You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God. 2 Corinthians 9:11
“One always receiving, never giving, is like the stagnant pool, in which whatever flows remains and whatever remains corrupts.”
John Angell James (1785-1859) on “Liberality” in A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards (Detroit: Dickerson, 1908) 299.
Part of the reason I’ve been looking at quotes from prominent voices from the 1800’s has been to explore the roots of the shift toward “stagnant pool” thinking in America that is so dominant today.
As this nation was growing in prosperity, leading Christians appear to have been urging people away from the trend of keeping surplus for themselves like rich fools (cf. Luke 12:13-21) and directing it toward generosity. This comes out in their polemical tone (think: “Don’t do this, do that!”).
By the 1900’s people needed incentive to give. Hence the birth of the tax deduction. Interestingly, 2017 marks the 100-year anniversary of the tax deduction in America (dating back to the War Revenue Act of 1917). By the 1900’s, leading citizens felt that without tax incentive to motivate giving, charities would close.
Sadly, by the 2000’s, the rich fool narrative has become an entrenched and celebrated fixture in this culture. Following Christ looks increasingly nonsensical when compared to cultural norms. What should we do in these times when lawmakers are considering more tax reform?
Let’s fix our gaze higher. We must not calibrate our giving based on tax deductions but based on what God supplies. Let’s live and give differently than society and obey our Lord because “whatever flows remains and whatever remains corrupts” (cf. Matthew 6:19-20).
For those of us who live in this land of majestic purple mountains (pictured in today’s header photo, which I intended to post yesterday), let us give generously at all times and occasions not because we are loaded, but because God is. He tells us to do it this way so that He will receive the thanks and glory.