Josh: 0:07

Welcome to Made for Good, the podcast where we explore how to live out our purpose with good works, guided by biblical truth. Hey. I'm Josh.

Mark: 0:14

And I'm Mark. Today we're talking about a topic that really impacts all of us money, how we handle it, whether we hoard it, spend it wisely or give generously. It really reveals a lot about our hearts.

Josh: 0:29

Yeah, Mark, if we're being honest with each other, this is one of these topics that's just really challenging for money for anyone to talk about.

Mark: 0:36

Yeah, and a lot of these Good Works, episodes or topics or classes that we taught. We looked at each other and go. This is going to be a challenging one. You know we're going to talk about time. We're going to talk about our money. This is let's just admit, this is the beginning of our two-part series in resource management, right? So first is money. We want to talk about that today. Josh, let me ask you a question. Why do you think people struggle with giving, though they know it's? It's the right thing to do? the bible's clear

Josh: 1:10

Well, I think it's a great question. The reality is, I think a lot of people fear not having enough. You notice, I didn't say fear of not giving enough, I'm saying fear of not having enough. We like to think that we trust god, but when it comes to money, if we're being honest with each other, oftentimes we feel like we got to control it ourselves and that fear keeps us from giving freely.

Mark: 1:33

You know that's really true. The you know the scripture warns against placing our trust in wealth. You know, let's, let's take a look at 1 Timothy 6, verse 17. It says command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant. Nor here's the key to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain. Have you seen the stock market? It's so uncertain. But where should we place it? But to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. You know, at the end of that verse it doesn't say bare minimum need, right, it says everything for our enjoyment. God wants us to use the money as a tool rather than as security. When we trust Him, we can be generous without fear.

Josh: 2:32

Which is a great transition into our segment of Bible Basis for this week's episode, where we're going to hang out at Mark 10. And this is one of the most striking Bible stories when it comes to wealth and generosity. As far as we're talking about the rich young ruler, and before we read verse 21, I just want to say this guy gets to ask Jesus the question that we want to ask him. You know, matter of fact, if we were to pull a room and say if you could ask Jesus any question you wanted to ask him, what would that be? Well, he does that. He asks what is it going to take Jesus for me to inherit eternal life? And listen to what Jesus told him in verse 21.

Josh: 3:13

You lack one thing Go, sell all that you have and give to the poor and you will have treasure in heaven and come follow me. But we know the story and if you don't, you can go back to Mark 10 and read it yourself. He couldn't do it. His wealth had a grip on his heart and he walked away sorrowful.

Mark: 3:32

I love the way Mark conveyed a detail in this story that's not in other gospels. Not in other gospels it says Jesus, looking at him, loved him. This is compassion. We'll talk a lot in this podcast about compassion leading to action, the compassion that Jesus had for this person. Of course he was divine and he knew the rich young ruler's heart. He knew what he was holding on to, he loved him and he told him what he really needed to hear. And Jesus wasn't saying, hey, having money is wrong, you know. Clearly he actually wanted the man to use the money for good. The man to use the money for good. He saw that this man's identity and his security in this life was tied to his possessions.

Josh: 4:34

Yeah, let's look at the flip side of that is in 2 Corinthians 8, where we can read about the Macedonian churches. They were in severe poverty and yet they gave generously and joyfully. Matter of fact, Paul says in 2 Corinthians 8, verse 2, In a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part.

Mark: 4:58

It doesn't say a wealth of a bank account, it says a wealth of generosity. So where's the wealth? It's not in the bank, it's in their heart. The heart is where that generosity is.

Mark: 5:12

I love the contrast in this passage. You've got in one case, a severe test of affliction. Right next to that you've got abundance of joy, and then you've got extreme poverty and then you've got an overflow of wealth, of generosity, and these things are not normally put together. But you can tell that these Macedonians were rich. They were rich in their hearts and that showed in the generosity. It shows that it's not about how much we have, it's about how much we care, how much we love.

Mark: 5:51

So, josh, I didn't see any dollar amounts, I didn't see any percentages. You know tithing in the Old Testament, that's what the, the nation of Israel, was to do. God told them, gave them a number. Right, very, very clearly. But in the New Testament, where, where Christians are given instruction About how to live, we don't get percentages. He doesn't. He's not measuring our generosity by how much we give, but really, what is the condition of our heart when we give?

Mark: 6:32

There are two different examples. So if you want numbers, you want numbers?

Josh: 6:36

Sure!

Mark: 6:37

Okay, there's two numbers that actually are in the New Testament. So we're talking about the story of Zacchaeus and the poor widow. So let's look at those two numbers. Let's pull out some real financial data that we can use. So Zacchaeus he was a wealthy tax collector, but he showed his repentance. He was looking to know more about Jesus and just by his acceptance and his faith in Jesus he says in Luke 19, 8, look, lord, here and now I give half of my possessions to the poor and if I've cheated anybody out of anything, I will pay back four times that amount. Half what's that percentage, josh?

Josh: 7:25

50% 50%, by the way. Thanks for asking me an easier question. It's not really hard.

Mark: 7:30

All right. So half of his possessions he committed to giving to the poor. All right, so there's the number half, 50%. Then you go look at the poor widow in Luke 21, verses three and four. The poor widow only gave two small coins. But Jesus said truly, I say to you, this poor widow has put in more than all, for all these, out of their abundance have put in offerings for God, but she, out of her poverty, put in all the livelihood she had. What's that number? Put in all the livelihood she had. What's that number? All All, a hundred percent, a hundred percent. Okay, so here's, we want numbers. You got to choose between 50 and 100. This was not really about numbers, this was about their heart. Did the poor widow trust that God would provide? Yep, she gave everything that she had.

Josh: 8:24

Both of these are really powerful. As you said, Zacchaeus gave from his wealth, while she gave everything she had, and these are just acts of faith and surrender.

Mark: 8:33

And trust, and trust. So what does that mean for us? Well, it really means that we need to move from an idea of ownership that we own these things to stewardship, that God has given us those things temporarily. How do we use them for good and how do we reflect glory back to God with those resources he's given us.

Josh: 8:57

This is a great transition right into our reality check segment of this week's episode. We're going to circle back to the question that we've talked about a couple of times and what holds people back from generosity, and we've mentioned a couple already. But there's several struggles, or maybe I should say common struggles. One of them we've touched on a couple of times already is just this aspect of fear, fear of not having enough. We worry that that if we give, maybe we won't give enough. Or maybe, specifically to this fear aspect is we won't have enough leftover for ourselves.

Josh: 9:29

And then we have this idea in our own minds that we wrestle with desire of control. If we're being honest and I'm talking to myself here we like to manage every dollar instead of trusting God with our resources. But in America, what we struggle with probably the most is materialism. I want what I want and I like what I want, and I'm going to use what I want, use my resources. So we're getting personal now. Yeah, okay, we prioritize comfort and personal goals over generosity. And then the last thing is and I'll just say this we have an episode about this coming up. It's one of my favorite ones. We're going to discuss. It's just unawareness. If we're being honest, sometimes we are just unaware of what's going on around us, and because of that we don't give freely.

Mark: 10:18

Well, scripture tells us to give generously, without fear. It gives us to give freely. Let's take a look at a passage here 2 Corinthians 9, verse 6. And if you turn over there in your Bible or scroll over there on your app on your phone, we're going to look at this and then we'll look at something else in a minute. The Bible says whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. You know just people who are probably not that familiar with the Bible. Even they get this concept and they probably heard it. Generosity is not about losing what we gave. It's about planting seeds. It's about planting seeds. When we give cheerfully, as God wants us to. He will provide for our needs and he will use what we gave in the help of others.

Josh: 11:15

Absolutely. Giving isn't just about money, it's about trust, and I think we need to just sit on that for a minute. Do we trust God enough to give freely, knowing that he'll provide for us? On to that, I would just add we probably even wrestle with another question, and that's do we doubt God's power that he can provide?

Mark: 11:34

Yes, and another idea here is fundamental to good works. What do we say at the beginning? Why do we do good works? What's the purpose? The purpose is to glorify God. If you want to glorify God, what do you do?

Mark: 11:55

Well, as I mentioned a second ago, let's stay in 2 Corinthians 9. Let's go look at verse 10. We're going to read down through verse 13. This is a super powerful passage. So who's talking? So Paul wrote this letter to the Corinthians. There were several letters to the Corinthians.

Mark: 12:10

We have two recorded in the Bible. He's encouraging them to do something to help some other people. We already talked about the Macedonians having extreme poverty. He's asking them to trust in God. Then God will provide their needs. So let's read that real quick. He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food who's that? That's God will supply and multiply your seed. We talked about.

Mark: 12:43

Generosity is not about losing a moment ago. It's about planting seeds. God will multiply your seed. Why For you to eat? No, for you to sow and increase the harvest of your righteousness. I love that phrase, the harvest of your righteousness. And then, in verse 11, you will be enriched in every way. To fatten your bank account? No, to be generous in every way. God's going to bless us so that we can bless other people. You will be enriched in every way. To be generous in every way which, through us, the recipients will produce.

Mark: 13:23

Thanksgiving to God For the ministry verse 12, for the ministry of this service is not only supplying the needs of the saints, but here's another byproduct it's meeting the immediate need, but it is also overflowing in many thanksgivings to God. So that's twice in verse 11 and 12, where it says thanksgivings to God. By their approval of this service, meaning their acceptance of this gift, they will glorify God because of your submission that comes from your confession of the gospel of Christ. In other words, that's their faith and the generosity of your contribution for them and for others. Contribution for them and for others. So if you want to glorify God, if that is your goal, if you're looking for a way, how can I glorify God today? You can give.

Mark: 14:19

And so here's our challenge for you this week Ask yourself am I being generous with what God has given me? So we want you to assess your finances. Hopefully you're working from a budget. Go through, see where you are. You know they got apps to tell you that you're spending money on things you don't even know that you're spending money on, because they're subscriptions and they just happen. This is not sponsored by the Rocket app yet Maybe I don't know. Ask yourself am I being generous with what God has given me and then decide, ok, I want to choose one way to be generous this week. It could be supporting someone maybe that you know is working in a remote area preaching the gospel. It could be giving to somebody in need. It could be giving to your church. What we're talking about is a financial gift, because this episode is about money. This is you building your trust in giving instead of worrying about what you might lose. Pray that God gives you some peace in this generosity.

Mark: 15:40

Now I recently heard a coach who wrote a book. He was promoting the book and gave it, gave this talk, and he said, ok, I want everybody to raise your hand as high as you can raise it, all right. So this crowd of two, three hundred people, everybody raised their hand, but he said as high as you can reach it, he goes. Now reach a quarter of an inch higher. So it's that concept of, and then some Part of what our service is, our spiritual sacrifice. That's a term that's used in the Bible a lot, what our spiritual sacrifice can be to give, and maybe to give a little bit beyond what we're comfortable with, and just try it. Just try and see if you can give a little bit more, because, look, giving to others in this passage in 2 Corinthians very clearly causes the recipient to glorify God and to give thanks to God, and so it may mean that you have to sacrifice something, it may mean you need to drop a subscription somewhere, but this is something that'll be very valuable to bless someone else.

Josh: 17:03

With that, just as a reminder, we will drop our mission, our weekly mission, as Mark just outlined for us, on all forms of our social media accounts. We're on X, we're on Instagram, we're on Facebook and you know, don't forget to follow all those and like and whatever else you do on social media.

Mark: 17:21

Like and subscribe and ring the bell and I don't know what all that is. Well, that's it for today's episode of Made for Good. If this conversation inspired you, be sure to subscribe so you don't miss the next one.

Josh: 17:34

And if you found this valuable and we hope that you did consider sharing it with a friend. Until next time, trust God, give freely and remember you were made for good.