Thomas Brooks: A Charitable Christian

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

“Wealth in the hand of a worldling is like blood in the hand, which is good for nothing; but wealth in the hand of a charitable Christian is like water in the hand, which may be of use both to a man’s self and others.

By what has been said, there is nothing more evident that this: that men of public spirits, and men of charitable spirits, of all men on earth are (1) to be most highly prized; (2) most cordially loved; and (3) most greatly honored.”

Thomas Brooks (1608-1680) in “Epistle Dedicatory” in The Complete Works of Thomas Brooks, ed. by Rev. Alexander Balloch Grosart (Edinburgh: James Nichol, 1866) 247.

The language of the Puritans is colorful. This is the third or fourth writer I have explored in the last week that has used the term “worldling” to describe people who follow the thinking of the world. Here Brooks contrasts the worldling to the “charitable” follower of Christ.

I love his use of the word “charitable” because any wealth that we possess is a gift of “grace” for us to enjoy and share (charis in Greek means “grace”). Those who live charitably are prized, loved, and honored. Do you live charitably? It means to give generously to others whether they are deserving or not.

This is the season of graduation ceremonies here in the States. My prayer for graduates today (our son Sammy included) is that each one will chose to live not as a worldling, but rather, as a charitable Christian. Let’s model the way for them, shall we?

Keep your lives free from the love of money and be content with what you have, because God has said, “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you.” So we say with confidence, “The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?” Hebrews 13:5-6

“The Lord will stand by His people, and deliver them, when it shall be for His glory. Now, till we come to this courage and constancy of mind, and fearlessness of men, we never have the generosity of Christians…

It goeth near to the hearts of worldlings to part with their necessary and convenient earthly comforts; but to a believer it is more easy, for heaven is infinitely better and more precious than all the wealth of the world.

If the world be our darling, or any created comfort be overvalued, it will fill our hearts with sorrow to be deprived of it. A Christian, that hath heaven in hope and reversion, cannot be poor; he is richer than all worldly men, though God’s providence hath given him little, or left him little.”

Thomas Manton (1622-1677) in Sermon II on John 14:1 in The Works of Thomas Manton (London: J. Nisbet & Company, 1874) 354.

Do you have this constancy of mind? Only when a Christian believes that he or she has everything in the Lord, can he or she let go of earthly comforts. The key is not to overvalue anything here on earth as “worldlings” do. Easier said than done.

Notice Manton said it is not easy but “more easy” for the believer to grasp this because, while we cannot comprehend heaven and the rewards that await us, we have a glimpse of it. It’s infinitely better than anything we can acquire, better than “all the wealth of the world.”

Manton’s advice for us today is clear: we will never have the generosity of Christians if we don’t hold fast to the notion that the Lord is our Helper. Is the Lord your helper? Or perhaps, if I asked a close friend or family member if the Lord is your helper, what would that person say?

Better is a little with righteousness than great revenues with injustice. Proverbs 16:8

“There is a secret dew of God’s goodness and blessing upon him in his estate that others have not: and by all this you may see the meaning of that Scripture, Proverbs 16:8. A man that hath but a little, yet if he hath it with righteousness, it is better than a great deal without right; yea better than the great revenues of the wicked…Not only the good things that he hath, he hath the dew of God’s blessing in them, and they are very sweet to him; but all the afflictions, all the evils that do befall him, he can see love in them all, and can enjoy the sweetness of love in his afflictions, as well as in his mercies.”

Jeremiah Burroughs (1600-1646) in Sermon III on Philippians 4:11 in The Rare Jewel of Christian Contentment (London: W. Bentley, 1651) 30.

I am fly fishing with my son, Sammy, today!

We are starting the celebration early as this coming Saturday he will graduate with honors from Colorado Christian University in three years with a biology degree. While he’s had his share of ups and downs, enjoying both times of sweetness and affliction, he is learning to see God’s love and mercies through it all, which is cause for even greater joy that getting a diploma. In the words of Jeremiah Burroughs, he sees “the secret dew of God’s blessings” covering everything in his life with God’s love and mercies!

What’s this got to do with generosity?

While life will be filled with joys and disappointments, those who choose the path of righteousness (think: “God’s way”) find themselves free to live, give, serve, and love because they get their role in God’s plan is not so much to do things for God but to model life with God. That’s where Sammy is at. He has no debt, a great education, and a “little” money with righteousness as Solomon put it. And as he lives faithfully, God will likely entrust him with more and expand his territory.

What’s this mean for the graduates in our lives?

Remind graduates these days who have worked hard and have an exciting future ahead of them that more important than the “diploma” is the seeing “the secret dew of God’s blessings” in life — seeing how His love and mercies cover everything — and urge them to be faithful with the “little” that they have. In academic terms, this is the prerequisite to greater stewardship responsibilities in God’s economy. It’s also the pathway that leads graduates to live generous lives!

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. Romans 8:28

“By its being thus ordered, that the creature should have so absolute and universal a dependence on God, provision is made that God should have our whole souls, and should be the object of our undivided respect. If we had our dependence partly on God, and partly on something else, man’s respect would be divided to those different things on which he had dependence. Thus it would be if we depended on God only for a part of our good, and on ourselves, or some other being, for another part: or if we had our good only from God, and through another that was not God, and in something else distinct from both, our hearts would be divided between the good itself, and Him from whom, and Him through whom, we received it. But now there is no occasion for this, God being not only He from or of whom we have all good, but also through whom, and is that good itself, that we have from Him and through Him. So that whatsoever there is to attract our respect, the tendency is still directly towards God, all unites in Him as the centre.”

Jonathan Edwards (1703-1758) in a sermon entitled “God’s Glorified in Man’s Dependence” in The Works of Jonathan Edwards, A.M. edited by Edward Hickman (London: Ball, Arnold & Company, 1840) 6.

One blessing from my time with my daughter, Sophie, while driving nearly 1,100 miles together these past two days has been (in the words of Jonathan Edwards) her “undivided respect” for God. She mentioned numerous times how thankful she is that “God causes all things to work together for good” in her life. Today’s Scripture has been formative for her. Her dependence and trust in God is the bedrock for her generosity toward others. It’s beautiful to see.

Edwards discerns keenly that if there be any thread of independence within us, that is trusting ourselves or anything or anyone apart from God, our hearts will be divided between God and that other thing or other one. How can we see if we have undivided respect toward God? That’s not an easy question for any of us to answer honestly. A glimpse at things like our bank accounts, our credit card statements, and our schedules may offer clues.

Perhaps take a few minutes today, and ask God this question: Is there anything or anyone in my life that I am depending on in addition to or other than God? Friends, it’s easy to follow the path of the Israelites who worshiped the golden calf instead of the God who gave them the golden calf (cf. Exodus 32-34). Whatever comes to mind, let go of it. Make God the center of your trust. And find peace in the care of the God who works all things for our good.

He humbled you, causing you to hunger and then feeding you with manna, which neither you nor your ancestors had known, to teach you that man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD. Deuteronomy 8:3

“The wisdom of providence is also greatly revealed in the manner of dispensing our portion to us. Many times it allows our wants to pinch hard, and many fears to arise, with a design to magnify the care and love of God in the supply of them (Deut 8:3). Providence so orders the case that faith and prayer come between our wants and His supplies. The goodness of God may be more magnified in our eyes by it. And now let me beg you to consider the good hand of providence that has provided for and suitably supplied you and yours all your days, and never failed you up to now. Labour to walk suitably to your experience of such mercies.”

John Flavel (1630-1691) in The Mystery of Divine Providence (London: W. Baynes & Son, 1820) 47.

I flew from Denver to San Diego yesterday and took this new header photo looking down on my home (pictured somewhere in the bottom left corner of the photo). Sophie and I are part way home and praying to make it back today. Safe travel is one of many gifts of God’s providence.

Sophie and I will have lots of windshield time for conversation. These are a few of the questions I have for her: How have you learned about God’s goodness through tough times and good ones this year? What has been the role of faith and prayer in your life and in your relationships? For what suitable supply are you grateful at this juncture of your journey?

Jenni and I are thrilled by all she’s learning in school, through her service at church, and in her growing, God-honoring relationship with her boyfriend, Peter. What we really get excited about is how she is is learning to “labour to walk suitably” as a result of her experiences.

What about you? We have found that when we live in obedience to God, we learn humble dependence on God. It’s only through the ups and downs of life that we learn how to live godly lives.

For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. Ephesians 6:12

“Spend most of your studies in confirming your belief of the truth of the gospel, the immortality of the soul, and the life to come, and in exercising that belief, and laying up your treasure in heaven; and see that you content not yourselves in talking of heaven, and speaking for it; but that your hopes, your hearts, and your conversation be there; and that you live for it, as worldlings do for the flesh.

Flatter not yourselves with the hopes of long life on earth, but make it the sum of all your religion, care, and business, to be ready for a safe and comfortable death; for till you can fetch comfort from the life to come, you can have no comfort that true reason can justify.

Live as in a constant war against all fleshly lusts, and love not the world, as it cherisheth those lusts. Take heed of the love of money, as the root of manifold evils: think of riches with more fear than desire; seeing Christ hath told us, how hard and dangerous it maketh our way to heaven. When once a man falls deeply in love with riches, he is never to be trusted, but becomes false to God, to all others, and to himself.”

Richard Baxter (1615-1691) in “Farewell Sermon at Kidderminster” in Practical Works of Richard Baxter, ed. by Rev. William Orme (London: James Duncan, 1830) 233.

I’ve turned my attention to Puritan writers for the next week or two. In a conversation with our daughter, Sophie (with whom I will spend this weekend in a car, driving her back from completing her second year at San Diego Christian College) earlier this year, she asked about my favorite Puritan writers. I started the list with John Owen (whom I cited yesterday) and Richard Baxter. Others will follow in the coming days.

The “world” is the word used throughout Scripture as the embodiment of fleshly lusts which can cause a person to miss “heaven” and all God desires for us. It is fitting then, that in Baxter’s “Farewell Sermon at Kidderminster” (about 40 pages at the link above and worth reading), he would exhort us to focus on belief in the truth of the gospel and laying up treasure in heaven. He urges us to live for heaven while the “worldlings” live for the things of this world.

Baxter reminds us of this because we won’t be here on this earth long and while we are here we must be preparing for a “safe and comfortable death” which of course is our peaceful entrance to eternity with Christ. So while we are here, we are living in a constant war. As the Apostle Paul proclaimed in today’s Scripture, “our struggle is not against flesh and blood.” We are bombarded with lies calling us to love the world and to love money, which offers tangible power in the world.

Baxter then rightly and soberly reminds us of how truly dangerous money is for those who desire to make their way to heaven, and makes this strong statement: “When once a man falls deeply in love with riches, he is never to be trusted, but becomes false to God, to all others, and to himself.” Jesus said we can’t serve two masters and those who try, become false to God, others, and themselves.

Let’s live not as “worldlings” but as citizens of heaven and show it by how we handle money! Let’s talk about this with those we love, with those we serve, and with our neighbors, lest any of us be overcome in this constant war that is going on all around us!

Again and again they tested God’s patience and provoked the Holy One of Israel. Psalm 78:41

“God doth not take it well to be limited by us in anything, least of all in His grace. This He calls a tempting of Him (Ps. lxxviii. 41), a provoking temptation. This He could not bear with. If there be any pardon with God, it is such as becomes Him to give. When He pardons, He will abundantly pardon. Go with your half-forgiveness, limited, conditional pardons, with reserves and limitations, to the sons of men. It may be, it may become them; it is like themselves. That of God is absolute and perfect, before which our sins are as a cloud before the east wind and the rising sun.”

John Owen in “The Generosity of God” in The Golden Book of John Owen: Passages from the Writings of the Rev. John Owen, edited by James Moffatt (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1904) 124.

Throughout Psalm 78 we see God’s people fail to follow His ways, and yet, God’s mercy and grace abound. Today, He wants us to learn from this and follow His ways. As Owen put it: “It becomes Him to give.” He desires this for us too.

Our generosity is merely human generosity when we half-forgive, half-pardon, measure things with conditions, reserves and limitations. Thankfully, God did not use such measures toward us. To exhibit Christian generosity means that we abundantly pardon, we abundantly forgive, and we use no reserves or limitations in extending grace toward others. Possible? Only with God! Rather than provoke God today, let us pardon like Him. Rather than test His patience, let’s imitate it with His help.

Father in Heaven, may our generosity toward others not be measured by human standards but by the abundant standard you used with each of us. In your mercy, hear our prayer in the name of Jesus. Amen.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:19

“There are four questions we are wise to ask ourselves on a daily basis.

Question #1: Am I trusting God to provide my daily needs?

We have the privilege of coming to God with every need we have. God is our all-wise, all-powerful, and all-loving heavenly Father — who loved us so much He gave His Son for our eternal salvation. We can certainly trust Him to provide for the things we need to live from day to day on this earth…

Question #2: Am I trusting You, God, to be my security?

No matter what is happening in the world, we can trust God to guide us and to help us make the right decisions in our relationships, our finances, and our vocations. We can’t change the world, but we can put our trust in God who is in control of this world and who can change our lives to conform to His plan for us…

Question #3: Am I willing to risk some of what I have today because I am trusting God to meet my needs tomorrow?

There are those who have full cupboards and absolutely no joy or peace in their hearts. As much as they have, they have no real inner sense of security. On the other hand, there are those who have nearly empty cupboards and yet are filled with joy, peace, and confidence. The issue is not a matter of what we have or don’t have; it’s a matter of how much we are trusting God…

Question #4: Am I trusting You today, Lord, to show me Your way?

Part of trusting God with the future is trusting Him to show you which decisions to make and when to take action on them. You can ask the Lord to show you what to do and when to do it, and to give you confirmation that you are on the right track…”

Charles Stanley in The Source of My Strength: Relying on the Life-Changing Power of Jesus (Nashville: Thomas Nelson, 1994) 46-56.

Last night I took this new header photo while dropping through the clouds coming into Dallas. It was one of those moments when the light shining through the clouds reminded that God sees all the affairs of all people everywhere.

Today, I am in Dallas speaking at the Texas Financial Seminar for Nonprofits and Churches sponsored by Capin Crouse. The theme of the event is “Safeguarding Your Organization.”

Whether for your personal situation or for an organization, the same truths apply, they just need to be scaled. Each of us must trust God to provide, and then be faithful to use what He provides according to His instructions. It’s easier said than done!

That’s why I like Stanley’s four questions — hard but good questions — which highlight the pitfalls to avoid and help us stay on track. In short we must focus on God and on today. When we look at the world and worry about tomorrow we get into trouble.

Pray with me for a good conference and safe travel home. And don’t just consider these four questions today to safeguard your life or ministry, talk about them with at least one other person. It’s a great way to grow in faith together.

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

“You won’t give up on me, will you? asked one young friend in particularly difficult circumstances. Over and over again, her fear of being abandoned surfaced. She worried that she had used up her chances and her friendships as she walked very slowly through a dark valley. She sensed that people were getting weary of her litanies of despair.

In fact, we do tend to expect people to get better, especially if we give them our attention and our help. We trust that they will honor our investment of time and energy by improving, and we often grow impatient if it doesn’t happen quickly. But as we walk alongside people with chronic or terminal illness or other disabling conditions learning the grace of accompaniment is an enormous gift.”

Christine D. Pohl in Living into Community: Cultivating Practices That Sustain Us (Grand Rapids: Eerdmans, 2012) 106.

The grace of accompaniment is about carrying the burdens of those around us. It’s about not giving up on them when things don’t get better as quickly as we would like. Don’t try to be “Savior of the universe” or I suppose “Guardian of the galaxy” as both of those titles are taken (movie lovers will appreciate that one)! It means that our generosity seeks neither to enable others nor endure everything but to shoulder what we can by the grace of God.

If you are struggling today, don’t lose heart. If someone you know is discouraged, urge them to keep looking up. Our Father in heaven sees, knows, and gives grace upon grace both to the suffering and those who accompany them. Father in heaven, give us grace to carry the burdens of others, even when they don’t change or get better as quickly as we’d like. Thanks for loving us. Give us grace in our times of need we ask in the name of Jesus. Amen.

Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. 2 Corinthians 9:6

“Let’s examine Paul’s teaching on the benefits of giving. In 2 Corinthians 9:6-15, Paul explains that there are at least three benefits to good giving.

1. We discover that God graciously enriches good givers (2 Corinthians 9:6-11). If you give generously, God will bless you generously. This is also the message of Proverbs 3:9-10 and 11:24-25. When you are generous you will have all you need so that you can be even more generous…

2. Paul teaches that our good giving supplies the needs of God’s people (2 Corinthians 9:12a). The goal according to 2 Corinthians 8:13-15 is equality — no extremes of poverty or wealth among God’s people. Most likely this is similar to what the early church experienced in Acts 2 and 4, where it says that they had everything in common. Those with wealth gave to help those in poverty.

3. Our good giving leads others to praise God (2 Corinthians 9:12b-15). The implication seems to be that as we help others, they in turn see that God is truly the One supplying their needs and so they give God the praise He deserves.”

Aubrey Malphurs and Steve Stroope in Money Matters in Church: A Practical Guide for Leaders (Grand Rapids: Baker, 2007) 201.

Why explore this classic text afresh today? Someone recently asked me for texts that dismantle prosperity gospel teaching. This is one of them. Notice that “good giving” as Malphurs and Stroope call it, results in our enrichment, but not with the aim of prosperity (think: lavish lifestyle for us as compared to others) but with the aim of equality (think: those with more than enough sharing with those in need). When giving happens following this design, it supplies the real needs of people and results in praise to God.

How does our giving measure up? It’s tempting to seek after prosperity and praise, isn’t it? We must not be fooled. We must not stray to the right or to the left. Let’s trust God to enrich us and focus our giving on equality. God’s people must always “remember the poor” (Galatians 2:8-10), and the poor do not refer to those who can work and won’t work, but those in genuine need (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15). When we care for them, we will be enriched for greater generosity, their needs will be met, and God will get all the glory.