Can you afford to be generous?
by Susan Greeley

 
       


Small children know what to do when they touch a hot stove—they jump back and jerk their hands away. The response is automatic and sensible. That’s the image that comes to mind when I think about being generous in times like these.

Whether the economic downturn has touched us directly or not, we all seem to feel the need to pull back, be cautious, and prepare for the worst. In short, we think we need to protect what we have. Times like these don’t inspire us to generosity.

But living a generous life is not an option for Christians; it is a requirement. This was the commandment Christ gave to us on Maundy Thursday: that we love one another. And loving one another leads to generosity.
For those people of faith who have already adopted a lifestyle of generosity, giving is an expression of love and gratitude; it is a natural response. But for many of us, a deep-seated love of giving is not automatic. It is more logical to believe that we will have more if we keep to ourselves whatever money or things we have gained. We think that we can give later—when we have “enough,” or maybe when we’re older, or better yet, in our wills.
It seems counter-intuitive but the reality is this: The more we give away, the more we have.

Many addicts have discovered this truth in recovery, where a popular adage is “To keep your sobriety, you must give it away.” In other words, you need to share your sobriety with others as a means of staying sober yourself. Likewise, in order to enjoy fully the abundance God has given us, we must share it with others. This is part of living in community as Christians.
What if I understand this concept of generosity on an intellectual level but my innermost self is still afraid to let go and give? If God loves a cheerful giver, should I give even if I do it reluctantly or out of a sense of obligation?
This is not a question just for our time. It was also on the mind of the 12th-century philosopher and scholar Rabbi Moses ben Maimon, better known as Maimonides. Today Maimonides’ “Ladder of Charity” can prove to be a helpful metaphor for our own giving.

Here are Maimonides’ eight steps on the ladder, from the lowest to the highest forms of giving (see Julie Salamon’s 2003 book Rambam’s Ladder: A Meditation on Generosity and Why It Is Necessary to Give for more).

Ladder of charity

1.) Reluctance: We all know what it means to give begrudgingly, whether out of guilt or obligation. There is no cheerfulness here, no joy for the giver.

2.) Proportion: On this rung of the ladder, the giver is concerned with how much she has to give. Is it a tithe, and if so, is it a tithe on one’s gross or net income? Here the giving may be done voluntarily but it is limited in scope.

3.) Solicitation: This person will give to the poor, but only after being asked. Maimonides saw this as a lower form of giving because it violates the dignity of the poor. People shouldn’t have to beg for survival.

4.) Shame: Givers on this rung offer charity to the poor before being asked, but do so with an air of superiority. The receiver suffers shame in the exchange, another violation of human dignity.

5.) Boundaries: At this stage of giving, the donor will give to people she doesn’t know but wants credit for the giving. This is giving for the sake of a tax deduction or having one’s name printed in acknowledgment. The donor finds joy both in giving and in the recognition it brings.

6.) Corruption: Maimonides understood that human sinfulness might corrupt giving to charity. On this sixth rung of his ladder, anonymity is sacrificed to guard against potentially corrupt intermediaries. The donor gives to someone she knows without letting the recipient know where the help is coming from.

7.) Anonymity: On the seventh rung of the ladder, the donor gives to people she doesn’t know, and gives anonymously. To give at this level requires an understanding of community that is all-encompassing. My neighbor may be someone halfway around the world who I will never meet face-to-face. Why was anonymity so important to Maimonides? Because it provided a foolproof way to protect the most important relationship, the one between the individual and God. This kind of giving surpasses human relationships, protects dignity, and shuns praise that could lead to pride.

8.) Responsibility: The highest rung on Maimonides’ ladder of charity is the gift of self-reliance. “The highest degree . . . is one who upholds the hand of an Israelite reduced to poverty by handing him a gift or a loan, or entering into a partnership with him, or finding work for him, in order to strengthen his hand, so that he would have no need to beg from other people. Concerning such a one Scripture says, Thou shalt uphold him; as a stranger and a settler shall he live with thee (Leviticus 25:35), meaning uphold him so that he would not lapse into want” (from Isaac Klein’s 1979 translation of Maimonides’ Ladder of Charity in The Code of Maimonides, Book 7: The Book of Agriculture). A contemporary parallel might be the adage: “Give someone a fish and he eats for a day; teach someone to fish and he eats for a lifetime.”

As we practice the spiritual discipline of generosity, we may climb up and down Maimonides’ ladder, depending on the circumstances. Like any discipline, generosity requires practice and patience. If all you can muster is reluctant giving on the first rung of the ladder, that’s OK. Just start giving. You will soon discover the Holy Spirit’s power to fill you with the desire and ability to climb higher on the ladder.

Attitude of gratitude
At some time in our lives, most of us will be in a situation that makes it impossible for us to give money. But in truth, living a generous life has very little to do with money. It has everything to do with gratitude to God—being so overcome with thankfulness that we simply must share this bounty of love and grace with others. So when money is tight, we become creative in our giving:

 

• We give time—listening to an elderly person in the nursing home talk about her life.
• We give talent—volunteering to teach Vacation Bible School.
• We give thoughtfulness—calling a friend on the anniversary of her mother’s death.
• We give prayer—remembering those who are suffering in any way.
• We give surprises—writing a note to a friend with whom you’ve lost touch.
• We give warmth—a smile and friendly greeting to strangers we meet or the clerk at the store.
• We give hospitality—inviting a college student over for a home-cooked meal.
• We give possessions—sharing our abundance with a local thrift store or shelter.
• We give worship—remembering to keep the sabbath holy and thanking God for all we’ve been given.

 

Make a game of it. How creative can you be in giving? You will find that practicing generosity is one of the most enjoyable of the spiritual disciplines. After all, learning to be generous comes from imitating God, who so loved the world that “he gave his only son” (John 3:16).

Susan Greeley is an audio producer from Oak Park, Ill. She served as producer of the ELCA's radio ministry, Grace Matters, for 15 years until the program's discontinuation in April 2009.
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I don’t believe human beings are capable of unconditional love. It’s human nature to place conditions on relationships. For instance, monogamy is a condition that my husband and I agreed to in our marriage. Truthfulness is something I expect in my friendships. Our society relies on conditions and expectations in personal behavior—it’s how we get along together. That’s why I can relate to the prophet Jonah. Jonah was all for holding people accountable and wasn’t a big fan of God’s all-encompassing generosity.

When God saw what the Ninevites did, how they turned from their evil ways, God changed God’s mind about the calamity that God had said God would bring upon them; and did not do it. But this was very displeasing to Jonah, and he became angry. He prayed to the LORD and said, “O LORD! Is not this what I said while I was still in my own country? That is why I fled to Tarshish at the beginning; for I knew that you are a gracious God and merciful, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love, and ready to relent from punishing.”
(Jonah 3:10–4:2, alt.)

Jonah is sent by God to deliver a message to the people of the city of Nineveh. He has to tell them to change their evil ways in order to receive God’s mercy.

The text doesn’t tell us if Jonah doesn’t like the Ninevites in particular or if he just doesn’t like the idea of a gracious God who promises mercy. Either way, Jonah balks.

Jonah knows God has the ability to love the undeserving. And like most of us, Jonah doesn’t much like the idea of a murderer being forgiven, a thief being allowed to make restitution, or a liar being given a second chance. Whatever the Ninevites have done to deserve God’s wrath, Jonah wants them to get it.

Jonah pouts: “God, if you are going to be that generous, I don’t want to have anything to do with your program!” and he walks away, or rather, sails away.

“But Jonah set out to flee to Tarshish away from the presence of the LORD.” (Jonah 1:3)

Hoping to escape God’s outpouring of generosity on Nineveh, Jonah leaves town. As he sails along, a great storm blows up and the ship is almost torn apart. Knowing that the storm is the result of his disobeying God, Jonah tells the sailors to throw him overboard (1:12). Once he is off the ship, the LORD calms the sea and sends a large fish to swallow up Jonah (1:17).

In the belly of the fish, Jonah is entombed for three days. Like Jesus on the cross, he cries out to God. God wastes no time being generous, and Jonah says, “The LORD answer-ed me” (2:2b). God immediately shows Jonah forgiveness and generosity. God gives him a second chance to go tell the Ninevites about God’s mercy.

Sometimes we have trouble offering generosity to others because we are not generous to ourselves. We are often our own worst enemies, not our own best friends. Internally (and sometimes out loud) we complain about our weight, our grades, our job performance, even our person-alities—not allowing God’s generous love to embrace us.

Nobody has to tell us we are unworthy of love or not good enough—we are plenty good at telling that to ourselves. And God wants to do something about it. God wants us to be generous with ourselves, just as God is generous. And that will help us learn to be generous with others.

I have always liked that we don’t know the actual sins of the Ninevites. What could a cow do to deserve wearing ashes and sackcloth?

Then the king had a proclamation made in Nineveh: By the decree of the king and his nobles: “No human being or animal, no herd or flock shall taste anything. They shall not feed, nor shall they drink water. Human beings and animals shall be covered with sackcloth, and they shall cry mightily to God. All shall turn from their evil ways and from the violence that is in their hands. Who knows? God may relent and change God’s mind; turning from fierce anger, so that we do not perish.” (Jonah 3:7–9)

The text here alludes to the people’s evil ways and violence, but this is pretty broad. It leaves the details to our imaginations. But the people’s evil ways must have been really bad if God’s first inclination was to destroy the whole town.

Scripture reminds us we don’t have to look too far to see one of the things that might make us un-right with God—a lack of generosity. Throughout the New Testament we are shown a God literally dying to be generous to us: “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke 23:34).

If there is anything I know, it is that God is far more generous than I would like. And that’s my deep dark secret. I don’t like it that the workers Jesus tells us about in the Gospel of Matthew get the same wage no matter what time of day they come to work.

And when the early day laborers received their wages, they grumbled against the landowner, saying, “These last worked only one hour, and you have made them equal to us who have born the burden of the day and the scorching heat.” But he replied to one of them, “Friend, I am doing you no wrong; did you not agree with me for the usual daily wage? Take what belongs to you and go; I choose to give to this last the same as I give to you. Am I not allowed to do what I choose with what belongs to me? Or are you envious because I am generous?” So the last will be first, and the first will be last.
(Matthew 20:11–16)

But that’s not fair!

Back to Jonah. After he shares God’s good news with the Ninevites, they repent and God relents. Then Jonah gets angry that God does exactly what Jonah didn’t want God to do—be generous and merciful. Jonah goes away to sulk. To teach Jonah a lesson, God creates a bush to grow overnight and give Jonah shade. Then God creates a worm to wither the bush. God makes the point that as Creator, God can do what God chooses to with the bush—and the Ninevites. God’s decision to be generous is not up to Jonah—or to us.

And God basically says to Jonah, sulking in the hot sun, “You didn’t bring it to life and you didn’t take its life, so how can you care?” (Jonah 4:9–10)

The Jonah in each of us says, “That’s not fair!” But God’s nature is to be generous. I think it is our nature too, since we’re created in the image of God and all. I think that in us, the impulse to be generous is in a constant wrestling match with our egos, like siblings forever locked in competition.

Yet God sees the best in us. As ugly as we are sometimes, we are still good enough for God’s love. Again and again, day after day, when I remember God’s generous love for me, I am set free.

Here’s to all of us who know the generous love of God deep down in our hearts: May we each day become more generous by sharing that love with others. With God, there is plenty to go around.

The Rev. Janelle Rozek Hooper is Pastor of Faith Formation at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church in Naperville, Ill. She is married to a generous man, lives with an anxious dog, and is patiently awaiting the birth of their first child in August.
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Questions for discussion:

1. Have you ever found yourself thinking that God should be generous, but when it comes right down to particular situations, in your heart, you don’t want God to be generous?

2. Why are we afraid of being generous? What do we think we will lose?

3. Is there a time in your life when you experienced deep pain and yet God was generous to you? Can you tap into the memory of that experience to offer generosity or compassion to others?
 
 

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