Now I commend to you Phoebe our sister, being also a servant of the church in Cenchrea, that you might receive her in the Lord worthily of the saints, and you might assist her in whatever matter she may need of you. For she also has been a patroness of many, and of me myself. Romans 16:1-2
“The term “patroness” simply indicates someone who generously shared her financial resources with another. Generous wealthy women were not unknown in the Roman world. They were in the minority to be sure, perhaps numbering about 10 percent of the total number…but they played their role personally and out in the open. Phoebe was such a woman, sharing her resources for the sake of God’s people, believers and nonbelievers alike.”
Raymond F. Collins in Wealth, Wages, and the Wealthy (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2017), 54.
Generous people are in the minority. In this case, Collins estimates that Phoebe was one of ten. In plain terms, most wealthy women back then were not generous to others, they kept it for themselves.
The lesson here is clear. If you want to find yourself in God’s story as a generous contributor, it will put you in the minority. Your behavior is countercultural. You will likely experience peer pressure not to be generous.
In the USA we are entering the final two months of the tax year. For some that have done well, their accountants are saying “spend” and that may be what 90 percent of people do. Don’t go with the flow. Give generously.