Leaders give of themselves liberally - at least, they did in the New Testament.
The whole church enjoyed unity and generosity, and it all started at the top. The example of the apostles spread a spirit of generosity throughout the whole church. Unfortunately, a couple of pretenders, Ananias and Sapphira, sold some land and gave part of the proceeds to the apostles, reporting that they had given all the money to the church. God revealed their deception to Peter, and he called them on it. Their sin was not lack of generosity, but lack of honesty. They lied about what they had done. They wanted to be thought of as generous without paying the price.
God would have nothing to do with it. He surgically removed the spiritual cancer from the church by taking their lives. "So great fear came upon all the church and upon all who heard these things," Luke says (Acts 5:11).
Let's look more closely at the problem and itemize it. Ananias and Sapphira...
- Clung to their possessions.
- Agreed to lie about their giving.
- Pretended to be someone they were not.
- Thought they could get by with appearing to be generous.
- Felt more concerned with their image than their relationship to God.
Many leaders struggle with the same issues. Not only do we live in a materialistic world, but we buy into the world's economy. We think that if we grasp and cling to our possessions through our own cleverness, we will eventually "make it." God's economy is radically different. He is an extravagant Lord who gives generously to everyone with a need. He enjoys meeting the needs of His followers, directly or indirectly. He doesn't merely give of His resources, but of Himself.
Building Generosity into Your Life
Nothing speaks more loudly to others or serves them better than a leader's generosity. Effective leaders gather for others, then give it away. Consider several ways to cultivate generosity in your own life:
- Be grateful for whatever you have.
- Put people first.
- Don't allow greed to control you.
- Regard money as a resource.
- Develop the habit of giving.
Sometimes we hold on to our possessions because we fear we might run out - life seems scarce. But when we believe that giving is the way to live, we will produce more in the future - life seems abundant. This is the life Jesus had in mind for us (John 10:10).
Little steps towards generosity go a long way. I noticed my cat's favorite toy had a hole in it. I took a moment to be generous and patched the hole. He shows his generosity by playing more with it and is glad it is lasting longer.
Show more awareness of how you can apply it in more areas of your daily life.
Acts 5:1-11
Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property. 2 With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
3 Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
5 When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened. 6 Then some young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
7 About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened. 8 Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?”
“Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”
9 Peter said to her, “How could you conspire to test the Spirit of the Lord? Listen! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
10 At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband. 11 Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.