Sermon for November 21st, 2021
2 Corinthians 9:1-8 (NT p.183)
1 Now it is not necessary for me to write you about the ministry to the saints, 2 for I know your eagerness, which is the subject of my boasting about you to the people of Macedonia, saying that Achaia has been ready since last year; and your zeal has stirred up most of them. 3 But I am sending the brothers in order that our boasting about you may not prove to have been empty in this case, so that you may be ready, as I said you would be; 4 otherwise, if some Macedonians come with me and find that you are not ready, we would be humiliated—to say nothing of you—in this undertaking. 5 So I thought it necessary to urge the brothers to go on ahead to you, and arrange in advance for this bountiful gift that you have promised, so that it may be ready as a voluntary gift and not as an extortion.
6 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.
Sermon Title
Harald Bonneville was a generous man. His wife was much more, shall we say...frugal.
When the offering plate was passed each Sunday at church, Harald would reach into his wallet and pull out a one-hundred dollar bill. But before he could put it in the plate, his wife would snatch it from his hand and whisper to him, "Harald! A hundred dollars is a lot of money!" Then she would take a 20 dollar bill from his wallet and put it in the plate instead.
One day when the cub scouts were selling popcorn, Harald came home with one hundred dollars worth of popcorn. Sure enough, his wife chided him severely: "What were you thinking, Harald? A hundred dollars is a lot of money!"
On Harald 80th birthday, he went with his wife to the county fair. One of the attractions was a fundraiser for the local VFW: A restored World War I Bi-plane that would take a passenger up in the air for a thirty-minute ride through the clouds. The price? You guessed it...one hundred dollars. Harald really, really wanted to take that ride. But his wife was dead-set against it. "A hundred dollars is a lot of money, Harald!"
The pilot of the airplane grew tired of listening their argument, and said, "Listen, you two, I'll make you a deal. I'll give you both a ride for free if you'll just shut up, and stay quiet for the whole flight. But if you speak even a single word, I'll charge you the $100."
Harald was elated, and this time his wife could hardly object on monetary grounds, so off they went. The pilot took his plane through banks and spins and loop-the-loops, and then did the whole thing over again. Amazingly, he never heard a single word. When the plane landed he looked back at Harald and said, "I'll have to admit I'm impressed. You never spoke once."
"Well," said Harald, "I was going to say something when my wife fell out of the plane, but... A hundred dollars is a lot of money!"
We are talking about money today, and so I sincerely hope none of you fall out of the plane, or your pew, for that matter. Seriously, though, this story illustrates the point that money is entirely relative. $100 may seem like a whole lot of money when it comes to something as trivial as a plane ride, an impulse purchase, or perhaps what you put in the offering plate in church. And yet, when it comes to big picture things like life or death, personal safety, the cost of an education, or the well-being of our children...most of us would spend $100 or a hundred times that without even blinking an eye.
Incidentally (in case you were wondering), you don't even have to be a member to contribute! If you enjoy sitting here in this nice air-conditioned room on Sunday mornings, listening to some great music and some half-way decent preaching, or if you have benefitted in any way from the programs, the services, and the fellowship that our church provides, please know that those things all have a cost, and are made possible by your donations.
So last week and this week, we are talking about money, generosity, and our commitment to give.
In the Bible, there is perhaps no better advice on this subject than the words of the Apostle Paul in 2nd Corinthians. Paul is writing a letter to the church he founded in the city of Corinth, which is in modern day Greece. Corinth, at the time when Paul writes his letter, is a growing, thriving and prosperous city. By all accounts, the church Paul founded there was also growing, thriving, and eager to demonstrate their generosity. So much so that Paul brags about them in his travels to other churches he has founded, and holds them up as an example in generous giving.
The Corinthians have filled out their pledge cards, as it were, and now it's time to turn them in. So Paul writes to them, praising their commitment and subtly (or not so subtly) encouraging them to make good on their promises so that he (and they) will not be embarrassed when all of the churches tally the final fundraising results.
It is in this context that he lays out three fundamental principles for them to keep in mind as they make their commitment. Beginning at verse 6, he says:
6 The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. 7 Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 8 And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.
The first principle is simple, and it's found throughout the Bible: You reap what you sow. It's an agricultural metaphor, but today we might understand it best in terms of investment.
- Top ten reasons why I don't give (but substitute "bathing" for giving).
- MacDonalds fries story
