CRAZY LIKE US: PART 3, FIRST THINGS FIRST

Generosity cannot live on whatever happens to survive the month. The question is simple: does generosity have a plan, or does it depend on what is left? Current habits already make a plan, even when that plan is never chosen on purpose. Consumption can eat up every dollar that comes in, leaving generosity spontaneous, sporadic, and sparing.

Generosity is not wrong because bills are real, saving matters, and God gives good things to enjoy. The issue is the order. Generosity becomes an afterthought when spending gets first place, and an afterthought rarely becomes a way of life. Generosity must be decided ahead of time, measured, directed, and then released for the good of others.

Jesus says earthly treasure is temporary. Moths eat it, rust destroys it, thieves take it, phones get old, markets move, and money can leave fast. Jesus also says treasure and heart travel together. Money is not only a purchasing tool. Money is a directional tool. Giving toward the next generation, the local church, a hurting family, or a need that breaks the heart can move the heart toward what God cares about.

Paul gives the early church a practical pattern for this kind of generosity. Giving is regular, personal, proportional, prepared, and accountable. Each person sets aside a portion according to what has been placed in that person’s hands. Paul removes pressure from the moment because the decision gets made before the need arrives. Paul also protects people from guilt by saying gifts are acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what a person does not have.

Generosity can begin with a faithful percentage, even if that percentage is small. A faithful beginning is better than never starting. Giving gets priority when it is set aside before the spending starts, while saving creates room for emergencies and spontaneous opportunities. Growth can happen as income rises, debt falls, or God provides more room.

Gratitude and heartbreak can help choose the destination. Gratitude can direct money toward ministries and people who have brought real help. Heartbreak can direct money toward foster children, struggling families, veterans in crisis, or another burden that refuses to go away. A plan also gives freedom to say no, because generosity has already said yes where God has led.

Generosity becomes a way of life when giving moves from leftover to first priority. Money remains unreliable, but God remains the provider. Stewardship turns money from a master into a tool for doing good, loving people well, and glorifying God.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Generosity must be decided beforehand. Generosity rarely happens by accident because leftover money has a way of disappearing. A plan turns a good intention into an actual direction for the heart. Planned giving does not make generosity cold or mechanical; it makes generosity faithful before emotion or pressure takes over. [31:06]
• 2. Treasure leads the heart somewhere. Jesus connects treasure and heart in a way that changes how money is viewed. Giving can train affection, not merely express affection that already exists. A person who wants to care more deeply about God’s work can begin by directing resources toward that work. [34:35]
• 3. Give according to what God provides. Paul refuses both guilt-driven giving and careless promises. Financial hardship may mean receiving is part of the story for a season, and the church should be a family where giving and receiving happen at different times. Faithfulness is not measured by matching somebody else’s amount. [47:08]
• 4. Gratitude and heartbreak choose destinations. Gratitude points toward places where God has already brought help, healing, or hope. Heartbreak points toward burdens that are difficult to ignore. Both questions help generosity become personal, thoughtful, and connected to real people rather than vague intentions. [50:11]
• 5. Giving first changes the whole plan. Giving first does not mean pretending rent, groceries, and bills do not exist. Giving first means generosity receives a real place in the plan rather than whatever is left after everything else. That shift can break the anxious cycle of consume first and trust God with the scraps. [1:01:19]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [21:03] - Crazy Like Us and Generosity
• [23:24] - Does Generosity Have a Plan?
• [25:32] - The Leftover Money Problem
• [28:51] - Spontaneous, Sporadic, and Sparing
• [31:06] - A Definition of Planned Generosity
• [32:09] - Treasure and the Heart
• [36:28] - Paul’s Pattern for Giving
• [41:45] - Give First, Save Second
• [43:00] - Percentage, Priority, and Progress
• [46:50] - Give According to What You Have
• [49:21] - Gratitude and What Breaks the Heart
• [52:35] - Rich in Good Works
• [55:09] - Six Steps for a Generosity Plan
• [1:00:32] - From Leftover to First Priority

Bible Reading

Matthew 6:19-21
“Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” [32:09]

1 Corinthians 16:1-4
“Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.” [36:39]

2 Corinthians 8:12-13
“For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness.” [46:52]

Observation questions

1. In Matthew 6:19–21, what contrasts does Jesus make between earthly treasure and heavenly treasure, and what connection does He make between treasure and the heart? [34:35]
2. In 1 Corinthians 16:1–4, what details show that Paul wanted the Corinthians’ giving to be regular, personal, prepared, and accountable? [41:07]
3. According to 2 Corinthians 8:12–13, what does Paul say makes a gift acceptable, and what does he say generosity should not require? [47:08]
4. What three patterns describe giving that depends only on emotion, pressure, or whatever remains at the end of the month? [29:09]

Interpretation questions

1. Jesus says that treasure and heart travel together. How does this challenge the idea that giving only happens after someone already feels deeply connected to a cause or ministry? [35:01]
2. Why might Paul tell the Corinthians to set money aside before he arrives instead of collecting an offering in a pressured moment? What does that protect in the giver’s heart? [40:03]
3. Paul calls believers to give according to what they have, not what they do not have. How does this keep generosity from becoming either guilt-driven or a way of comparing one person’s gift with another’s? [48:00]
4. Why is a planned destination for generosity important? How can gratitude and heartbreak help someone choose where to give thoughtfully? [50:11]

Application questions

1. If someone looked at your recent spending habits, what plan would they say your money is following right now? Is that a plan you want to keep? [01:00:01]
2. Does generosity in your life usually come from what is left over, from a spontaneous need, or from a decision made ahead of time? What is one small change that could help giving become more intentional? [31:06]
3. What percentage or specific amount could be a faithful and realistic starting point for you in this season? How could you make room for it without making a promise you cannot keep? [44:50]
4. What ministry, people, or need are you especially grateful for? Is there a way your generosity could express that gratitude? [50:35]
5. What need in your community or world genuinely breaks your heart—families in crisis, children in foster care, veterans, hunger, or something else? How might that burden shape where you direct some of your resources? [51:13]
6. Where do you need to create margin for both emergencies and spontaneous opportunities to help others? How can planning ahead keep your heart open rather than rigid? [57:47]
7. If you share finances with a spouse or family, what would it look like to talk honestly about generosity and make a plan together? How could children or other family members be included in learning a lifestyle of generosity? [59:15]