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HOW TO GET HAPPY ABOUT GIVING

Billy Graham tells a story that goes back to the early days of his ministry, just as the work he was doing was really expanding into something big. An old friend and mentor took him down to Palm Beach, Florida, to meet one of the wealthiest men in America, who had taken a shine to this young North Carolina preacher who was getting so many headlines.

“Billy,” this multimillionaire said, “you show such tremendous promise. I believe in what you’re doing. But I don’t like to see you spend so much of your time having to raise money. You should be giving 100% of your effort to preaching, to holding meetings.”

Well, the young Billy Graham, already pulled in a thousand different directions, couldn’t argue with that. And then the man continued: “I’ll tell you what,” he said. “Let me underwrite you. I’ll simply pay all of your bills . . . period. I’ll pay for everything; you’ll never have to worry about money again. Would you like that?”

Well, this was incredible! What would you say to something like that? And of course we have the advantage of our place in history, here in 2003. We can see for ourselves how global the Billy Graham Evangelistic Association has become, what a great investment it would have turned into. But what did Pastor Graham say to this wealthy donor?

After just a moment of hesitation, he politely shook his head and said no. Let me read to you from Graham’s book, Just As I Am, exactly what his response was:

“I can’t accept that,” I replied immediately. “My work is spiritual work. We are getting about fifteen to twenty thousand letters a week. Most of those letters will have a little money in them, maybe $1, maybe $5. But every one of those letters is saying, ‘We’re praying for you.’ If they know there’s a rich man underwriting my work, they’ll stop praying, and my work will take a nosedive. So I can’t accept it.”

We’re asking a hard and personal question this week: how much joy do we get from giving? What can we do spiritually about that nagging little jab we feel when we put our money in the plate, or mail a contribution to a ministry, or when we do the totaling-up for April 15 tax purposes? Oh, true, we do love the Lord. And in our heads we accept that it’s good to give, “blessed” and all of that. But persuading our hearts and our fluttering stomachs is another matter. Maybe we’re a bit like the cynic who, after recalling the Bible verse in Acts where it says, “It’s more blessed to give than to receive,” came back with this rejoinder: “Yeah, more blessed, sure; but it’s more FUN to receive.”

You know, I appreciate that story about Billy Graham’s army of enthusiastic supporters more, perhaps, than you know. Because the Voice of Prophecy is, and has always been, a ministry for the people who mail in five and ten dollars. We’ve never had a millionaires’ club, not in 68 years, but there are many, many believers who have sent ten or fifteen or twenty dollars in every single month for the past couple of decades.

And do you know something? I believe — and in fact, I KNOW — that they receive pure joy from giving. They do; in fact, they often say so in a little note they add to that response card. And why? Well, it goes back to what we said yesterday. These are people who, just like Ted Turner believes in those United Nations charity projects he just gave a billion dollars to, they believe in the gospel. And they see radio as a good investment for them; they appreciate its power, its effectiveness at telling the saga, the story, of Calvary to a big audience here in 2003.

What should we do when cheerful giving is difficult for us? Maybe you’re really down to the last few pennies. Or perhaps it’s simply been in your upbringing to pinch quarters until George Washington groans, as the old saying goes. That’s your nature; you’ve always been frugal. And to put, let’s say, a tenth of your income into an offering plate and have it simply disappear . . . well, you haven’t yet succeeded in enjoying that.

I mentioned yesterday that it’s good to diligently pursue a knowledge and a participatory love for your charity, just as Ted Turner has done. They tell me, December 2, is National Roof-Over-Your-Head Day, where we draw attention to the plight of the homeless here in America. It’s sponsored by the “There But For the Grace” Society. And I’m sure those who contribute to that cause have a passion for it; they’ve studied that issue, maybe even participated, not just financially, but in an active way to put the homeless into homes.

Well, let me ask you this: do you love the work of God? Do you love His Church? Do you care about the message of the cross getting out? If you weekly and daily focus on loving those things, then you’ll develop some passion for giving. The Voice of Prophecy does have a circle of supporters we call “VisionBuilders,” and they do give more substantial amounts, often thousands of dollars a year, to sustain the work of radio evangelism around the world. And when we hold a special thank-you weekend of spiritual highlights for them, I know for a fact many of them actually look forward to that moment when we get out pledge cards and our checkbooks. They like doing it! They anticipate it! They love the gospel so much that writing out a check to strengthen our “Voice” — no pun intended — is pure joy for them.

We mentioned once in a radio sermon a pastor who got up in front of his congregation and began to talk about the Lord’s plans for them. “We’re just getting started,” he told them. “We’re babies in the Lord. But, you know, with God’s help, this church is at least going to crawl.”

And all the people responded: “Make it crawl, Rev, make it crawl.”

Then he went on: “But the Lord challenges us to move ahead. This congregation has got to stand up tall and proud, then, and walk! Walk in the light!”

And they said, “Make it walk, Rev, make it walk.”

Well, now he was getting wound up. “But brothers and sisters,” he almost shouted as the perspiration began to flow, “walking’s not enough! No sir! God wants us to run, run like the wind!”

And with one great voice, the entire church body answered him at full volume: “Make it run, Rev, make it run!”

Well, that was what he was hoping to hear. “And now, my fellow believers,” the pastor thundered, “if this church is going to run, then we each have to double what we’ve been putting in the offering plate!”

And there was a very long silence. Not a word. And finally, from the very back of the church came one tiny, discouraged voice. “Let it crawl, Rev, let it crawl.” And there wasn’t much cheerfulness in that crawling sanctuary that Sunday morning.

And what if you struggle, too, to get to the point of grinning while giving? What if you’re not a cheerful giver?

Someone once observed:

“God loveth a cheerful giver. He also accepteth from the grouch.”

And that simple line teaches us a good lesson. Giving is a spiritual discipline; it’s part of our Christian life. And there’s nothing wrong with patiently staying with something, even going through the motions, while we slowly grow into maturity and go from grouchy to glad. If it hurts to give, that’s all right. Keep on giving; keep on hurting. The time will come when it will hurt less, and then it won’t hurt at all, and then it will become your greatest joy. Why? Not because God’s blessed you right into the Million-Dollar Club, although He might. No, it’ll happen because you’ve grown up into Him. You’ll have learned to trust Him. You’ll be more excited about Calvary than you used to be; your richer experience will enable you to give more and to give it more gladly.

You know, there’s a theological question we can always answer on either side. Does God need our money? Well, yes, he does, and no, He doesn’t. God owns everything and could finish His work any way He wanted to, so in that sense, he doesn’t need your twenty-dollar bill.

On the other hand, He’s made it clear that He has chosen to do His work on this earth through the Body of Christ, the people, the followers. So if you don’t give, there certainly will be a person who isn’t fed, a child who doesn’t get medicine, an unsaved person who will not hear the good news . . . or certainly not as soon. From that point of view, yes, He invites you and me to give; He needs us to give so that His work on earth can be accomplished.

But much more than that, He needs for you and me to give because He needs for us to be in a trust relationship with Him. Our giving keeps us “(quote) leaning on the everlasting arms,” and He needs for us to do that just as much as we need to do it. Every time I give, cheerfully or otherwise, it’s a reminder to me that my life and everything about it depends on Him. I can’t trust in my earning power, in my radio voice, such as it is, in my human talents. All those things could be taken away tomorrow. No, I need to trust in God, and every gift I return to Him is a powerful spiritual exercise in trusting.

And you know, day by day, I’m slowly learning about joy. Some weeks I grin when I give, other weeks I don’t grin quite as much. But every gift just leans me a bit more against that solid Rock . . . and you know, it’s really feeling better and better there all the time.