Giving is not Getting

"I'll sum up the key to success in one word: generosity.  If your interactions are ruled by generosity, your rewards will follow suit"--Keith Ferrazzi, consultant, author and motivational speaker.

In Luke 14, Jesus also mentions the connection between giving of ourselves and getting rewards.  So, is the cat finally out of the bag here?  Isn't this the same old give something to get something system--just with the rewards delayed until the "resurrection of the just"?

No.  It isn't.

Let's assume that Jesus wants what is best for us.  Let's assume that Jesus isn't opposed to happiness, fun, joy, pleasure and celebration.  Let's assume that when his adversaries accuse him of being a glutton and a drunkard that they had some basis for their accusations.

Most of all, let's assume that Jesus wants FROM us only what is good FOR us.

If we pursue giving as a means of getting, we will fail in the end.  Adam Grant quotes a University of Michigan sociologist to illustrate how this works for networking.  "If we create networks with the sole intention of getting something, we won't succeed," notes Wayne Baker.  "We can't pursue the benefits of networks; the benefits ensue from investments in meaningful activities and relationships." (Grant, Give and Take, page 34).

Jesus is talking about pursing social networks for the sake of personal benefit.  He anticipates contemporary social scientists by two millennia.  We have been told that giving is for suckers.  Some of us belong to the Gordon Gecko generation.  The character from the film, Wall Street, put it quite directly: "The point is ladies and gentlemen that greed, for lack of a better word, is good."

In fact, greed is, for lack of a better word, bad.

Research reveals that givers live longer, have better immune response, sleep better, earn more money on average over a lifetime, have more stable families and less mental illness.

In short, givers are "blessed."  

I pray for more givers in our churches.  Let's do a little thought experiment in that regard.  A family attends our worship service.  It's clear they don't really know "Lutheran."  They have spiritual habits and needs that it will be hard for our congregation to fill.  Do you

a) ignore these facts and pursue them aggressively as prospective members?

b) treat them with benign neglect because they will be more bother than they are worth?

c) start a new service with them in mind?

d) help them find a church home that will meet their needs even if it's not ours?

Most of our congregants would opt for a) or b).  A few might go for c) if enough of the strangers show up at one time.  Almost none of the congregations I know would go for d).  After all, what's in it for us if we do that?

Precisely.

In the business world, successful companies more and more are choosing d).  We will do whatever it takes to meet your needs, even if it means sending you to our competitors.

Can you imagine most congregations even considering that strategy?  I can't.

But that's one of the shapes real humility would take for us.  So, can we trust Jesus enough to work at being real givers?