He who dies with the most toys…Most of us will finish that sentence with the word “wins”. But Jesus told a parable (Luke 12:13-21) that would get us to state the saying as “The one who dies with the most toys is just dead.” Harsh maybe but the parable illustrates what Jesus was teaching us in Luke 12:15 life does not consist of acquiring possessions. Instead life consists of giving generously of our finances and time.
One of my many silly pet peeves is when someone “fills up” my glass and leaves a “huge” gap empty at the top of my glass. It always feels like they were not being generous. The funny part, they may have thought they were being generous. It would be easier for me to lift the glass to my mouth without spilling anything on me. I always have to pause in my silly thinking and be thankful for more in my glass. What generosity looks like can be different for each person. We need to be careful not to judge others’ generosity. We need to judge our own. Are we being generous or are we being stingy to keep something for that rainy day that never comes.
One day Jesus was watching people put money in the offering box at the temple. He saw some put in large amounts. Many would have thought those people had given generously but Jesus saw generosity differently. He saw a woman give a couple pennies yet he praised her for her generosity because it was everything she had (Luke 21:1-4). Jesus criticized people for making a big show out of how much they gave (Matthew 6:1-4). They wanted everyone to see how generous they were but Jesus saw selfishness. Generosity doesn’t consist of the amount given but our heart. Do we give to get or do we give to meet needs, to obey God, to declare our trust in God that He will meet our needs.
We should desire to have our hearts softened so that giving is not an obligation but a privilege greatly desired. We should be willing to give everything we have with a joyful heart that others might benefit. God will take care of us. But God doesn’t ask most of us for everything, He doesn’t even ask for the majority of it, just 10% of our income and one day a week. Even that He doesn’t want if we give it out of obligation or begrudgingly (2 Corinthians 9:5-11). Again, we have to judge our own motives for giving.
The whole point of giving is to see others saved and believers built up in Christ. Generosity leads to an interesting contrast, we may not die with the most toys here on earth but we do win, with the “most toys” in heaven (Matthew 6:19-20), those that followed Christ because of our generosity.
Questions:
