William Swan Plumer: Deceived

If you are faithful in little things, you will be faithful in large ones. But if you are dishonest in little things, you won’t be honest with greater responsibilities. Luke 16:10

“He who is not liberal with what he has, does but deceive himself when he thinks would be more liberal if he had more.”

William Swan Plumer (1802-1880), a leading Presbyterian intellectual in the 1800’s, on “Liberality” in A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards (Detroit: Dickerson, 1908) 299.

I love it when saints through the centuries dismantle false narratives that prevail in the minds of people with a short profound statements like this one. Think about it. We’ve all said or heard someone else say, “If that business deal goes through, then I will give” or “When I make more money, then I will give more.”

The time to be generous is always now (cf. 2 Corinthians 9:11)! Likely ringing in his ears was the famous quote by Francis Quarles (1592-1644) which I posted on 28 September 2015. “Proportion thy charity to the strength of thy estate, lest God proportion thy estate to the weakness of thy charity.”

In biblical terms giving that is acceptable to God is always based on what we have and not some future level of resources (cf. 2 Corinthians 8:12). Regardless of your past financial decisions, don’t allow yourself to be deceived. Be faithful and generous right now with what you have.

Need help for the journey? Check out my latest book, Good and Faithful: Ten Stewardship Lessons for Everyday Living. Get a copy for each person on your Christmas list. Help prepare those you love to hear the words “Well Done!” when they meet our Lord Jesus Christ (Matthew 25:23).

Now in case a countryman of yours becomes poor and his means with regard to you falter, then you are to sustain him, like a stranger or a sojourner, that he may live with you. Leviticus 25:35

“Frugality is good, if liberality be joined with it. The first is leaving off superfluous expenses; the last bestowing them to the benefit of others that need. The first without the last begets covetousness; the last without the first begets prodigality. Both together make an excellent temper. Happy the place where that is found.”

William Penn (1644-1718) on “Liberality” in A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards (Detroit: Dickerson, 1908) 299.

Penn was quite a guy. Among his accomplishments, he planned and developed the city of Philadelphia, founded the state of Pennsylvania, and set forth the frame of government that would become the inspiration for the United States Constitution. He knew as well as anyone, how people should behave toward one another.

As a founding father, Penn also understood the two components that contribute to abundant living: frugality and liberality. But don’t miss the danger of having one trait without the other. It leads to covetousness or prodigality (wasteful and excessive spending). Instead of sulking that people don’t care for fellow countrymen like they did in the days of Moses or Penn, let’s choose a lifestyle that is both frugal and generous.

Father in heaven, thanks for all your blessings. Help us remember that they are for us and for our countrymen and strangers who dwell with us. Forgive our covetousness and prodigality. Make us a people known for saying “no” to spending so we can say “yes” to sharing. Do this by your Holy Spirit we pray in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Carry each other’s burdens, and in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2

“Do not wait for extraordinary circumstances to do good actions: try to use ordinary situations.”

Jean Paul Richter (1763-1825) on “Benevolence” in A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards (Detroit: Dickerson, 1908) 39.

Today is Giving Tuesday, an extraordinary day on we are bombarded with reminders to make charitable gifts. If God has supplied you with resources to share, then give to things He cares about.

The danger of days like today is that our minds equate generosity with “extraordinary circumstances” rather than “ordinary situations” which is the venue in which we live most of our lives.

Last night I flew to Chicago to do some coaching and teaching at Northern Seminary today. They needed some help, and I had the bandwidth to assist. I’d appreciate your prayers for fruitful meetings.

Carrying the burdens of others in “ordinary situations” does not always come easy for me. It takes intentionality to focus on the needs of others rather than what I am doing (cf. Philippians 2:1-11).

In the early 1800’s, thoughts like today’s post helped people focus on doing good and bearing the burdens of others. That’s great advice for us today too, and it fulfills the law of Christ!

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.

‘And besides, there is a great chasm separating us. No one can cross over to you from here, and no one can cross over to us from there.’ Luke 16:26

“Generosity during life is a very different thing from generosity in the hour of death; one proceeds from genuine liberality and benevolence, the other from pride and fear.”

Horace Mann (1776-1859) on “Generosity” in A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards (Detroit: Dickerson, 1908) 191.

It struck me recently that it requires no faith for people to do their giving in their estate plan. Mann spells out the virtues at play.

The person who does their giving while they are living reveals a heart of liberality and benevolence. The person who waits until the hour of death shows their true colors: pride and fear.

When will you plan to do your giving? The time to decide is now and not after you have crossed the great chasm. That’s also the time to make special memories.

I shot the new header photo up in the mountains when we were cutting down our Christmas tree. In life, we invest God’s money into mission and memories. Join us!

One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed. Proverbs 11:24-25

“One great reason why [people] practice generosity so little in the world is, their finding so little there. Generosity is catching; and if so many [people] escape it, it is in a great degree from the same reason that countrymen escape the small-pox — because they meet with no one to give it to them.”

Lord George Greville (1746–1816) on “Generosity” in A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards (Detroit: Dickerson, 1908) 191. Lord Greville lived in Warwick Castle in England. I shot the header photo there back in 2008 when my family toured it. Unforgettable!

The idea that “generosity is catching” or that generosity is contagious is a divine truth older than this stately castle. We can trace this powerful idea back to the days of the Old Testament. Throughout human history people have lived in times with seemingly few generous people.

What should we do today? When others around us withhold unduly, Solomon would say to lead the way. Refresh others and see what happens! Generosity is catching because it dispels poverty. Few extend it because it requires faith, but those who do, gain even more.

Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good; His love endures forever. 1 Chronicles 16:34

“Gratitude to God should be as habitual as the reception of mercies is constant, as ardent as the number of them is great, as devout as the riches of divine grace and goodness is incomprehensible.”

Charles Simmons on “Gratitude” in A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards (Detroit: Dickerson, 1908) 45.

Yesterday, we considered the pathway for proper enjoyment: grateful, humble, and moderate. Today, we learn the posture of grateful hearts: habitual, ardent, and devout.

Let’s not just give thanks one day a year with those who are close to us but make it as habitual as the reception of our blessings is both constant and perpetual.

David, Asaph and others, modeled how to do this in 1 Chronicles 16. They gave offerings, ate yummy food, played festive music, and recounted God’s blessings.

As today is Black Friday, some will succumb to consumerism and spend money they don’t have, while others who have learned contentment will just focus on deals for things they need.

My prayer is that everyone will save some money today, so they have more left over for giving to God and the things He cares about this year-end.

Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians 4:2

“There are three requisites to the proper enjoyment of earthly blessings: a thankful reflection, on the goodness of the giver; a deep sense of our own unworthiness; and a recollection of the uncertainty of our long possessing them. The first will make us grateful; the second, humble; and the third, moderate.”

Hannah More (1745-1833) was English writer known for her generous giving in A Dictionary of Thoughts, edited by Tryon Edwards (Detroit: Dickerson, 1908) 45.

Happy Thanksgiving to readers across America and around the world. By the grace of God, I pray each of our lives exhibits proper enjoyment.

May God make us grateful, humble, and moderate people from prayerfully reflecting on the goodness of our merciful God to us unworthy souls.

Let us make the most of every opportunity to put to work what we have in the short time we have it so that God receives all glory and praise.

Praise the Lord, my soul; all my inmost being, praise His holy name. Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all His benefits. Psalm 103:1-2

“We should spend as much time in thanking God for His benefits as we do in asking Him for them.”

Vincent de Paul (1581-1660) was a Catholic priest who dedicated his life to serve the poor in France, in The Westminster Collection of Christian Quotations, edited by Martin H. Manser (Louisville: WJKP, 2001) 296.

Tomorrow is Thanksgiving in the USA. For many people, that means today’s the day to prepare for the arrival of loved ones or to plan to cook a large meal. Whether you are reading today’s post stateside or somewhere else around the world, take time to thank God for all His benefits. And to stimulate your thinking, read Psalm 103.

This will be our first Thanksgiving in twenty years when both our children won’t be with us. It’s a joy to have Sammy at home, but our daughter, Sophie, who serves as an R.A. at San Diego Christian College, will host Thanksgiving for students in her building who cannot travel home either. Though miles will separate us, we be thanking God for His benefits!

“Let the person who has ears listen!” Mark 7:16, cf. Matthew 11:15; 13:9, 43; Mark 4:9; Luke 8:8, 14:35; Revelation 2:7, 11, 17, 29; 3:6, 13, 22.

“For [Rabbula] wisely understood in his soul that the decorations of this world and the anxiety of riches, like briars and thorns, choke the seed of the word of God in the unwary, and it does not produce fruits [cf. Matt. 13:3-9]. Because of this, he labored to hurl from himself all the hard burden of the chains of riches [cf. Matt. 19:16-30], so that the word of God that he received might easily sprout up within him and yield fruits thirtyfold and sixtyfold and a hundredfold [cf. Matt. 13:18-23; Mark 4:3-20]. Thus with joy he accepted the command of our Lord: “Whosoever does not leave behind all his possessions cannot be my disciple” [Luke 12:13-21; 14:26-27, 33]. He diligently distributed and gave all that he had to the poor so that his righteousness would stand firm forever. He even sold his estates and he properly distributed to the needy the money he received from their sale, so that, by the means of them, his deposits to the heavenly treasury, along with their profits, might mount up. There his treasures would be kept safe for him. He set free all his slaves, both those born in the hours and those bought by money, and he provisioned and sent away in peace each and every one of them. He instructed, taught, and brought some of them to the monasteries…”

Rabulla of Edessa (c. 350-435) in The Heroic Deeds of Mar Rabbula, translated by Robert Doran in Stewards of the Poor: The Man of God Rabbula, and Hiba in Fifth Century Edessa (Kalamazoo: Cistercian, 2006), 71-72, 76-78, 85-86, as recounted by Helen Rhee in Wealth and Poverty in Early Christianity (Minneapolis: Fortress Press, 2017) 149-150.

If you are unfamiliar with Rabulla of Edessa, the final generosity champion cited in this exploration of wealth and poverty in early Christianity, then join the club. I had not heard of him either.

Rhee adds helpful background about this heroic character (xlv-xlvi): “Rabbula not only gives all his wealth, but channels all the private contributions to and accumulated wealth of the church in Edessa to support widows, orphans, the poor, and the sick. Rabbula argued that Christians ought to give away their surplus, living on only what is necessary in life; whatever the church receives from these faithful should be used to provide for the needs of the poor. His love for the poor is highlighted by restoring the hospital for the men and building one for the women of the city. Though idealized, the Life shows Rabbula in action, in actual engagement and interactions with the poor, as their patron – praying for them, caring for them, and comforting them through his touch, especially the lepers. This is how the church serves the welfare of the city.”

In reflecting on Rabbula and the example of prominent saints of the first five centuries, the Spirit led me to meditate on today’s Scripture, which was cited in one of the texts associated with today’s reading. It is the most repeated expression in the New Testament. I cite it along with today’s post from Rabbula of Edessa with this admonition: I can’t make you join me in following the example of these joyful and diligent distributors, but can say this, if you do, you won’t regret it, now and for eternity.

“Let the person who has ears listen!” That, of course, includes everyone. May our lives and churches follow their example.