Glad and Generous Hearts
Everything's getting more expensive. How can intentionally generous church life help?
My wardrobe has two categories at the moment: the first is things I have hung onto from when I was working full time as a teacher and had the income to buy new clothes. The second is op shop finds, or things I’ve gotten through my community’s free-cycle Facebook group. As we’ve gone from a two-income household to post-grad student and toddler centric life, our budgets and priorities have changed. But it’s not just a question of our circumstances changing. The money I spent on new, teaching appropriate clothes five, six, seven years ago, would not stretch anywhere near as far today. Prices everywhere have risen.
As prices rise, so do our stress levels. It’s not easy living in an economy where the costs keep going up and up. I don’t know about your circumstances, but not many people have had an increase in wages or income that comes close to keeping pace with inflation. Most of us are feeling the pinch on petrol, rent, groceries, on everything. As Christians we are called to be generous. But it’s hard to feel generous when every dollar becomes precious. At the same time, I carry the guilt of knowing there’s always someone worse off than me.
I don’t have magical answers about budgeting hacks or cost saving measures. This article isn’t really about finances at all, but about community. It’s about how learning to live frugally has only been possible because of community. It’s about how the church has a crucial role to play in this financial crisis as the centre of communities. And it’s about how I believe genuine community built on a generous ethos is what will save us when the going gets tough.
As Christians, churches should be the focus of our communities. This isn’t always the case, but I believe we have a real opportunity for churches to regain that place and being known for their radical, generous love. This isn’t just an outflow of a church giving resources, but churches being the genesis of real communities where each member cheerfully contributes what they can and accepts what they need. In essence, to act like the community of believers outlined in Acts 2.
And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved.
Acts 2:42-47
People in our churches need Jesus. People outside our churches need Jesus. But people also need to live and eat and be clothed. In a world that seems dark and difficult, the church has the perfect chance to be the light shining in those shadows, demonstrating God’s love to world around them.
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.
James 2:14-17
Good works are not a sign of faith, but faith without good works is dead. This passage from James makes it clear that these good works need to deal with the essential issues of food and clothing for our message about Jesus to be taken seriously.
When I say churches should be the hub of this kind of work, I don’t just mean organised programs and top-down leadership giving to the less fortunate. I mean the family of God, the network of believers around a local church – a rich tapestry of connected relationships. Church leadership and formal organising definitely has a role to play, which I will get to; but I am also talking about how individuals and families within the church can practice this kind of radical generosity.
There are plenty of ways individuals and individual households can be generous with what they have, and accept help in return. The flow of giving isn’t a one-way street from Christians to non-Christians, or from one family to another: it works best when everyone recognises the unique resources they have to offer that another household might be missing and also admits the gaps in their own resources that others might be able to share.
Families can start by committing to passing on baby clothes when finished with them or doing a regular book swap with another family so the kids get a variety of reading material. People with skills like knitting or baking can teach others and share the surplus of what they produce. Those with organisational talents and free time can coordinate wider community activities like playgroups, book clubs, and a whole host of other activities.
Church leadership doesn’t have to be the driver of these kinds of good endeavours, but it really helps when they are supportive! Churches have a special opportunity to facilitate larger community projects in a way not available to a lot of other groups. The church doesn’t always have to start something new. There are likely community groups like this in your area which could use support.
But if your church could start its own thing, here’s a list of more organised ways churches can be a central focus of community and help reduce the impact of rising prices:
- Community food pantry
- Set up a buy nothing/free-cycle group for your church community
- Installing a ‘free little library’ box on church property
- Running a kids’ clothes swap
- Making spaces available for free or cheap to non-profit groups
- Offering free ‘handy skills’ lessons about fixing things around the house
- Partnering with a group already doing any of the above and encouraging members to volunteer and support that group.
I know a lot of ministry workers and church leaders are probably reading this and feel like it is just another thing to add to an almost infinite to-do or might-be-nice list. If your church is struggling to run regular bible study groups, how are all these extra endeavours good stewarding of your resources?
For some churches this will be true. I absolutely believe a church’s first priority is to preach the gospel and teach the bible, and that is where the focus should be. No one needs more responsibilities if they are already feeling burnt out. And faith cannot produce good works unless it has been born through hearing the gospel.
But consider, could these activities, as they help to mitigate the cost-of-living crisis we face, actually give your church members more energy for church life? If we are not as stressed and strained, worrying about how to clothe our kids or plan healthy food that doesn’t break the bank, we will be able to spend less time and energy hustling and juggling work and money. We will have more ability to show up regularly and be involved.
Part of the work of church leaders is going where the energy is and making resources available for people to do good with. If your hall is empty and a church member wants to use it to organise a book swap or kids’ clothing drive, why not get out of the way and let the good works happen?
So many of these things are really about organising and modelling what a generous attitude and generous life looks like. I think a lot of us in Australia don’t know how to be generous without feeling like we are somehow promoting ourselves or boasting. Having a community based on genuine give and take helps resolve that problem. This requires the humility that comes from faith in Jesus, to receive from others as well as give. Even those with not a lot of material possessions can offer time and energy in organising and facilitating these kinds of groups and systems.
Whether it’s through more structured programs, or informal giving between families, or a commitment of an attitude of generosity from a group of friends, I really do believe this is how we are meant to love and care for each other in the here and now of a world where interest rates bite and fresh vegetables get more expensive by the day. Community is what softens the landing when we fall. It gives an emotional cushioning, but it’s also a place we can ease the crush of financial and material struggles.
What James says in the passage above about faith hits on a key truth: people need Jesus, but we also have very real physical needs as well. We are embodied humans who struggle to feel God’s love when our physical body is hungry or tired or stressed to extremes. When we know God’s love, and have it displayed through the people around us, we are energised to display that love to others. We can share our lives, and also our things, because we know everything we have comes from the God who gave even his son. This is the love we have to share.