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Gregory of Nazianzus: Give something

Elisha replied to her, “How can I help you? Tell me, what do you have in your house?” “Your servant has nothing there at all,” she said, “except a small jar of olive oil.” 2 Kings 4:2

“Give something, however small, to the one in need. For it is not small to one who has nothing. Neither is it small to God, if we have given what we could.”

Gregory of Nazianzus (329-390 in 365 Days with the Saints: A Year of Wisdom from the Saints, compiled by Carol Kelly-Gangi (Author) (New York: Wellfleet, 2015) 2.

I’ve decided to table research for a while and go back to researching quotes from saints through the centuries on generosity. Since I stood in the room (Hagia Irene, pictured above) where the first Council of Constantinople added five articles to the Nicene Creed, it got me thinking.

I want to research who was in the room and review any extant writings from Council participants. This led me to explore Gregory of Nazianzus. He was there, and he gives us today’s post! God wants all of us to give what we can. He can use it. He can multiply it. He only wants us to make it available for His purposes and glory.

Let me illustrate this in real-time. I’ve been praying on and off for the last few hours for Annie Robin, GTP Country Coordinator for Pakistan, and her team. Their women’s ministry in Lahore took up a collection for persecuted Christians in Jaranwala. You may have seen images of this situation in the world news.

She and her team hired a driver and took a collection to bless ten Christian families who have suffered great loss during these difficult days. Though they don’t have what many would describe as great wealth, they set a goal and rallied generous sharing, and gave what they had. It made a difference in the lives of those they served.

Soon I will get the whole story from her, but the good news is that their mission was successful. What do you have in your house, like Elisha asked the widow? Or a position of authority like Annie to inspire others to take up a collection? Do you have resources to contribute to someone with nothing?

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Summer Allen: Demographic and geographical factors

Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no commandment greater than these.” Mark 12:30-31

“Research suggests that there are a number of demographic and geographical factors that influence generosity. These include aspects like regional levels of trust as well as aspects that might not normally be thought of as impacting generosity, such as city size and diversity… Studies have found that people in rural environments exhibit more prosocial behaviors. A meta-analysis of 65 experiments found that people who lived in rural areas engaged in more helping behaviors compared to those who lived in urban areas, and another study of people who were raised in rural or urban China found that individuals raised in rural environments were more generous to strangers and distant acquaintances.”

Summer Allen in “The Science of Generosity” White Paper produced by the Greater Good Science Center.

I arrived safely in Istanbul. I will interact with people from all over the world at the World Evangelical Alliance conference from 8-12 October 2023. Here’s the link to the event.

I’m basically giving a TED talk on “A biblical basis of governance stewardship accountability with real-life practice.” Reply to this email if you want a copy of my slide deck.

On the day before the conference began my GTP colleagues and I took time to visit Hagia Irene. Everybody talks up Hagia Sophia, which was great, but the experience is somewhat anticlimactic as it has been converted to a mosque.

Hagia Irene is a lesser known church and the site where 152 bishops gathered for the Second Council of the early church to add five article to sharpen the Nicene Creed in A.D. 381. See the sacred hall where it happened above.

As I continue digging in this goldmine of research, my exploration has come to look at demographic and geographical factors. It seems the more concentrated the people (urban versus rural) the less generous we become.

It makes sense. The more crowded things become, the more we might be prone to keep to ourselves and forget the most basic injunction of Jesus: to love God and love our neighbor.

What does this look like where you live? How does your context influence your generosity? 

Jenni and I moved into a neighborhood with many young families. She’s getting to know many of them while walking our dog, Grace. Most have small children or are expecting new arrivals.

As I notice these realities, it inspires me to think how can might influence the faith of these families through our love, interaction, and generosity.

Ponder how your demographic and geographical factors setting might influence your generosity and determine what God might have you do where He has planted you.

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Summer Allen: Video games

He said to them, “Do you bring in a lamp to put it under a bowl or a bed? Instead, don’t you put it on its stand? For whatever is hidden is meant to be disclosed, and whatever is concealed is meant to be brought out into the open. If anyone has ears to hear, let them hear.” “Consider carefully what you hear,” He continued. “With the measure you use, it will be measured to you—and even more. Whoever has will be given more; whoever does not have, even what they have will be taken from them.” Mark 4:21-25

“A meta-analysis of 98 studies looking at the social outcomes of video game content found that “[w]hereas violent video games increase aggression and aggression-related variables and decrease prosocial outcomes, prosocial video games have the opposite effects.” In particular, studies have found that playing prosocial video games increased prosocial thoughts, increased interpersonal empathy, and decreased feelings of pleasure at another person’s misfortune in lab experiments.

These findings suggest that video game content may have consequences on how players treat other people—both in positive and negative ways. In fact, researchers have suggested that video games could potentially be a useful tool for increasing helping behaviors in children, particularly in teens.

Playing is almost ubiquitous among teens (a 2007 survey found that 97 percent of American teens play video games), and the video game format—which exposes players to modeling, rehearsal, and reinforcement—offers “excellent conditions for learning to occur.” Of course, that all depends on teens being willing to play prosocial games in the first place (at least when not assigned to do so in an experiment).”

Summer Allen in “The Science of Generosity” White Paper produced by the Greater Good Science Center.

When this posts I will have arrived safely in Istanbul for the WEA Forum which starts tomorrow. Click to see the program and presenters. Appreciate your prayers for a great event.

And honestly, I never thought I’d write a generosity post about video games. But then again, the research is both stunning and unavoidable.

If 97 percent of youth are playing games, and if games can shape them toward either aggression or prosocial behavior, we must consider the implications of this for the youth in our lives.

Today’s Scripture beckons us to “consider carefully what we hear” because if we partake of unhealthy things, we will reap the related impact.

And such choices will cause us to loose whatever gains we had in character or spiritual growth. We are either growing closer to God or away from Him. It’s not static.

So, in light of this research, let us encourage our kids to play prosocial games. And while I am the last person to recommend any, I am confident a good search will bear fruit.

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Summer Allen: Dancing

Praise Him with timbrel and dancing, praise Him with the strings and pipe. Psalm 150:4

“Besides listening to prosocial music, several studies suggest that jointly making, listening to, or dancing to music with others can boost prosocial behavior. In one study, four-year-old children behaved more cooperatively and prosocially after joint music making than did children who were engaged in another activity with similar levels of social and linguistic interaction.”

Summer Allen in “The Science of Generosity” White Paper produced by the Greater Good Science Center.

I am thinking musicians out there knew this to be true but it’s fresh research to me. Music coupled with dancing increased prosocial and generous behavior in kids.

Perhaps it works for children of all ages. It inspires me to urge readers to worship God in music and dance as the Spirit leads, and couple that with worship in the form of generous giving.

I just exchanged messages with a Christian worker in Pakistan. After their singing and dancing they decided to take up and offering for Christians suffering loss and persecution.

GTP hopes to go serve workers there in February 2024. In the meantime, turn up the music, dance, and consider whom God wants you to bless today through your giving.

And pray for my safe arrival to Istanbul, Turkey. More on the World Evangelical Alliance conference here in the days to come.

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Summer Allen: Lyrics

Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. Colossians 3:16

“In another study, when compared with people who had listened to music with neutral (not particularly prosocial or antisocial) lyrics, people who had listened to music with prosocial lyrics picked up more pencils for an experimenter who pretended to accidentally spill them, were more likely to agree to do further unpaid experiments and spent more time doing them, and gave more money away… Further analysis found that this effect was due to increased interpersonal empathy in the people who had listened to the prosocial lyrics.

Another field experiment suggests that this induction of empathy via music with prosocial lyrics could have real-world effects. In this experiment, while 768 French restaurant customers ate lunch or dinner, they were exposed to either music with prosocial lyrics, neutral lyrics, or the regular music played by the restaurant. Restaurant patrons who had listened to the prosocial music were significantly more likely to leave a tip—and their tips were significantly greater than the other patrons’ tips.”

Summer Allen in “The Science of Generosity” White Paper produced by the Greater Good Science Center.

Boarding a flight for Frankfurt, Germany this afternoon en route to Istanbul, Turkey. I will attend a World Evangelical Alliance conference there. I’ll share more about this event in a few days. For now, I appreciate your prayers for safe travel and peace and protection for my wife whilst I am away.

When the message of Christ dwells in us richly and when we teach and strengthen each other with songs, we grow in gratitude and generosity.

Today’s research shows that “prosocial lyrics have a similar effect. It makes me think of the upcoming Christmas season when cheerful music plays in stores and restaurants.

Undoubtedly, this aims to inspire people to buy gifts for people in their lives to show love with generosity. This stirs me to ponder the lyrics of songs more closely.

For example, a tear of gratitude always forms in the corner of my eye when I sing this part of the song O Holy Night, “He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger.”

I feel the deepest level of empathy in this line. And the lyrics move deeper than prosocial “peace on earth” but a deep feeling that Christ knows my “need” and “weakness.”

What lyrics do you hear in the music you like to play? How might it be encouraging or limiting your generosity? Consider how lyrics might shape your generosity from here.

Enjoy the lyrics to O Holy Night (originally in French by Placide Cappeau) as a bonus today.

O Holy Night! The stars are brightly shining,
It is the night of the dear Saviour’s birth.
Long lay the world in sin and error pining.
Till He appeared and the Spirit felt its worth.
A thrill of hope the weary world rejoices,

For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees! Oh, hear the angel voices!
O night divine, the night when Christ was born;
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!
O night, O Holy Night , O night divine!

Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
O’er the world a star is sweetly gleaming,
Now come the wisemen from out of the Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus lowly manger;

In all our trials born to be our friends.
He knows our need, our weakness is no stranger,
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!
Behold your King! Before him lowly bend!

Truly He taught us to love one another,
His law is love and His gospel is peace.
Chains he shall break, for the slave is our brother.
And in his name all oppression shall cease.

Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
With all our hearts we praise His holy name.
Christ is the Lord! Then ever, ever praise we,
His power and glory ever more proclaim!
His power and glory ever more proclaim!

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Summer Allen: Music

Speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. Ephesians 5:19-20

“Music’s effect on generosity has been less studied than television’s, despite the fact that Americans spend an average of 24 hours listening to music each week. However, the research that has been done suggests that two aspects of music—its ability to elicit emotions and its lyrical content—may influence generous behavior in listeners.

Several studies have shown that people are more likely to help others when in a positive mood, and music may be a good way to make people feel happier and thus more generous. This connection was borne out in a field experiment conducted on 646 users of a university gym who were exposed to either uplifting (up-tempo, British top-20 recent singles) or annoying (avant-garde computer music) songs and later asked either to sign a petition in support of a charity (a low-demand task) or to distribute leaflets for the charity (a higher-demand task).

While almost all subjects from both groups agreed to sign the petition, significantly more of the subjects from the uplifting music group than the annoying music group agreed to help distribute leaflets, suggesting that music that lifts your spirits may also make you more generous.”

Summer Allen in “The Science of Generosity” White Paper produced by the Greater Good Science Center.

Who knew?! Listening to music can uplift your spirits and also make you more generous. It makes sense, biblically speaking. Repeatedly, the Scriptures call us to sing and give thanks. Perhaps music provides the context for cultivating gratitude.

For my part, I don’t listen to much music. But when I do, I like to listen to Handel’s Messiah, which celebrates the prophecies, the passion, and the promise of Messiah. Perhaps this explains why I desire to give myself to Kingdom work each day.

What music do you listen to? How might it encourage or dampen your generosity? Think about this and maybe turn on, turn off, turn up, or turn down the music as God leads.

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Summer Allen: Moderate Positive Effect

Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it. Proverbs 22:6

“A different study found that mothers of first graders who frequently watched prosocial sitcoms reported that their children exhibited prosocial behavior—such as showing empathy for troubled people, helping others in need, and sharing—more often than children who viewed prosocial sitcoms less frequently.

A meta-analysis of 34 studies—and 5,473 children—found that for children who watched prosocial content in an experimental setting (like a lab), there was a moderate positive effect on their behavior: They interacted with others more positively and cooperatively, were less likely to stereotype, were less aggressive, and were more altruistic.”

Summer Allen in “The Science of Generosity” White Paper produced by the Greater Good Science Center.

Our biblical role as parents, grandparents, and great grandparents, is to point children in the way they should go. If we do this, we can have confidence that God will help them stay on track.

And the research shows that if they watch prosocial media it can have a “moderate positive effect” on them. Notice what this means as we think about our role in their growth.

How we live is the biggest influence on them. From there, things like positive videos can help, but we must not trust outside source to grow them. That’s our role and supporting tools as shown by the research.

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Summer Allen: Dampening effect

Above all else, guard your heart, for everything you do flows from it. Proverbs 4:23

“A different study found that children spent more time on a helping task after watching an episode of Lassie that featured helping than did children who watched a different Lassie episode or an episode of the Brady Bunch. Another study found that watching either Sesame Street or Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood significantly increased the prosocial behavior of preschoolers after one week of watching the program.

A study of older children—8 to 10 year olds—found that those who had been randomly assigned to watch shows with violent, aggressive content gave fewer tokens to charity than did those who had watched either a neutral or prosocial show; there was also a negative relationship between the number of hours of television the children typically watched per week and how much they donated to the charity, suggesting that television, regardless of content, may also have a dampening effect on generosity.”

Summer Allen in “The Science of Generosity” White Paper produced by the Greater Good Science Center.

It seems that TV, regardless of the content, can have a dampening effect on generosity. It makes sense. TV often promotes the values of the world, some of which are “prosocial” and others which are more “self-centered.”

So, the more TV our children, grandchildren, or great grandchildren watch, the more it will dampen their desire to serve as conduits of material and spiritual blessings. That said, how will you use this information?

I suggest today’s Scripture offers the answer. We must guard our hearts, and the hearts of our children, grandchildren, and great grandchildren, lest the influence of the world having a dampening effect on expressing their faith through generosity.

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Summer Allen: TV, Socioeconomic Status, and Prosocial Behavior

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Philippians 4:8

“Most people spend a significant portion of their day engaged with some form of entertainment media, whether it be listening to music, watching TV and movies, or playing video games. Research has found that these media influence various aspects of behavior, and while several studies have shown negative effects of this influence—such as the finding that exposure to violent media increases feelings of aggression—a number of other studies have focused on how exposure to different media can actually lead to increased prosocial behavior.

When it comes to the relationship between media content and behavior, by far the most researched form of entertainment is television. In the 1970s and 80s there were a slew of studies focused on how television programs influence the behavior of children, in particular. A study of preschoolers found that watching Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood increased prosocial interpersonal behavior—such as cooperating, helping, sharing—for children from lower socioeconomic backgrounds, whereas the same effect was not seen among children from wealthier families.”

Summer Allen in “The Science of Generosity” White Paper produced by the Greater Good Science Center.

I praise God for safe travel and fruitful ministry. That airplane took me home.

Let me know if you want a copy of the Jamaica trip report. I won’t have the Cayman Islands one for a few days as John Roomes is still ministering there. Keep him in your prayers.

If you are a parent, grandparent, or a great grandparent, check this out. The TV that the children in our care watch can have a positive impact on them. But there’s something bigger that impacts them.

Socioeconomic status relates at least partly to our decisions. I realize that none of us control our status at birth. Some are born into wealth and others into poverty.

But the decisions we make from there can shape the trajectory of our lives. Again, some cultures have more opportunity for upward or downward mobility than others, but regardless, our behavior impacts our station to some extent.

That said, if children grow up in wealth, it entrenches entitlement in them. Think about that. Today’s research shows prosocial TV can influence the poor toward generosity but not the wealthy. So, what factors can? Ponder some more with the Holy Spirit.

Jesus had the riches of heaven and made Himself nothing. If you have any measure of wealth beyond meeting your basic needs, here’s my advice.

Make yourself nothing. In so doing, you won’t end up empty, but rather, enriched. And your children will follow your lead. Your example is stronger than TV for shaping your kids.

And maybe encourage them to watch shows that will encourage prosocial behavior. Picture your children, grandchildren, and/or great grandchildren right now.

Decide what kind of TV you want them to watch and, along with that, determine the example you want to set understanding the implications.

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Summer Allen: He went around doing good

You know what has happened throughout the province of Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached—how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how He went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with Him. Acts 10:37-38

“A recent study found that wealthier individuals were more willing to give, and donated more money to a charity, when the appeals from that charity emphasized personal agency and the pursuit of individual goals, such as by saying things like… “Sometimes, one person needs to come forward and take individual action. This is one of those times. Take individual action. Donate today.”

Less wealthy individuals, on the other hand, were more likely to give in response to appeals that highlighted communion and the pursuit of shared goals, such as “Let’s save a life together” or “Sometimes, one community needs to come forward and support a common goal. This is one of those times. Join your community. Donate today.“

This suggests that encouraging generosity across the socioeconomic spectrum may be more successful if the messages take into consideration the kinds of appeals that resonate with more versus less wealthy individuals.”

Summer Allen in “The Science of Generosity” White Paper produced by the Greater Good Science Center.

John and I spoke to a group of 30 youth on Stewardship and Generosity yesterday. I loved the theme at the church on the wall: one 2 ten. It means each one will try to share the gospel in a year with ten people.

It fit perfectly with our remarks to use your Gifts and Goods to make known the Gospel. See the header photo of the inside of the church in Grand Cayman above.

Then in my study, I read today’s Scripture which described Jesus as going “around doing good” and it had impact on people because “God was with Him.” The same can be true of us, but only if we act.

Will we use our gifts and deploy our goods to make known the gospel or will we stay on the sofa with our money in the bank. Seriously, where do you fit in this picture?

Then I read this research. It inspired me to give a shout to readers to act individually and collectively. To step forward, like Jesus, and do good. Take action with what you have.

Use your wealth to shape the future of your community or give to GTP and impact a country. We estimate the cost at about $10,000. Or combine your gift with the gifts of others. Both ways can make an impact.

So whether you have a lot or a little, go around doing good. If you have a lot, lead the way. If you have a little, give in community with others. And know that God will be with you, but only if you take action.

GTP enters Liberia today and I have learned of opportunities in Nepal and Pakistan. Will we pursue them? Not yet. We are praying for the funds. Step up. Give today. Reply and I can tell you what is needed.

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