Archives by: Gary Hoag

And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Matthew 6:13

“There are in truth three states of the converted: the beginning, the middle, and the perfection. In the beginning they experience the charms of sweetness; in the middle the contests of temptation; and in the end the fullness of perfection.”

Gregory the Great (540-604) in Catholic Viewer’s Guidebook, edited by Mike Aquilina and Veronica Burchard (Sophia Institute Press, 2015) 65. Gregory is the fourth of the four Doctors of the Western Church.

Growth in generosity only happens when we resist the “contests of temptations” on the path to perfection or maturity. How are you tempted? For some, it’s fear. For others, it’s security. And for some, it’s materialism.

What state are you in? The only way to beat temptation is with fasting, prayer, confession, and living in light of what is true! When you do, you will be blessed by the Father. The path to maturity takes time and the opposition is real.

For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. 1 Timothy 6:7

“So, let us not love money. But if you already have it, this is what should be done with it. Be rich, you people who have it. But rich in what way? In good works. Let them give readily, he says, let them share, At this, avarice is pulling in its horns. Listen to what follows: Let them give readily, let them share…

It’s just as if you’d drenched him with a bucket of cold water; he goes numb, he shivers, he clasps his arms to himself, and he says, “I’m not going to throw away all my work.” You poor fish, do you want to throw away your work? You’re going to die, see? And just as you brought nothing here, so you can take nothing away from here. Since you’ve taken nothing away with you, won’t you have thrown away your work.

So listen to God’s advice. Don’t panic because he said, Let them give readily, let them share. Listen to what follows. Wait for it, don’t shut the door in my face, don’t bang down the receiver of your mind; wait for it. Do you want to see why. Let them give readily, let them share doesn’t mean you will throw everything away, and in fact is the only way to avoid throwing everything away.”

Augustine of Hippo (354-430) in Sermon 39.5, translated by Edmund Hill in Essential Sermons (New York: New City Press, 2007) 54.

Augustine’s sermons are awesome. Check out this book on Amazon to read them. He’s the third of four doctors of the Western Church that I’ve explored afresh while traveling in North Africa. He was from a town that would be in Algeria today.

While it’s unimaginable to throw away our work, people do it every day. As a matter of fact, most people do it. It’s the wide road they take linked to money. They store it up in the wrong place. Where is your money stored? Storing up money on earth is throwing away your work.

Instead, listen to God’s advice. Giving is the only way to avoid throwing away your work and throwing away everything you have. And pray for me as I spend some strategic time of fellowship with a group of God’s servants Sharm El-Sheikh the next few days.

“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,  so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.” Matthew 6:1-4

“There are some who aim at the credit of generosity for pride alone, because they wish thereby to gain the good opinion of the multitude for leaving nothing to themselves; but whilst they are seeking rewards in this life, they are laying up none for the life to come, and having received their reward here they cannot hope for it there.”

Ambrose of Milan (c. 339-397) in Concerning Repentance, 2.9.84.

While it is the season of year-end giving in America, most countries in the world provide no tax advantages for charitable giving. The temptation in societies where giving is celebrated with incentives links to pride. People are tempted to give for the wrong reasons.

While I am all for getting tax credits to maximize stewardship capacity, or in plain terms, to be able to give more, we must watch our motives. Think about it. Who should get the credit of all generosity? God, of course! He provides everything for us to enjoy and share.

The thing to remember, however, is the implications of glory-seeking motives. Jesus did not sugar-coat it. When we get this wrong, we store up nothing in eternity. We get no lasting gain for our giving. Let’s aim to get a “good opinion” from our God who sees everything.

The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me. Psalm 116:6

“Let your dress be neither elegant nor slovenly, and let it not be noticeable by any strangeness that might attract the notice of passers-by and make people point their finger at you.”

Jerome of Stridon (347-420) in “Letter to Eustochium” 384. After citing the four doctors of the Eastern Church, I decided to read fresh material from the four doctors the Western Church. Jerome is one of them.

I shot the header photo last night of the stormy Mediterranean Sea in Alexandria. It was so beautiful. I saw it after enjoying sweet fellowship with friends and before heading to evening church.

Does your dress have room for more simplicity? Back in the USA where I live, people aim to get the attention of passers-by. Alternatively, Jerome reminds us to have the opposite aim.

Where do you stand? Do you want people to remember you for what you wear or for what you share? The world is watching, but more importantly, God is watching every decision you make.

Choose “simple” with regard to clothing and “generous” linked to giving.

“And the Word became flesh and lived among us, and we have seen his glory, the glory as of a father’s only son, full of grace and truth.” John 1:14

“Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Word of God, of His boundless love, became what we are that He might make us what He Himself is.”

Irenaues of Lyons (c. 130-200) in Against Heresies, V.

I am resting today to worship and think about the incarnation with my friends in Alexandria, Egypt. We celebrate that Jesus came to save us and transform us into His likeness as a light to the world.

This Advent and beyond, may our Lord make us people who are full of grace and truth whose generosity is filled with boundless love.

If you do not stand firm in your faith, you will not stand at all. Isaiah 7:9

“The Lord did not come to make a display. He came to heal and to teach suffering men. For one who wanted to make a display the thing would have been just to appear and dazzle the beholders. But for Him Who came to heal and to teach the way was not merely to dwell here, but to put Himself at the disposal of those who needed Him, and to be manifested according as they could bear it, not vitiating the value of the Divine appearing by exceeding their capacity to receive it.”

Athanasius of Alexandria (296-373) in On the Incarnation 7.43. Athanasius is the fourth of the four doctors of the Eastern Church that I have revisited this week in their writings.

I read Athanasius today as I am excited to be going to Alexandria today. My NABLA meetings in the Egyptian desert, very close to where the desert fathers lived 17 centuries ago, have exceeded expectations.

In my work with GTP, it’s been a privilege to make disciples of faithful administration here and to help form the peer accountability group. It was a joy to celebrate the accreditation of the first 6 organizations.

From here, like Christ, my aim is not to put myself on display but to put myself “at the disposal” of those who need me. I am learning that generous service is making yourself available to be with people.

This is not easy for me. Perhaps it is hard for you too? And providentially, it matches the verse God gave me for this trip. “Stay in this land for a while, and I will be with you and will bless you” (Genesis 26:3).

For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs. 1 Timothy 6:10

“Now tell me why is wealth an object of ambition? For it is necessary to start from this point, because to the majority of those who are afflicted with this grievous malady it seems to be more precious than health and life, and public reputation, and good opinion, and country, and household, and friends, and kindred and everything else…

And how might we cure those who are thus disposed? It would be possible if they would open their ears to us, and unfold their heart, and receive our words. For it is impossible to turn and divert the irrational animals from their unclean habit; for they are destitute of reason: but this the gentlest of all tribes, honoured by reason and speech, I mean human nature, might, if it chose, readily and easily be released from the mire and the stench, and the dung hill and its abomination.

For wherefore, O man, do riches seem to thee worthy such diligent pursuit? Is it on account of the pleasure which no doubt is derived from the table? or on account of the honour and the escort of those who pay court to thee, because of thy wealth? is it because thou art able to defend thyself against those who annoy thee, and to be an object of fear to all?

For you cannot name any other reasons, save pleasure and flattery, and fear, and the power of taking revenge; for wealth is not generally wont to make any one wiser, or more self-controlled, or more gentle, or more intelligent, or kind, or benevolent, or superior to anger, or gluttony or pleasure: it does not train any one to be moderate, or teach him how to be humble, nor introduce and implant any other piece of virtue in the soul.”

John Chrysostom (347-407) Archbishop of Constantinople and one of the Four Doctors of the Eastern Church in the treatise “To Prove That No One Can Harm The Man Who Does Not Injure Himself” 6-7, translated by W. R. W. Stephens. To read it, click and scroll to page 290-309.

This is a powerful 20-page treatise by the golden-mouthed archbishop (that’s the meaning of the label, “Chrysostomos,” anglicized as “Chrysostom”). He follows the pattern of the early church when he refers to “the love of money” as a “grievous malady” and explains why his hearers must avoid it: no one can harm this person that does not injure himself.

Think about that expression for a minute. To state it another way, if you can remain free from the love of money, you will remain unharmed and cared for by God. Chasing after money only hurts the people who chase it. It takes them down a dead-end street. Those who turn to money for what it allegedly offers do not gain, but rather, lose. It offers empty promises.

This question really stuck with me: And how might we cure those who are thus disposed? As Patrick Johnson and I teach today at the NABLA event where we are serving with Adel Azmy and Ereny Monir, our goal is to help people avoid harming themselves or piercing “themselves with many griefs” as the Apostle Paul proclaimed. But how do we do this? 

Chrysostom took the approach of speaking truth with love. He talked about money unashamedly, because he did not want people hurting themselves. That’s Patrick’s job and mine today. But isn’t it everyone’s role, every day? We must talk about money with the right perspective, that is, with a biblical view, so people don’t wrongly chase after it.

Speaking of chasing, today is my birthday. I’m 52, and there’s only one prize I’m chasing. Like Eric Liddell I feel God’s pleasure when I run fast. And like George Müller I want to awaken the world to realize that we serve a living God and that he hears the prayers of those who put their trust in Him. I think I am somewhat of a cross between the two.

I run fast in my GTP work because I am trying to disciple a global network to show a watching world that abundant life is only found in Jesus Christ. He’s the only cure for the grievous global malady. When our individual stewardship and institutional standards follow His generous, everything else falls into place in life and ministry and God gets all the glory.

Who lends money to the poor without interest; who does not accept a bribe against the innocent. Whoever does these things will never be shaken. Psalm 15:5

“In order to receive something great from God for yourselves, be the same to the poor! With neither pettiness nor stinginess but with terrific lavishness and eagerness… Freely give this good lot both to yourselves and your beloved, stealing nothing from what has been written but bestowing everything with pleasure and joyousness, as though returning what property belongs to God…

For why should you hoard it up for bandits and thieves and for the vicissitudes of the times, which change erratically and whisk unstable prosperity all about but not deposit it into vaults secure and stronger than the attackers? Display your frugality, then, in other circumstances, and to other people (for I also pray that you’re powerful with kindness), but fight the good fight with us… Convince me that you are genuine…”

Gregory of Nazianzus (c. 329-390) in “Letter to Alypius” 4. in Gregory of Nazianzus’s Letter Collection: The Complete Translation, by Bradley K. Storin (Berkeley: University of California Press, 2019) 154. Gregory of Nazianzus is the third of the the three Cappadocian Fathers and one of the Four Doctors of the Eastern Church.

Today I’m thrilled to serve with Adel Azmy of NABLA in Egypt with Patrick Johnson of Generous Church and Ereny Monir, my colleague at GTP. I pray God gives us the candor mixed with kindness that Gregory of Nazianzus exhibited in his writings. So, how do we help people shift from giving with pettiness or stinginess to giving with lavishness and eagerness?

I believe it starts by freely coming to serve. We are here in Egypt not because of what we want from anyone but rather because of what we want for them. We aim to impart the reminder to them that because everything belongs to God, giving is merely “returning” resources back to Him and, in so doing, grasping abundant life.

When we disobey, we store up money for ourselves and put it at risk to the instability of the times. Instead we can store in “into vaults secure” in heaven through giving. God, through the reading of Scripture, the sharing of stories, and our service with kindness, please cause humble obedience and genuine generosity to spread across Egypt. Amen.

The student is not above the teacher, but everyone who is fully trained will be like their teacher. Luke 6:40

“For as the teacher is, so is the disciple fashioned to be. For it is impossible that one who has been apprenticed to the art of the smith should fulfill his training by weaving, or that one who has been taught to work at the loom should turn out an orator or a surveyor. No, the disciple transfers to himself the pattern he sees in his master. It is for this reason it says, every disciple shall be fashioned like his teacher (Luke 6:40).

What then brothers? Is it possible to become humble-minded, calm in manner, moderate, superior to the love of money-making, wise in things divine and trained to virtue and fairness in one’s ways if these qualities have not been seen in the teacher? On the contrary, I do not know how anyone will become spiritual who has done his learning in a school of worldliness, for how shall they who are striving to become like such a one fail to be as he is?”

Gregory of Nyssa (c. 335-394), the younger brother of Basil the Great and Bishop of Nyssa in Cappadocia, also known as one of the three Cappadocian Fathers, in “To the Presbyters of Nicomedia” Letter 17.24-25 as recounted in Gregory of Nyssa: The Letters, Introduction, Translation and Commentary, by Anna M. Silvas (Leiden: Brill, 2007) 167-68.

What pattern will I communicate? That’s the question I am asking myself as I travel to teach on two consecutive long weekends in Egypt. It’s an important question because disciples follow the “pattern” of their teacher. Students will not live out the truth with love unless the teacher leads the way. They will not grow generous stewards without a model to guide them.

This “pattern” is central to our purpose at GTP: “In obedient service to Jesus Christ, GTP multiplies disciples of faithful administration and mobilizes peer accountability groups to increase gospel participation in every nation.” What’s the pattern? A disciple of faithful administration understands his or her role in God’s work and does it with integrity and accountability.

At ECFA in the USA, the pattern is called Standards of Responsible Stewardship. Other such groups that are a part of the fellowship of trust partners in other countries have adopted similar sets of standards. You can look them up here. Why mention this? Each of us must consider carefully “the pattern” we exhibit before a watching world. What’s your pattern?

If you want others to grow in generosity, they must see the pattern in your life. If I want all the men and women I will serve over the next two weeks to grow in generosity, they must see the pattern in my words and works. Think about the pattern of our Lord Jesus Christ, of the saints in the early church, and throughout history. What about you? Will your life transfer the pattern?

By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against such things. Galatians 5:22-23

“Anyone who is truly self-controlled does not desire human glory, but restrains himself from vices such as wrath and despondency and all those obsessions which untaught and incautious souls are wont to cling to. One might go so far as to say that among all the commandments of God we find that the one is so linked with the other that it is impossible to accomplish one in isolation from another. This is found especially the case with self-control itself, in that the humble person is judged to be one who has restrained himself from pride and one who has renounced all his property and, according to the Gospel, sold all his possessions and distributed them to all (cf. Matthew 19:21) is without doubt one who has restrained himself from the desire of money. And the meek too will be one who has mastered his wrath and checked his rage. And the wandering looks of the eye, the listening of the ear, and the looseness of the tongue – what else but self-control can subdue and check them?”

Basil the Great (330-379) Bishop of Caesarea, one of the three Cappadocian Fathers, and doctor of the Eastern Church, Question 8, Response 20-25, in Rule of St. Basil in Latin and English: A Revised Critical Edition, ed. Anna M. Silvas (Collegeville: Liturgical Press, 2013) 95.

The next three posts will come from fresh readings from the three Cappadocian Fathers while I travel to Egypt and get situated there for service to pastors and ministry administrators in a variety of contexts. We start with Basil the Great. He was an influential theologian whose writings always shape me when I read them.

In this section of his rule Basil expounds on self-control so that “untaught and incautious souls” may avoid being overcome by obsessions and despondency in trying to sort life on their own. It’s the last in the list of the fruit of the Spirit for a reason. It’s really important! If we have self-control, it saves us from a host of vices, including pride and the desire of money.

We live in a day when even Christians tell us to hold on to money. Many (wrongly!) call it wise stewardship. Don’t be fooled. Holding back money for ourselves positions us to indulge in a host of other sins and shifts where we place our trust. In telling us to let go of property in the Gospels, Jesus was not trying to rob us but to help us.

So what’s the key to self-control and how does it relate to generosity?

Without the Spirit’s help, there will be no self-control and no generosity in our lives. None! Either the self guides our lives or the Spirit does. When we submit to the Spirit, it frees us from obsessions and despondency, from the desire for anything other than God to sustain us and all the fear, worry, and vices that go with it.

Father, show us any areas of our lives dominated by self rather than the Spirit. As you do, teach us to submit those areas of our lives to You, so that our obedience delivers us from obsessions and despondency that seek to overcome us. Make us people that exhibit the fruit of generosity and self-control. Hear our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.