Radical Generosity

This weekend I taught from Romans 12:6-8. This is one of the lists of "grace gifts" or "spiritual gifts" found in the New Testament (the other found in 1 Corinthians 12). One of the most interesting gifts found on the "Romans list" is giving. The usual verb for giving is didomi, but the word here in Romans 12:8b is the intensified metadidomi, which carries the additional meaning of sharing and imparting that which is one's own. It is clearly a term used to mean generosity, or giving out of one's self to another; we call it sacrificial giving in the church. I call it radical generosity.

Do you have the gift of radical generosity? In an article I read recently entitled Compelling Generosity, I was drawn to phrases like "our culture's self-absorbed economy of excess" and "enough resources to contribute to the lives of others." In this, I found myself in the middle of paradox. I say I am always striving to meet my needs, when really I am striving to maintain a lifestyle. A lifestyle, quite honestly, that is complex and pressure-packed. And this is where the paradox became conviction. I immediately began to realize the measure of my generosity has nothing to do by what or how much I give, but by what or how much I am preparing my life to contribute to the lives of others. Radical generosity is a lifestyle, a gift, to be lived out among people I come in contact with everyday.

For me, radical generosity does not come from my willingness to give. Most of the time, I wish I could give more. Radical generosity comes from being in a place where I can give more. Have I designed my life to be generous? Now, I'm not talking about Dave Ramsey's Financial Peace thing. I'm talking about having the mindset that I can contribute what is mine to others now, not when I get my "emergency fund" together.* I think it goes a step further. It calls for radical changes in our lifestyles.

Over the years, I have heard of the spiritual discipline called simplicity. I have done some reading on the topic and it is a powerful experience when practiced. The practice of simplicity is simply (pun) to learn to live within our means. In effect, it means to be content. Too often, my generosity suffers from the complicated pace of my life or, my lack of simplicity. My life is so loud, fast-paced and over-crowded, that I really don't have anything (time or financial resources) to give. So, it's not that I don't want to give (generosity) or live in contentment (simplicity), it's just that I really can't; it's impossible.

In his book Freedom of Simplicity, Richard Foster writes, "Christian simplicity frees us from modern mania...It allows us to see material things for what they are—goods to enhance life, not to oppress life. People once again become more important than possessions. Simplicity enables us to live lives of integrity in the face of the terrible realities of our global village."

I guess the challenge of radical generosity is real. Real in the sense that I am becoming like everyone else—collecting and consuming everything I see with no regard for who I am becoming in the process. Generosity is integrity, and really, it's self-integrity. Generosity is knowing my true self enough to allow it to be reflected in the way I live my life. Too often, my life is an appearance, just a shadow of my desire to do good, a form of godliness, if you will. I want to change that, but I know it will take real changes, one's that take real sacrifice.

In closing, I would like to quote a friend of mine:

Radical generosity is generosity that flows from an encounter with this radically generous God we meet in the Gospel of Jesus Christ. When the Gospel takes root in our lives, it becomes the story that shapes, informs and defines the decisions and direction of our lives. So, just like Christ, we gladly become poor, giving sacrificially of our lives to enrich the lives of others. Just as our Savior poured himself out to rescue and enrich our lives, so we would pour out our lives to rescue and enrich the lives of others – not just friends and family, but even those who are removed from us.

Click here to read the article, "Compelling Generosity"

*I am not knocking Ramsey's stuff here. In fact, I think Ramsey does a fine job teaching biblical stewardship. I just find that most Ramsey-ites are learning stewardship for security sake. I believe biblical stewardship also includes risking our lifestyles for the sake of contributing to others.