Rebounding Generosity

Giving rebounds into our lives in a variety of ways, writes John Denne.

Winston Churchill said, “We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.” And giving is about making a living on this planet where death rules. Research by Robert Coles (Children of Crisis, 2003) shows that whether we are rich, poor or disenfranchised, joy is not an attribute of any particular socio-economic group. Rather, it comes from service. Real giving is, therefore, about making a life joyous through service; there is really no other way to have lasting joy, and it's this that Jesus taught.

Jesus' fourth commandment

Luke 6:37, 38 records Jesus' fourth commandment. It says that He gave four commands—two negative, two positive. Jesus said, first, we are not to “judge”; second, “condemn”; third, we are to “forgive”; and, finally, “give.” This fourth command says: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” This commandment is about giving; it's about the miracle of generosity. If we have a generous measure when we give, we will receive generously.

Miracles do happen

The picture Jesus paints is from the marketplace. If we live generous lives, He says, it will be like us going to a trader who is selling grain or flour. We come to the trader to have our container filled, and the trader not only fills our container to the brim but presses the grain down and shakes the container to fit in as much as possible.

Yes, it can backfire, but ...

Now of course it can happen that we can be generous and it can “backfire,” and we become the object and victim of a less-than-generous person. But as a general principle, when we give generously, we get more back than ever we give.

There was Peter …

The first person I ever influenced to follow Jesus was Peter. Peter was a paraplegic who'd been in a wheelchair for 30 years. He had contracted polio at the age of eight.

I remember others …

I remember my mother, who lived to give to her children, her husband and community. She would say she received more love than ever she gave.

Those we really admire

Think of the people we really admire. Who are they? Are they those who live to get or those who live to give. The people I admire are my wife, my mother, Nelson Mandela, Mother Theresa, Mahatma Ghandi, Martin Luther King Jr, Fred Hollows, Sir Edmund Hillary and Simpson of Gallipoli, among others. But a far greater model is Jesus. Those who are the greatest givers are the greatest lovers, and their enduring status makes them the beacons for me to follow.

Where real “giving” resides

Giving doesn't reside in the domain of the rich or the reluctant, the stingy or the selfish. Nor does happiness. Real giving comes from the heart of God. That's what the Bible teaches. That's why the Bible says “God is love” (see 1 John 3:16-20; 4:7-12). The gift of giving is available to all, but only real givers make a life joyous through service. We all need to put to ourselves the proposition made by Churchill: “Am I making a living, or am I making a life?”

Ecclesiastes 11:1 also expresses the miracle of generosity when it says, “Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.” Anyone knows that when one casts bread upon water that it goes soggy and decomposes. But when we are generous the impossible happens, and it comes back to us whole. When you give, “it will be given to you.”