Generosity - Be Careful of What You Give Away

  

     This morning I found myself in the 9^th chapter of 2 Corinthians and from the subtitle, “The Cheerful Giver” found in the English Standard Version, I thought I would receive instructions on how to evaluate my heart as the measure of whether my generosity would be pleasing to God.  However, I was met with an entirely different lesson than I had anticipated.  What I found within the span of the twenty-two verses was a lesson on reputation.  If you recall, several weeks ago I wrote an article entitled “How Important is Your Reputation?”  In that piece, I focused on how the apostle Paul gave his reputation over to the Son of God rather than worry about it himself.  Today’s lesson focuses on when we rest our reputation on the promises made by others.  

     Paul is discussing the matter of generosity with the church in Corinth, and apparently, they had made promises that Paul was counting on.  In chapter 8 of the same book, Paul said, “your abundance at the present time should supply their needs" (verse 14).  In other words, the church of Corinth could, by themselves, take care of the entire need of their brothers in Jerusalem without a hint of help from any other church.   Paul goes on to say that he viewed it unnecessary (or superfluous according to my translation) to write them about the ministry of the saints to whom they would be contributing.  He had faith that their generosity would be put to good use.  

      This is where the lesson began to unfold for me.  Paul expressed great confidence in the church in Corinth.  They had impressed Titus whom he had sent (v.22).  Two verses later (v.24), Paul mentioned that he had been boasting about them to other churches.   Then in chapter 9, we read that he had also boasted about them to the people in Macedonia regarding their favorable reputation and how it was influencing others attitudes toward generosity.  Then comes a long pause -- a change of thought as Paul says (in my words), ‘please don’t let our boasting prove to be empty because if it is without merit, it will be very humiliating after expressing so much confidence in you’ (v. 3-4).  Paul was concerned about the reputation of the church.  He is not trying to influence the size of their gift, nor convince them to give; they had already made a promise to do so.  He was beginning to feel a little ill at ease on whether they would be ready when the entourage arrived to gather their offering.  He wanted them to be good at their word because it was observable.  The apostle Paul said, ‘this is not an exaction’ (chapter 9, v. 5) which means no one was demanding anything from them, but rather it was a reminder, like the pledge cards we receive through the mail when we commit to making a personal contribution to a worthy cause.

     This lesson held two components of thought for me as I reviewed Scriptures:  (1) When have I, like Paul, placed my reputation in the care of others so that my reputation has the potential of being harmed by their words or deeds? And (2) When have I made a promise that might tarnish another person’s reputation if I failed to keep it?  

So I ask you along with me to ponder these two thoughts.  Great leaders, like Paul, will hold people accountable for the promises they make.  Weak leaders would rather gossip than take the blame for those with whom they had hitched their wagon.  I love Paul’s leadership example as he encourages and reminds these believers to be men of their word.  

     Many years ago, I joined a company to promote products that I loved.  These products encouraged the expression of gratitude and focused on others.  My association with this company meant that I would travel a few times a year to keep up with technology changes and receive insight into future developments.  The company would do a great job encouraging us to promote their products and services while promising to grow our revenue.  They would impart their philosophies through logic and loud music as they shared exciting news of things that were under wraps, a surprise, a show stopper.  With flashy presentations, year-after-year, I began to see something I hadn’t noticed before, I began to surmise that words and actions were sometimes in disagreement.  A new strategy that didn’t feel exactly right, another tweak to the compensation package, the company would promise success as we bought into their latest and greatest idea.  Many times they would anticipate our response and prepare great discourses to encourage us to be team players. 

     After seven years of association, I had been trained to defend the company’s position.   Although I never relied on the revenue stream coming in from promoting these products, many people that I had attracted into the business did.  It was our job to promote new features, support decisions to remove useful features, and explain away the need to charge someone for something that had always been included in the package that they had purchased but could not live without.  I began to feel as though I was working for the deceiver, maybe I was.

      Technology had been the backbone of my career, but now it was influencing my perception of acceptable relationship building practices.  We were asked to adapt to pre-scripted text messages sent out in rapid succession to convince someone it was vitally important that they meet with us, pretend to be super busy, fake-it-until-you-make-it; it turned my stomach.  Each convention would require the distributor to dish out several hundred dollars to promote a new approach to business building.  Promotions were dependent on new certifications.  Once acquired--the whole program scrapped; a promised feature--never delivered, a promised program--removed, a price guarantee—increased, criteria for promotion—enhanced.  One of these things is a lie, can you guess?  Commitments broken, the company thought no one was looking, we wouldn’t remember.  Truth-be-told, it was hard to recognize integrity.

      My career path as a company insider had always put me in a position to deliver on my promises, but this outside representative position meant things were beyond my ability to control the outcome.   Sometimes we find ourselves putting our reputation in the hands of others who are not worthy.  Thankfully, the Lord was looking after my reputation and with some internal prompting convinced me it was time to leave, even when my heart told me to stay.  I wanted to be a solutions provider, not a quitter.  How much easier is it to trust someone’s integrity than to evaluate how well it is represented?  A good lesson to learn.

      Of equal importance, I believe that it is also necessary to look at our own promises that have the potential of influencing the reputation of others who trust us.  As a wife, am I helping to build a good reputation for my husband?  Do I set a good example?  Have I kept all my promises?  As a mother, do I follow-through on promises I make to my children.  If I am not able to keep a promise, do I acknowledge my failure and attempt to correct the situation?  How well am I standing behind my promise to God to give Him my whole heart, mind, soul, and strength?   Because we are representing Jesus and His generous gift of redemption, am I aiming at honoring His reputation regardless of whether He needs it or not?