Transformative Generosity: Giving from the Heart

In the ancient world, especially in Israel, people would try to impress other people with how devout they were, and this would be helpful to us. But we can also apply what Jesus is saying to try to use our giftedness or our intelligence or our success at work into impressing other people. [00:55:39]

When you give, when you seek to help the needy, do not announce it with trumpets in the synagogues and on the street corners the way the Hypocrites do. We'll come back in this study to that word hypocrite, in order to be seen by other people. Truly I tell you, they have their reward in full. [01:23:12]

Jesus says when you give, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be done in secret. Then your heavenly father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. Now Jesus is teaching something that is very revolutionary in the ancient world. [01:18:84]

The economy was dominated by the notion of gift-giving, but not gifts as we often think about it today. Gifts always with a string attached. The way that it worked in the ancient world was that there would be a tight circle. There would be people that had more in Rome; they were patrons or called benefactors. [02:01:00]

Every good and perfect gift comes from above, from the father of all lights, James says. So take a moment right now and think about what has God given you. Often in the black church, there'll be a kind of an exercise of gratitude: I thank God that you woke me up this morning. [04:00:00]

Gratitude exists, but now unlike in the ancient world, it's not about paying somebody back a patron. It's gratitude to God, and then we are to give to everybody, and in particular to try to give to people who cannot pay us back because we live in the reality of the kingdom of God. [04:45:20]

Freely you have received, freely give. Now this was so different in the ancient world. This is part of what Peter Leghart writes. This I'm not making this up. Jesus says when you give, don't announce it with trumpets. That's kind of a funny thing to say. [05:02:91]

A patron expected his clients to form an entourage, to blow trumpets, and shout his praises as the patron passed through the streets of Rome. And Jesus is saying now a whole different way to do life: live in gratitude with God who has given everything freely to you and then give. [05:30:24]

It can be so tempting to be impressed with myself when I'm giving. I want to have other people be impressed with me. So instead of doing the trumpet deal, don't let your left hand know what your right hand is doing. I'm going to say a little bit about this because Jesus is an absolutely brilliant teacher. [05:57:60]

Jesus understands how we can actually outsource virtue to our bodies, to our synapses, so that we cease to be so self-conscious and so aware of how wonderful I am. It is possible for your left hand not to know what your right hand is doing, and this comes through practice or disciplines or exercises. [06:19:99]

When you practice scales, as you know if you ever took piano lessons, then you start playing and there's one, two, three, and then you got to make your thumb go under the third finger, and it goes on up four more fingers, and then the thumb goes under again. That's how the right hand works. [06:39:00]

If you keep practicing, eventually the left hand forgets. The left hand forgets what the right hand is doing. [07:17:39]