Grateful Giving
By Julie Yarborough
November 21, 2010
2 Corinthians 9: 6-8 and Deuteronomy 26: 1-3, 8-11
[ Audio
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mother and I were both born on Thanksgiving Day (although we were born on different dates) and it has always been my favorite holiday. I love the fact that almost everybody has the day off and most of the stores are closed. I love the abundance of food and the family and friends gathered around the table to celebrate. I love the turkey, gravy and savory dressing, the mashed potatoes and sweet potatoes and green beans, the cranberry relish – my uncle always made it from scratch by grinding up cranberries, adding orange and orange rind, and topping it off with lots of sugar – and the pumpkin pie and at our house, often birthday cake for dessert. I even love the parades, the football games, the feeling of fullness that comes after eating too much and the laziness that comes when the tryptophan from the turkey kicks in. But most of all, I love the idea that there's a day set aside when we all, regardless of our religious backgrounds, are reminded to be thankful for what matters most in our lives.
Now I realize
that my description of Thanksgiving is a bit romanticized. I know that there are
people in this country who don't have enough to eat, and won't have a feast on
the table, even on Thanksgiving. I know that there are people who don't have family
or friends with which to gather, and will be all alone on that day. I know that
there are people who won't have the day off, and will have to work while others
are resting and celebrating. But knowing
that makes me even more grateful for what I have in my life,
and it also makes me want to share with others. Regardless of what we have, or what we don't
have in our lives, we can always find a reason to give thanks to God.
There's a song
called “Grateful” that reflects this sentiment. It begins:
I've got a roof
over my head, I've got a warm place to sleep. Some
nights I lie awake
counting gifts instead of sheep. I've got a heart that
can hold love, I've
got a mind that can think. There may be times when
I lose the light
and let my spirits sink. But I can't
stay depressed when
I remember how
I'm blessed.
Grateful,
grateful, truly grateful I am. Grateful, grateful, truly blessed
and duly grateful.[1]
I
believe it's important to foster and encourage this attitude of gratitude in
children. Each night in our home, when we put our children to bed, we go
through the usual rituals: brushing teeth, putting pajamas on, getting in bed, reading
a story and then just before lights out, we say our prayers. I always begin by
asking my children, “So, what are you grateful for?” They think back over their
day and usually something comes easily to mind, but sometimes the day has been
difficult and “nothing” is the response. “Nothing” is not an acceptable answer
as far as I'm concerned, so they keep thinking, until, with a little prodding
they come up with an answer.
God has blessed
us with so many good gifts in this life. How can we fail to recognize them? As
people of faith, we are meant to live our lives as though every day is a day of
thanksgiving! Our response to God for
all of our many blessings should be one of praise and thanksgiving. And yet,
even that is not enough. Over and over again, the scriptures tell us that when
we are grateful for God's generosity in our lives, our response should be
generosity to others. In the passage
from Deuteronomy that we heard this morning, the Israelites are told that once
they settle in the land that God has promised them, they should gather the
first fruits of their labors – the cream of the crop, the very best of what
they have to offer. They were to take it
to the place where God dwelt (this was wherever they worshiped, before the
first temple was built). And they were to present it to the priest, while
telling their stories of gratitude for all that God had done for them in
delivering them from slavery in Egypt. And then, they were to have a party and
invite everyone and celebrate their abundance. (Sounds a lot like Thanksgiving,
doesn't it?)
Another verse of
the song “Grateful” comes to mind:
In a city of
strangers, I've got a family of friends. No matter
what rocks and
brambles fill the way, I know that they will
stay until the end. I
feel a hand holding my hand. It's not a hand
you can see. But on
the road to the promised land, this hand will
shepherd me. Through
delight and despair, holding tight and
always there.
Grateful,
grateful, truly grateful I am. Grateful, grateful, truly
blessed and duly
grateful.[2]
This theme is
echoed in 2 Corinthians, but there we read that God also expects us to be
cheerful in our giving. “Each of you must give as you have made up your mind,
not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (verse 7) It's not enough to give because it is expected of
us: our giving should be motivated by a generous spirit. Do you remember the story of Cain and Abel?[3]
Cain brought God an offering from the ground, and Abel brought God the first
and best of his flock. Cain's gift was not received, but Abel's was. “According
to Jewish tradition, God's acceptance of Abel's offering and rejection of
Cain's was a result not of how much each gave, but of what kind of gift it
was.”[4]
Reverend William
C. Green writes that “Cain's very name comes from a Hebrew root meaning
acquisition or possession. His offering was both grudging and rendered on his
terms…. Abel, on the other hand, gives what is God's due, the selfless
sacrifice of the first and best portions of his flock, out of gratitude and
love. It is significant that Abel's name comes from a root meaning breath, and
breathing is also associated with the spirit of God.”[5]
The gifts that
we present to God are to be given freely, without reluctance. What's more, the
Apostle Paul explains that when we give freely and generously, God will reward
us with more blessings, so that we always have enough and are able to share
more. In the next few verses, Paul expounds on this idea.
This most
generous God who gives seed to the farmer that becomes
bread for your meals
is more than extravagant with you. [God] gives
you something you
can then give away, which grows into full-formed
lives, robust in God,
wealthy in every way, so that you can be generous
in every way,
producing with us great praise to God.
(2 Corinthians 9:10-12, The Message)
God
gives to us generously so that we can give to others generously, so that our
actions result in God being praised for God's generosity.
Lynn Starun recently sent me the link to a story of radical generosity
entitled, “Nicest Canadian Couple in World Dole out Lottery Winnings”.
Once again, I think of the song, “Grateful.” Hear the last verse:
It's not that I
don't want a lot or hope for more, or dream of more.
But giving thanks
for what I've got makes me so much happier
than keeping score.
In a world that can bring pain I will still take
each chance. For I
believe that whatever the terrain our feet can
learn to dance.
Whatever stone life may sling, we can moan or
we can sing:
Grateful,
grateful, truly grateful I am. Grateful, grateful, truly blessed
and duly grateful.[6]
Living a
faithful life means not focusing on what we don't have, but being thankful for
all that God has given us. Knowing that everything we have comes from God. Giving
the first and best to God and then celebrating the rest as abundance.
Recognizing that, in the words of Abraham Heschel, we
are “blessed to be a blessing!” Living
out of a place of abundance has nothing to do with how much we have, or what
other people think of us, or what we do for a living, but from knowing that we
are beloved children of God. What a rich blessing that is indeed! And once we
get that, really get it, we can't help but live out of that place of radical abundant
generosity. We want to share all that we have with others because we're living
out of a deep place – a deeply faithful, deeply spiritual place – in which we
realize that all that we have comes from God anyway! As
2 Corinthians says, “God is able to provide you with every blessing in
abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share
abundantly in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8)
The bottom line
is this: for Christians, every act of cheerful, generous giving is an act of
faith – faith that God will provide - faith that the more we give to others,
the more we will be blessed in our lives.
And that, my
dear friends, is a reason to be grateful!
Amen.
[1]
Grateful: A Song of Giving Thanks, by John Bucchino,
Harper Collins Publishers, 1996.
[2]
Ibid.
[3]
Genesis 4:1-16
[4] “The Big
Secret of Giving: Hidden Treasures in Life and Church, a Stewardship
Devotional,” by William C. Green, published by the UCC Congregational Vitality
Initiative, 2007.
[5]
Ibid.
[6]
Grateful: A Song of Giving Thanks, by John Bucchino,
Harper Collins Publishers, 1996.
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