantage oneself for the advantage of others. Especially those on the fringe of society.

Wow, what a beautiful and perfect example of generosity! Is that not at the core of generosity? Especially SACRIFICIAL GIVING where I need to say “no” to something I may want, to say “yes” to giving more to someone else?

I have found I am most content and filled with joy when I give money away, especially sacrificially. Or when I live with a daily mindset on how I can share and give to others. It certainly shifts my natural sin-prone desires for myself to others.

Let me challenge you: give and give sacrificially. But do it well. Do it within a stewardship framework (more to come on this). And watch what happens to your heart. I don’t think you will be the same.