Acts: The Mission in Motherhoodনমুনা

Generosity

Maybe I have a boundary issue, but my snacks always somehow end up in my toddler’s mouth. Even the foods he normally doesn’t like are suddenly so appealing when they’re what mom is snacking on! What’s funny is that on the flip side, my toddler absolutely refuses to share his food with me or anyone else. When he’s anxiously hoarding his food, I find myself thinking, “Buddy, don’t you know I’m not going to let you go hungry? Why are you so worried about sharing? Haven’t I always given you everything you needed in the past?” I wonder if this is how God must feel when we neglect to share what He has given us.

In this series, we’re looking at different stories in Acts of those described as being “full of the Holy Spirit.” We’re examining how the work of the Spirit plays out in their lives, for it is the same Spirit empowering our witness today as we rely upon Him in faith. In Acts 4 and 5, we see that those full of the Spirit witness for Christ through their generosity, a generosity that comes from trust in God’s provision.

In these passages, we see two stories of generosity. Barnabus sells a field and brings the profit to the apostles to be used for ministry to the needy. Likewise, the married couple Ananias and Sapphira sell a property, but they only bring part of the profit to the apostles. Ananias and Sapphira are rebuked by the apostles and drop dead. What is it that sets these two acts of giving apart that leads to such dramatically different endings?

The issue with Ananias and Sapphira is not that they should have given away all their profit. The issue is that they lied. As Peter says in Acts 5:3-4, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own?” Ananias wanted to give the appearance that he was giving all his profit away when in reality, he was secretly keeping some for himself. Ananias and Sapphira were faking faith in the presence of God and his people, projecting a generosity on the outside that wasn’t truly there on the inside.

If we walk away from these stories in Acts with a resolve to be more generous so that we might be “better Christians,” we are following in the path of Ananias and Sapphira. Following Jesus is not a matter of external conformity to religious expectations. It’s a matter of internal change.

Let’s turn now and examine Barnabus’ act of generosity. Barnabus is living a life of internal change and thus authentic generosity. Here’s how Acts 4:32 describes Barnabus and the other Christians like him: “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common.” These Christians are not giving under compulsion but freely giving under the genuine belief that all they have is the Lord’s. They have experienced an internal change that leads to their generosity. Believing in God’s true ownership and trusting in God’s continued care, they do not hoard for themselves whatever He has given to them.

If our resources - our time, energy, or money - are ours, then it is up to us to manage them. But if our resources are God’s, then they must be managed according to His principles and values! If our resources are our own, it is up to us to protect them. But if our resources are a gift from the Lord, then it is up to Him to keep providing them! Even in the season of raising kids, where there are so many demands on our finances and our time, God calls us to trust Him and hold loosely to what He has given us. As we look to the power of the Holy Spirit within us like Barnabus and ask the Spirit to give us this trust, we find ourselves more and more freed to live generous lives.

In reflecting on this, I was convicted of my own often self-centered mentality when it comes to money. When I’m presented with a need of a family in our community or a ministry asking for support, my first response is that this just isn’t the season for our family to give much. However, when I see a cute new outfit for my kids or myself, I can pretty quickly justify the decision to purchase it. I was also convicted of my mentality of scarcity when it comes to my time. Because I feel like I’m already giving so much time to my kids, I get easily irritated when someone else asks a favor of me or needs me. But I realize I haven’t even been asking the Lord to provide me with energy and stamina so that I might serve others. I haven’t trusted that He will equip me for whatever He calls me to do.

Do you too feel this scarcity mentality? What might it look like to use your time or resources to bless someone else today? This could be as simple as cooking a meal for someone with a new baby. Or it could look like having your kids decorate a card for a friend who is going through a difficult season.

While it’s important to let this passage challenge and convict us, the call isn’t to go and try to be more generous. We will burnout with time. The response is to model the authentic generosity of Barnabus by dwelling on the generosity of our God, the one who gave His life for us! As Romans 8:32 says of Jesus’s death for us on the cross, “He who did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all, how will He not also with Him graciously give us all things?”

All we have is from God, and therefore all we have must be stewarded before Him! All we have is from God, and therefore we can trust that He will continue to provide! Resting in the security of God’s fatherly care, we can be freed from anxiously holding on to what we have and enter into a life of liberated generosity that witnesses to the generosity of Christ and His salvation.