Blessed To Be a Blessing

Corinthians:
Paul is writing a pledge campaign letter to the church in Corinth. He is reminding them that they promised to give a sizable amount of money to help Christians in Macedonia, who live in extreme poverty. And, like a good preacher, after he asks for the money and even gives thanks to the people who still must give it by honoring their promise, he puts a wonderful spiritual understanding to what the church is being asked to do. Let’s hear Paul’s words.

Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-8

Genesis:
God has made a covenant with Abraham, but it is a promise Abraham will never see personally. God tells him that he will be the father of a great nation. God reminds him, that God blesses him, but the reason is so he may be a blessing to others.

Read Genesis 12:1-2

Biblically blessing means a gift from God that is mediated through a person. This blessing is the bestowal of power from God to a person so they may bring life to another. To be a blessing means to bring wellbeing to another in all of life’s dimensions: material, social, and spiritual. Returning to Paul’s words in Corinthians, God is able to bless us with every blessing in abundance, so by always having enough we may share abundantly in every good work.

SERMON:
God loves a cheerful giver. Not one who gives reluctantly, or out of compulsion. Nancy and I tithe to the church. Tithe is a nice churchy word that means we give the church 10% of our salary which translates into over $10,000 a year. We also sponsor two orphans which brings our giving to about $11,000 a year. And that does not even count two teenage daughters. I share that, not to try and show how committed we are, but because I must tell you I do not often give it cheerfully. Just ask Nancy. There are times that I am reluctant and do it purely out of a sense of obligation. Rabbi Harold Kushner made the observation that, “Christians must always feel good about what they do, but we Jews do it just because God tells us to.” I sometimes, oftentimes feel Jewish in my giving, even though Paul, himself, tells me, or us, that God wants me to feel joy and cheer in my giving.

I’ll be honest, sometimes I think that what I give is enough to make two car payments a month. It represents a trip to Europe or some other really fancy vacation that Nancy and I could take every year. As my daughters prepare to enter college each of the next two years, I realize that there is a good part of their tuition payment, and I have already heard what they expect from a wedding. I wonder if I could have retired earlier and more comfortably if I had invested the money that I give instead. You see how my thinking works, and my suspicion is it may not be too different from many of the ways others feel.

Psychologist Carl Rogers reminds us that, “That which is most personal is that which is most general. If you think or feel something, so does probably 90% of everyone else.” The thinking or wondering of, will I have enough, or am I short-changing myself and my family’s life is very real for me, and so I would assume for many people. A couple of years ago, Nancy and I were watching a John Stossell special on giving and philanthropy. Stossell was interviewing Billionaire Ted Turner. He said, “I have noticed that you have stopped giving like you use to, why is that?” Turner replied, “Well my investments haven’t done well, and I have lost a lot of money, so I am down to my last couple billion. I’m afraid that if I give away anymore, it will impact my lifestyle.” Nancy and I just looked at each other and laughed, but it reminded us that even billionaires can live with an attitude of scarcity, or out of a fear that they may not have enough if they are not prudent.

It’s an attitude based upon our fears of not having enough, and it can affect every part of our lives. I remember when I was in my late teens, I worked at Eastman Kodak Company. Most of the people in my department were young, so we would also socialize together on the weekends. One of my friend’s father had a cottage on one of the Finger Lakes, and every summer we would go there to have a cookout and to water ski. His father loved the cottage because sailing was his passion and he would just go there every weekend and experience the sheer joy of being on the lake in his little sailboat. When I heard that my friend’s dad retired I said to him, “I bet your dad must live at the lake now that he has the time to truly enjoy the cottage and his sailboat.” My friend looked at me a little chagrinned and said, “Actually my dad sold the cottage and the sailboat when he retired because he did not think he had enough to live on.” I felt terrible. Now this man has the time to truly enjoy his passion, but now does not have the resources to do so. But then I learned that this gentleman had several million dollars in assests, and this obviously about 40 years ago when several million was worth something. His fear caused him to lose the experiencing of that which brought him life. His fear of scarcity caused him to flee from his passion and enjoy his life.

So having identified this about myself, and maybe as I express some feelings for some of you, why is this day of commitment so important? Again, I can only share how I approach it and why I practice it and why it is of significance to me. In honesty, a part of me does it simply because God tells me to. My response is in part an act of obedience, but also, and maybe more importantly, it is an act or an expression of trust. I do believe that God loves me, and that when God directs me to do something, it is out of this love God has for me and all of us. It’s like the old hymn says, “But we never can prove the delights of his love, until all on the altar we lay. Trust and obey, for there’s no other way to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey.” If I do not give God the chance to prove God’s love, if I do not trust God to do what God says, then how will I ever know for sure the depth of God’s love or the truth of God’s promises in my life? So I am trying to learn to trust, and know the joy that God desires for me.

I also know it is important for me spiritually. That today is not about money, but about a way of seeing my life lived with God. Genesis reminds us that God is the one who brings blessing, who gives us the fullness of life. I believe the reason God loves a cheerful giver is it shows that we, the giver, have recognized and acknowledged the blessings we have received from God. It is a life based upon thanks-giving. That we have been given so much, and that we all have what we need all around us continuously to receive the full blessing of life. It is what this coming week’s holiday is all about, as we pause and recognize the many blessings we have and give our thanks. It is allowing ourselves to live and experience our lives from an attitude of gratitude. Instead of living from my fears, or focusing on what I believe I should have or need, I live from the abundance of God’s blessing. This time of commitment is one that hopefully reminds me and all of us of how fortunate and blessed we are and that it is out of our many blessings that we have the ability to give.

The reality is, every once and awhile I catch a glimpse of this in a profound way, that allows me to truly know the joy or cheerfulness of giving. Our recent trip to Ethiopia is an excellent example. Most of the time, at least for me, our check to support the orphans is just another check we write. But when we were in Ethiopia, it became all about the joy of bringing life, of being a blessing. It is indescribable the experience of walking up to the orphanage and all of a sudden having all these children come running out and just giving you big hugs. They knew that we were a part of why they have a roof over their heads, and food in their bellies, and love, through the staff, in their lives every day. They had been given life, as they were brought from the streets and given a home. Their genuine expressions of gratitude and even love were and are overwhelming, and they nurture my soul every day. It was and remains an incredible experience, and one that we know many of you are also providing if not in Ethiopia, then in the lives of others. It is why we feel so blessed in our going, and so responsible in our return to show you as best we can what you help to create. We want you to know the joy, the cheer of being a giver of life. It is why last week we had some of your sisters’ share some of the stories they had about how you and what you do as the church brings life. What I sometimes truly see and know in my own life is that when I truly experience myself as a blessing then I feel the real joy of being blessed.

Today is only in part about the financial support of the church. If money is only what today is about, we may never experience the hope that God has for us all about being cheerful givers. But if we can at least recognize that today is, at least in part, also about trusting in the one who loves us, and knowing that love is always with us, then maybe we move a little closer to knowing the cheer. If we can see that today is about seeing and experiencing our lives as the blessed gift of God full of God’s blessing, then we may have moved closer to the hope of God that allows us to live out of gratitude and thanksgiving, and not our fears. And if today is about truly experiencing ourselves as a source of blessing, a source of life, a beacon of hope, then maybe we have even experienced the cheerfulness of giving. For we have known first-hand the gift of bringing life to another.

Let us now prepare to offer our gifts. Let us, who are prepared, offer up our commitment to God for this coming year. And let us pray God’s blessings upon all that we bring to God this day.

Sermon delived by Rev. George Cushman on November 23, 2008.