150913 Vice-Virtue Leeson 10 Charity

When asked what the first commandment of all was, Jesus promptly responded bysaying that one should love the Lord with all his being. He then appended a secondcommand to the first and prefaced it by saying that it is like the first (as in, similar inimportance): “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” (see Matthew 22:35-40)If there was any doubt as to the weight of the second command in comparison to that ofthe first, Jesus cleared it up by stating that, “On these two commandments depend thewhole Law and the Prophets.” (Matthew 22:40, NASB)In a similar situation, recorded in Luke 10, Jesus was asked by an individual how hemight obtain eternal life. Jesus responded by citing the same two commands. (see Luke10:25-28)The message is clear: Those who are to be called by Christ’s name must not only lovetheir Creator with complete dedication, but they must view their neighbor as worthy ofthe care and concern usually only reserved for oneself.Charity (or generosity) is not a peripheral command. It is in fact at the very heart ofwhat it means to be a Christian. One cannot be an uncharitable Christian any more thanup can be down or wet can be dry. Charity is inherent in Christianity.No matter what the culture around us screams, Jesus quietly reminds us that, “It ismore blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35)(As a note, this lesson will focus on charity and generosity in the context of money/material possessions, as this is the counterpart lesson to the one on greed. Obviously,though, Christian charity/generosity extends far beyond just our stewardship offinancial/material resources.)The Difference Between Greed and CharityAt its root, greed stems from a person’s misinterpretation of himself. While a charitable person recognizes that he is merely a means to an end (insofar asfinancial/material resources go), a greedy person considers himself an end.While a charitable person understands that he is simply a funnel through whichfinancial and material resources can be spread to those in greater need, a greedy personmisinterprets himself as a collection tank, where resources are to be pooled indefinitely.A charitable person is like a body of water that has streams flowing both into and out ofit. A greedy person, though, is like the Salt Sea, which water only flows into.While the greedy person deludes himself into thinking that a constant inflowing streamof resources (with no balancing outflow) produces a much more vibrant existence, thecharitable person knows that the opposite is true.It’s no coincidence that the Salt Sea is also known as the Dead Sea.Life cannot be sustained when resources only flow inward.The Hang-UpsWhy then do we struggle to be as charitable as we ought to be?Here are three reasons:1. We think what we have belongs to us. This goes back to the concept of an endversus a means to an end.We often forget that we are not owners, we are stewards. Owners are the end. Stewardsare a means to an end.God has surely blessed us with much, but He’s not blessed us with things that are ours.He’s entrusted to us things that are His.From the outset, a clearheaded steward understands that what is put in front of him isto be used for the purposes dictated by the owner. The steward is the instrument bywhich the owner’s purposes are carried out. Nothing more, nothing less.2. We have a scarcity mentality. As opposed to an abundance mentality.One says that there’s only enough for some. The other says that there’s enough foreveryone. When we view material resources as limited quantities (which is exactly the wayadvertisers want us to view them), we consider the attempt to obtain them acompetition: “I’ve got to get them before someone else does, or there won’t be any leftfor me.” There is a winner and a loser: He who obtains wins, and he who doesn’t loses.When we view the reservoir of material resources as able to provide for everyone, we nolonger view the obtaining of them as a compe