Greed is the Enemy of Gratitude

"Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change." - James 1:16-17 (ESV)

Every good and perfect gift is from above. This statement is a reminder of the source of every blessing we have. There is no such thing as something that you have earned or attained for yourself. There are many who work hard, do the right things, and strive to succeed, who do not experience the desired outcome. We should be reminded that "every," not some, of the blessings we have received come from God. This should be cause for gratitude to well up within us as we think about every thing in our lives worth giving thanks for:

* our family

* our home/residence

* the meals we eat

* the air we breath

* the electric bill (because we have air-conditioning)

* our vehicle(s)

* our children

* your job

* the computer you are reading this on

* our health

This list could go on and on; in fact, you should attempt to continue the list for the purpose of seeing just how blessed you are. We have every reason to be people of gratitude as we think about our many blessings. 

The enemy of gratitude is greed. Greed is not just an attitude that says, "I want, I want," but it is an attitude that thinks, "I deserve, I deserve." Greed is the sinful trait in us that wars against gratitude. Instead of being thankful for every blessing we have been given, we feel like we deserve everything, and more. Greed moves us to take for ourselves. Greed says, "take for yourself; get what you deserve; put your own needs first." If we understand that God is the giver of every perfect gift and blessing we have, then it should produce gratitude, which ultimately produces generosity. If we are not people of generosity then we have a problem with gratitude. If we have a problem with gratitude then we can be assured we are battling greed. 

It looks a little something like this:

Your Life - Gratitude = Greed

Your Life + Gratitude = Generosity

Gratitude is the key. If we are people of gratitude we will soon become people of generosity. If we are not people of gratitude we will find ourselves struggling with greed. If you want to help boost your level of gratitude, continue to reflect on James 1:16-17. Take Scripture's advice: do not be deceived, God is the giver of everything you and I have, and for this, we should be eternally grateful. 

Take time today to reflect on the many things you have to be grateful for, and recognize that God is the Author of the blessing. What is your biggest struggle with gratitude vs greed? Does your level of generosity demonstrate your gratitude accurately or does it demonstrate your greed?

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The Motivation for Giving

Here we go, a post a giving. Everyone can now let out your collective sigh (insert sigh here _______ ).

The dreaded post on the subject of giving. For some reason, and I have several ideas, we get a little uneasy when the subject of money is brought up, especially the subject of our giving of it. I am not going to quote the typical passages on giving or get into a massive debate about Old Testament requirements vs New Testament requirements. We all know, regardless of what % you believe the Bible requires of believers, that followers of Jesus are called to be generous with their finances, and that giving/tithing in the local church is rooted in biblical foundations. Instead of debating the nuances of giving, I would rather get into what I believe is the most important thing: motivation.

In order to help discover your motivation, let me create a mock scenario and see how you would respond.

We are going to pretend for a moment that someone in the church struck it big financially. Rather than getting into a lottery debate, we will just say that someone started a business that became the equivalent to Apple or Microsoft. In other words: BIG BUCKS! This person in the church loves the Lord and is a generous person and so they give millions upon millions every year to the church. We can even take it up a notch; they give so much money that the church is wealthy and is searching for ways to give the money away for ministry purposes. Here is the question for you to answer: if this were the case in the church that you attended, would you continue to give faithfully or would you begin to tell yourself that you need the money more than the church does? Would you continue to give like the church needed every penny or would your giving be adjusted because of the perceived lack of difference it is making?

The reason I pose this scenario is because it is one way of getting to the core of your motivation. If you quit giving in the same way that you had previously, then your motivation for giving is driven by the basis of need that you believe exists, "The church needs my money; therefore, I give." Your giving in this scenario has less to do with a conviction about what giving does to you, and has more to do with how you feel your giving is contributing to the cause. I do not want to discount the importance of feeling like our giving is being used for the kingdom, but the primary motivator for giving should not be based on the "return on investment."

The motivation for biblical giving is supposed to be a desire to please the Lord because we love Him and His church. Our motivation for giving should be the fact that we have been given everything, yet we deserve nothing. Giving is supposed to be an overflow of our worship to God. We give cheerfully and with joy because we are serving the King of Glory in this way. Even if the church became independently wealthy, our individual giving should not plummet or disappear, rather it should continue as we always have, driven by a desire to give back to the One who has given us everything. Giving to the local church has less to do with the needs of the church (though that is important), and has more to do with the heart of the individual giving, and how the Lord is transforming them. 

I would love to hear your thoughts or comments. What do you think about the motivation for giving? What other motivators (good or bad) do you see?

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