Preface
I am excited to release this as is, and to keep working on it, refining it as I go over it again and again. The goal is to clarify – to get rid of the fluff and to add structure – before I take this to the Good News Aces site… and eventually, put it all together as a PDF. This is the second set of verses I’ve decided to add my own commentary on, for the sake of clarity – both for myself, and for anyone I entrust to exhort about giving.
And in exhortation, it is recommended that you start and end with a scripture, a famous line, and/or a song lyric.
Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for these brothers, strangers as they are, who testified to your love before the church. You will do well to send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God. For they have gone out for the sake of the name, accepting nothing from the Gentiles. Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.
3 John 5-8
There’s a spiel that I’ve heard in common with a lot of services from different churches I’ve gone to, even ours. You know the one – where they say, ‘You don’t need to travel with the missionaries to join them. For some of you, you can give to their needs, and it will be as if you are going with them and serving their mission with them.’
I believe this set of verses from the one and only chapter of 3 John serves as one basis for that line. If you go through the verbiage, you can see why people have made the connection: That is, when you support those who have gone out for the sake of the name (of the Lord), you are actively taking part in sending them on their journey, in a manner worthy of God.
Consider that they were willing to be strangers to you for the sake of the Gentiles they set off to testify to. In being strangers to you, they consequently made themselves friends to these Gentiles instead, going as far as ‘accepting nothing’ from them. This gives you another picture as to how much of a sacrifice these ‘workers for the Truth’ make, and how they need all the support we can give them.
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.
Matthew 6:19-21
What we save and invest in here in this finite reality is nothing compared to the infinite treasures in heaven, that cannot be destroyed nor stolen. Cellphones and devices fade into obsolescence, structures crumble, gold and silver lose their luster. Concepts and ideals are eventually forgotten, and even empires have their lifespan. Money can literally be eaten away along with cloth by moths. Metalcraft gives in to decay. Even the well fortified pyramids of Egypt were broken into.
A King may move a man, a father may claim a son, but remember that even when those who move you be Kings, or men of power, your soul is in your keeping alone. – King Baldwin IV, Kingdom of Heaven
I feel as if we’ve been given an idea of what these treasures in heaven are – they are the souls of men. Our souls are what remain when moth, rust, and/or thieves have their way. Think of how much Christ gave for our own souls – He stepped away from His heavenly glory, and lay down His earthly life, to save us – our souls were worth everything.
Let our giving be inspired by this realization. Let us give, not for our own gain, but for the souls of others. Let us give, in celebration of the Truth – that is, the One who could send our bodies and souls to hell loved us so much that He gave His own body, to save our souls.
We also see here how ‘where your treasure is, there your heart will be also’; Off the bat you could say that you treasure something with your heart. You can appreciate the value of anything with your mind, but you couldn’t say you treasure anything without involving your heart.
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.
For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own accord, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. 2 Corinthians 8:1-5
From this passage we can put into consideration, that wherever the grace of God is present, so generosity is present as well. But actually, before generosity, we see that the Church of Macedonia had joy.
Sure, we could psych ourselves out with positive thinking, or motivate ourselves with affirmations, but the grace of God moving in our lives appears to leave us with no ordinary joy – No, it appears that the grace of God leaves us with joy that is not only present but ABUNDANT, even in ‘extreme poverty’, and in ‘severe tests of affliction’!
It’s by the grace of God that we have an abundance of joy. And it’s by this abundance of joy that we would be able to ‘overflow in a wealth of generosity’. God’s grace brings us joy, and it’s from joy that we are generous. I suppose this isn’t any old connection that we should only memorize in our minds, but take in our hearts. When we are challenged to be generous, let us go back to the joy that we have. When we are challenged to move with joy, let us go back to appreciating the grace of God – and when it comes to beholding the grace of God, let us look no further than Jesus Christ.
Christ leads to grace leads to joy leads to generosity – and what a generosity that is! We’re able to give beyond our means, of our own accord – and I could imagine such joy we have, that we would insist – literally BEG to take part in the relief of the body of Christ!
Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in your power to do it.
Proverbs 3:27
Simply put, a good mindset to have is to help whenever you can, as soon as you can. BUT take note that the proverb states to give good to ‘those to whom it is due’. How can we know this? Friends, banks may have their own standards when it comes to determining who deserves a loan, and how much they can give – they’re certainly standards we can adapt for ourselves, but let us not forget that the Holy Spirit is alive in us, to be our wisdom during these times.
Give if you can, when you can, knowing that you have Christ as your Life.
Partner with the Holy Spirit who was poured into each and every one of us, that we would have the proper discernment, and decide whether to help with exactly how much they think they need, or to give just a percentage or rely more on our own assessment, or to hold back and refuse, or to do more research, or wait, and/or find other ways to assist.
Partner with Christ, through trusting that no matter what happens and no matter what you decide, His finished work allows us to take heart, knowing that God will make all things work for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His purpose.
Give if you can, when you can, knowing that you have Christ as your Life. Christ is your Life – this means He is with you before, during, and after every decision you make within your power.
If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:3
You’ll probably notice this passage was from the so-called ‘Love Chapter’. While I’m not about to read the entire passage, I will indicate that this verse’s context is seen in the verses that precede it:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned,[a] but have not love, I gain nothing. (1 Corinthians 13:1-3)
This is to say, we shouldn’t just be focusing on our giving – If we don’t speak, prophesy, act in faith, or give in love, we gain nothing. It’s hard enough for us to do these things on their own. Public speaking was popularly known as more intimidating than death. ‘Prophesies’ based on our limited thinking are a dime a dozen, and faith beyond the thoughts that limit us… well, it can drive us insane. How much more if we add on the requirement to do these things in love?
Fortunately – and this is a HUGE fortunately – not only do we have boldness in the Spirit to speak, compassion in the Spirit to prophesy, and faith – not our own, but authored by Christ; the greater Truth is that we do or do not do all these things IN LOVE – the same everlasting Love that God has for each and every one of us. This living love is present in and through us, because of the finished work of Christ.
If we have trouble speaking, let us remember how Christ spoke to us in love.
If we have trouble prophesying, or standing in faith, let us remember that Christ IS the fulfillment of prophecy, and the Author and Finisher of our faith.
Finally, if we have trouble giving, and giving in love, let us remember how Christ gave us everything, because He wanted us to know God’s everlasting love for us, without a shadow of a doubt.
Christ became nothing so we would have everything, in God’s love. And it’s from this love, that we give in love.
Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.
Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.
1 Timothy 6:17–19
We would be unwise to think that the riches of ‘this present world’ define how rich any of us are, in general. It’s merely one aspect to wealth, and it certainly isn’t the primary determinant to true abundance. What I’m saying is that the money in our accounts is not the basis of whether we say we’re blessed or not.
Apparently what Paul is telling Timothy here is that we ought to consider that the true measure of our being blessed is seen in our capacity and willingness to bless others – and not just by way of our giving money or providing resources to them, but by using said resources to be ‘rich in good deeds’.
In fact, that should probably put things into perspective – true wealth is seen in our good deeds, and without the faith Christ established in us, none of our deeds would actually even be good. But that’s the thing – it’s not our deeds but Christ’s perfect deed, Christ’s finished work that’s the good behind our deeds! He is the Value in all we have, and the Peace in all we don’t have.
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