The Wealth of Generosity

In 2 Corinthians 8:1-7, we learn about a contrast between the church in Corinth and the Macedonian church. Corinth was known for its wealth and its excess, while the church in Macedonia was undergoing "a severe ordeal of affliction ... and extreme poverty." And yet, it was the Macedonian church that was generous when they heard there was a famine in Jerusalem. The wealth of Corinth didn't make it a generous church because generosity is not about having a surplus of money; generosity is a reflection of our spiritual condition, not our bank account.

Sermon by Rev. Beth Demme
For more information, visit www.graymumc.org

Transcript

Bill Eddy (00:02):

Please join me in prayer. Lord, open our hearts and minds by the power of your Holy Spirit that has the scriptures of read and your word proclaimed that we may hear that with joy, what you have to say to us today. Amen. Today's scripture is from Second Corinthians, chapter eight, one through seven. We want you to know brothers and sisters about the grace of God that has been granted to the churches in Macedonia for during a severe ordeal of affliction. Their abundant joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For as I can testify, they voluntarily gave according to their means and even beyond their means, begging us earnestly for the favor of partnering in this ministry to the saints and not as we expected. Instead, they gave themselves first to the Lord and by the will of God to us so that we might urge Titus that as he had already made a beginning, so he should complete his generous undertaking among you now as you excel in everything, in faith, in speech, in knowledge and utmost eagerness and in our love for you. So we want you to excel also in this generous undertaking herein Rev. Beth Demme (01:14):

May God out a blessing to the reading, hearing, and understanding of this scripture. Amen. So today I want to tell you about two incredible men, Millard Fuller and Royce Reynolds. Both were what the world would call self-made millionaires, but they recognized that true wealth comes not from what we gain, but from what we give. Millard and Royce didn't know each other as far as I know. They were both born around the same time in the early 1930s. Millard Fuller was born in 1935 in a tiny town in Alabama, and his father was Rev. Beth Demme (01:53):

An entrepreneur. He owned a small grocery store and he from a young age, he actually Rev. Beth Demme (02:04):

Would go and dig up worms and then he would sell them to local fishermen and he would go out and he would hunt rabbits so he could sell those too. He attended Auburn University and then later went to the University of Alabama for law school. He totally covered his Alabama bases and while he was in law school, he met and married his wife Linda. As soon as he graduated from law school, he and Linda started what would become a wildly successful mail order cookbook business. I mean, it just was incredibly, incredibly successful and within five years they were millionaires. But this relentless pursuit of wealth took a really heavy toll on their personal life and they kind of took stock and realized that their marriage and their family life was not what they wanted it to be. They had a surplus of money. They had more money than they could ever spend, right?
(03:01)
They had a surplus of money, but they had a deficit of joy. And so they made a really remarkable decision. They reevaluated their priorities and they decided that they would sell their possessions. They would move to a Christian community, they would give away their wealth and they would dedicate themselves to serving others. They were like 29 or 30 years old at this point, right? And one of the first things that they did was to create a little organization you may have heard of, it's called Habitat for Humanity. The Fullers and the Christian community that they lived in, they came up with this concept of partnership housing.
(03:44)
They would build simple single family homes, decent homes, and they would do it in collaboration with the people who needed them. Homeowners would contribute sweat equity by working on their house and others, and they would repay the cost of construction through no interest loans, interest free mortgages. Miller Fuller and his wife wanted to use their own surplus to make affordable housing accessible to low income families, and that idea spread worldwide. When people asked Millard about it later, after Habitat Humanity became a household name, he would just say, I was just following the biblical mandate to care for the poor and marginalized. I was just doing what I thought Jesus wanted me to do. By the time Millard Fuller passed away in 2009, by the way, they live not far from here. They actually lived just north of Albany. It's kind of interesting. Anyway, by the time he passed away in 2009, habitat Humanity had built over 300,000 homes in more than 100 countries providing safe housing for more than 1.5 million people.
(05:00)
Millard Fuller's life was a testament to the power of faith, generosity, a vision for justice, a vision for caring for neighbor, and he often said, we may disagree on all sorts of things, but we can agree on the idea of helping people in need. Can't we talk about a legacy? Right? Even now, years after his death, his work remains a beacon of hope showing how one person's transformation can spark a global movement of compassion and action. We talked last week about how when we experience transformation, that's like a drop in the pond. Remember that one drop makes ripples, but then what happens when there are a lot of drops making a lot of ripples, the whole pond, the whole world can change. Millard and Linda Fuller's transformation made a lot of ripples. Well, like Millard Fuller Royce Reynolds also discovered that true wealth is found in giving rather than in gaining.
(06:12)
This afternoon, I'm going to fly up to Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and I'm going to spend the week attending the Reynolds program in church leadership. This is a year long cohort that I had to apply for and be selected for. It's just for United Methodist Pastors here in the southeast, and the purpose is to develop my leadership skills so I bring them back to you guys so I can be the best pastor I can be for you and for God's glory and for the kingdom of God. I'm really honored to be part of this program. It's called the Reynolds program because it's funded by a grant from Royce and Jane Reynolds. By all accounts, Royce Reynolds. He was a character as a young man. He vowed, I'm not going to live an average life, and he certainly didn't. So Royce was born in 1932 on a farm in Flat Creek, Tennessee, and like Millard Fuller, he grew up during the Great Depression, a time of tremendous scarcity, the kind of scarcity that taught many people to hold on tightly to what they had, but not Royce from an early age.
(07:21)
He recognized that his talents, they were opportunities, they were gifts given to him by God as a young man. He actually was a Bible salesman. He went door to door selling Bibles and he said he always liked to look for the houses that had swing sets in the back because surely they would want to share the word of God with their children. Surely they would. When he was done with his sales pitch right after they had bought his Bibles, that same determination carried him into the automobile industry where he went from selling cars to owning a network of dealerships. His first job, he started out at a dealership in Birmingham, Alabama. He went on to become a partial owner of that, and then he purchased a Pontiac dealership in Greensboro, North Carolina, and the rest they say is history. In his 30 years of business, he went on to own nearly a dozen different car dealerships, but Royce didn't see his success as an end in itself.
(08:21)
He saw it as a means, as a way to serve God. He met the love of his life, Jane at a Methodist youth fellowship gathering in the late 1950s, and they were happily married for 66 years before he passed away. In 2020, they raised their children at West Market, United Methodist Church in Greensboro, North Carolina, and they decided together that their family would be part of their legacy surely, but also they wanted to create a legacy of support for their church. They wanted their commitment to the United Methodist Church to be part of their legacy from their local church in Greensboro to broader denominational initiatives. They gave generously believing that everything they had had been entrusted to them by God for the sake of building Christ's Kingdom. Royce had a favorite saying. He would say, it all belongs to God, and this is the journal that I'm using for Reynolds, and that's the sticker that I put in the very front.
(09:22)
I took that picture this morning. It's right here. It all belongs to God. That's really true, isn't it? Royce Reynolds was just one person, one layperson in the United Methodist Church, but his journey shows us what it means to live a life of giving in response to God's grace that we receive today. Our scripture reading is from second Corinthians, the Apostle Paul's second letter to the Christians in Corinth, the lives of Millard Fuller and Royce Reynolds exemplify what the apostle Paul wrote about To the Corinthians, generosity flows from a heart touched by God's grace. We know from Paul's letters at the church in Corinth, it was a hot mess. As they say, a lot of that had to do with the city of Corinth and the culture of excess that flourished there. Now, we know from Acts 18 that Paul established a thriving Christian community in Corinth.
(10:27)
Corinth is where the tiny yellow star is, just so you can get an idea. It's in Greece, right? It's located there on a piece of land that ends up being very strategic, and Paul lived there for about 18 months, and he was a tent maker alongside a married couple named Aquila and Priscilla, and as was his usual approach, Paul initially preached in the synagogue in Corinth, but Acts 18 tells us that when he faced opposition there, he moved his ministry to the house next door. He did not go far. He wanted people to be able to find him, and there was a lot of opposition in Corinth. Paul was even forced to appear before the local Roman authorities and explain himself. At one time. Acts tells us that Paul was really feeling discouraged about ministry while he was there in Corinth, but God spoke to him and said, Paul, do not be afraid.
(11:24)
Speak and do not be silent for I am with you and no one will lay a hand on you to harm you for there are many people in this city who are my people. So Paul stayed in Corinth and he built deep relationships with the Christians there, and we see that reflected in the personal tone of the letters that he writes to them. He writes these letters of course, much later, right? He's been there, he's established the community, and then later he writes to them to encourage them or correct them. That's what we have in our scripture reading today. In a way, it's kind of surprising that Paul's ministry flourished the way that it did in Corinth. I mean, not only because there was opposition, but just kind of because who Paul was. It's not surprising because it was the work of God, but if you just think about Paul himself and you think about Corinth, it's kind of surprising because Corinth was a big fancy city filled with fancy people who liked to hang out with other fancy people, and Paul was definitely not fancy.
(12:30)
Early church history and tradition about Paul is captured in a work called the Acts of Paul, and it was written maybe a hundred years after Paul passed away, and it describes Paul as a short bald guy with crooked legs, a long hooked nose and get this a unibrow. It says he had eyebrows that were like caterpillars on his forehead, and they met in the middle. He just had the one, and yet this odd looking little man did well in Corinth, a thriving cosmopolitan city known for its wealth. It was a major trading center because of where it's located, a very significant point between two seas and a very real sense. It linked the western part of the Roman empire with the eastern part of the Roman empire and vice versa. Corinth was synonymous with wealth, with excess. It was so bad that there was actually an expression in Paul's day when a person had a reputation for greed and selfishness and overindulgence. They were said to be living like a Corinthian. They had a reputation mean.
(13:54)
Meanwhile, the Christian Church in Jerusalem, that's where the little red star is just to kind of orient you on the map. They were struggling. A drought had struck that area and there was widespread famine. It was really bad. In Jerusalem, the first century Jewish historian, Josephus, he tells us that many people living there died of starvation. There was not enough food to feed everyone. In fact, it was so bad that a queen from a place way, way east of Jerusalem and what we know today as Iraq, she actually arranged for grain from Egypt and figs from Cyprus to be purchased at her expense and distributed in Jerusalem just to try to alleviate some of the suffering. When Paul learned about the conditions in Jerusalem, he went on a fundraising campaign for the benefit of the Christians living there. Paul not only wanted to alleviate their suffering, he also wanted the Christians in Jerusalem to see that the churches beyond Jerusalem also had value and were also part of their connection.
(15:01)
But when Paul wrote to the wealthy Corinthians, when he sent someone there, when he gave these wealthy folks in Corinth an opportunity to give, to contribute, to help alleviate the suffering in Jerusalem, they didn't give, so he wrote the letter, we know as Second Corinthians, and he says, this is my paraphrase of our reading this morning. He says, wow, y'all. Wow, you should be ashamed of yourselves. The churches in Macedonia, they gave way more than you did, and things are hard for them, right? They're undergoing a severe ordeal of affliction. They're living in extreme poverty, especially compared to y'all over in Corinth, and yet their abundant joy has overflowed in a wealth of generosity. He says, you know why they feel that joy, right? That abundant joy they feel is because they know God loves them. You know that joy too, don't you? I mean those Macedonians, wow, they gave beyond their means.
(16:10)
He says, they practically begged me to let them help the church in Jerusalem. That's how much they wanted to be part of alleviating the suffering of their fellow humans. Apparently when Paul appealed to the churches in Macedonia, they gave abundantly, even though they didn't have much, but the Corinthians, as wealthy as they were, they didn't give. They were as wealthy as they could be, and apparently they were as stingy as they could be. The Corinthians with their wealth and resources and connections, they were well positioned to help the folks struggling in Jerusalem, but there was something about the condition of their hearts that got in their way. Isn't that interesting? The people with little to give gave more generously than the people who had an abundance. When we think about generosity, we often picture people who have a lot to give people like Millard Fuller and Royce Reynolds, but the Macedonian Church, as Paul mentions in our scripture today, they teach us something profound, found generosity flows not from abundance, but from a deep awareness of God's grace despite their poverty. The Macedonians gave beyond what Paul expected because they understood two things. First, they understood that everything they had was a gift from God, and the second thing they understood is that the key to the best kind of life isn't based on what you gain, but on what you give to God. Millard Fuller and Royce Reynolds, they figured that out too. What about you?
(18:00)
How do you see the world? Are you a self-made person who hasn't needed God for anything, or do you see that everything you have and everything you are is a gift from God? Are you stuck in the scarcity of the world that says, hold on to what you got, or are you living in the abundance of God's generosity, that the kind of generosity that says it all belongs to God? How might your own gifts, whether financial or relational or spiritual, how might they be used as tools for God's purposes? What is God inviting you to today? How is the Holy Spirit whispering to you? What idea are you feeling? The seed of Royce Reynolds vowed, I'm not going to lead an average life, and maybe at first he meant that he was going to make a lot of money and have a lot of stuff maybe, but at some point that changed.
(19:01)
I think the same thing happened to Millard Fuller. His business was growing beyond his wildest dreams and the money was pouring in, but that allowed him to see that that was not what he was put on this earth to do. Royce Reynolds and Miller Fuller both realized that life isn't about accumulating wealth or status. Life is a gift, and it needs to be lived with purpose and generosity toward others. Paul's words to the Corinthians tell us this, right? The Macedonians gave themselves first to the Lord, and from that foundation, they gave generously to others like Millard, like Royce. They discovered that joy comes not from what you gain, but from what you give. The Corinthians didn't get it, but the Macedonians sure did. Severe affliction and poverty didn't make the Macedonians bitter. Instead, they became conduits of God's grace. They knew that their lives, their resources, even their challenges were opportunities to glorify God.
(20:14)
Giving is not a burden, it's a blessing. How we give is directly related to how we are growing in our faith, and it's directly related to where we place our values. Are we like the Corinthians or are we like the Macedonians? The Macedonians gave themselves first to Jesus, and from that place of devotion, they gave generously to others, and their lives were marked by joy. Not an accumulating wealth, not an accumulating stuff, but in offering themselves as vessels of God's love and provision. DC giving isn't about charity. Giving is a spiritual practice that God uses to align us with God's heart and it fosters an abundant life. Generosity is transformative on a spiritual level. Living generously is about trusting God enough to share what God has entrusted to you. So what might God be calling you to give? Not just from your wallet, but from your heart, your time, your skills?
(21:29)
Paul says to the Corinthians, listen, y'all excel in everything. I've seen it firsthand. You excel in faith and speech and knowledge and utmost eagerness, and I love y'all so much. Really I do. So I just know you're going to excel in the way you give. He says, I know you're going to excel in the way you provide for your siblings in Christ who are suffering, who are starving over in Jerusalem. Paul's invitation to excel in this grace of giving is an invitation to us too. Stewardship isn't about obligation. It's about opportunity. The chance to participate in God's work in the world. Whether you are personally in a season of abundance or struggle, the call remains the same. Give yourself first to the Lord and then live generously in response to God's grace. Friends, can we be like the Macedonian Church? Can we be a congregation that understands that everything we have in everything we are is a gift from God? Can we be a community with generosity that rather than being dependent on our own personal surplus, a generosity that is instead born out of our faith, our joy, our love for God and neighbor? We're a small church.
(23:01)
There are probably people, some people who think we're too small to make a big impact in our community, but you know better, don't you? We can be a congregation so filled with joy and gratitude that we give beyond what anyone would expect. Our joy and gratitude can foster generosity that surprises people, stuns people. Don't make the mistake of waiting for there to be a surplus in your bank account before you're generous with the Lord, because this isn't about an amount. This is about an attitude, a position from your heart. This is about understanding that the best kind of life is not based on what we gain, but on what we give to God. One drop makes some ripples, Rev. Beth Demme (23:52):

But then what happens when there are a lot of drops of grace in the lives of others? Rev. Beth Demme (24:08):

Have our harvest table and it is overflowing. This is beautiful. This is going to create ripples in our community, and as you leave the sanctuary today, you'll be able to pick up a card and buy a gift for someone who isn't going to get anything else for Christmas that will make ripples in our community. What else might God be calling you to do? How is God inviting you to share, to give so that you can experience greater joy? Generosity, like I said, is not about the size of the gift. It's about the heart behind it. Generosity is about a spirit of abundance, rooted in gratitude for God's gifts. It's about trusting that when we give, we participate in God's ongoing work of healing, restoring and blessing the world, ripple pie, ripple. I want to be part of that work, and I know you do too.
(25:12)
The Macedonians, Paul says, they got it. Generosity isn't tied to circumstances. It's the result of the grace of God at work in us. Everything we have and everything we are, it is a gift from God, and when we give back to God a piece of what we've been given, we step into the best kind of life, a life overflowing with joy and love and purpose. A life that isn't measured by what we gain, but by what we give. So friends, let's be like the Macedonians. Let's be like Millard Fuller and Royce Reynolds. Let's embrace the grace of giving. Let's see our lives as gifts from God, and let's discover together the joy of giving ourselves to God's work in the world. Amen.