Jouette M. Bassler: Undergirds

Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life. 1 Timothy 6:17-19

“The world ‘rich’ ties admonitions together with an elaborate wordplay. Those who are rich are warned to mistrust the uncertainty of riches, to rely instead on God who richly provides, and to be rich in good works… The concept of God as generous provider undergirds the author’s admonitions concerning the proper attitude toward, and use of, riches… The wealthy are to rid themselves of their reliance on them and to use God’s rich generosity to enable rich generosity of their own.”

Jouette M. Bassler in 1 Timothy, 2 Timothy, and Titus (ANTC; Nashville: Abingdon, 1996), 119.

I am working on a paper I will deliver in Amsterdam at a conference later this month. I located this quote and really appreciated the idea that God’s generosity “undergirds” everything He asks us to do.

In plain terms, we can be generous and ready to share not because we have unlimited resources but because God is the Provider and not us. And we rid ourselves of reliance on money only through obedience.

It all boils down to the proper attitude. Will we see the money as belonging to God or us. Will see consider the provision as coming from our resources or His capacity. This attitude or mindset shapes everything.

If you get this, but know someone who may not understand it, ask yourself if you might be God’s person to share these powerful ideas with your children, grandchildren, or a friend.

Why? Today’s Scripture teaches us that when we grasp this, we take hold of the life that’s truly life. And as we noticed two days ago, if someone fails to understand this, a wrong view of money can ruin their lives.

It’s that important.

But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness. 12 Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses. 1 Timothy 6:11-12

“One of the great countercultural statements Christians can make is to flee from the craving for wealth, living out a life that shows instead the value of family, service and knowing God, putting the needs of others ahead of material goods and their display. This is the kind of life that results in being rich toward God . . . Wealth is to be measured by generosity, the use of these material resources not to make ourself look upscale but to relieve the members of the family of God in any kind of need or distress. As always, the Christian leader is challenged to lead by example in this difficult area.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 1804.

I am safely home, catching up on my rest, doing some praying, writing, working on board reports, and doing some preparation for some upcoming speaking.

In the midst of all this, I am reminded afresh by DeSilva to lead by example.

So today’s post is for Christians anywhere and everywhere who serve in leadership positions. It’s a shoutout to lead by example. We need to model the countercultural perspective that measures wealth by generosity.

What changes might you need to make in your life for this to be so? Ponder this today.

The expression “to make yourself look upscale” really speaks to me. For example, I want the clothing I wear at home and around the world and the possessions I steward to communicate send a message linked to generosity and not materialism.

Consider your witness when you make your spending and giving decisions. Lead by example.

Those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge people into ruin and destruction. 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 6:9-10

“1 Timothy concludes with a lengthy reflection about the nature and potential of material wealth, joining that chorus of New Testament and other early Christian voices that chant a tune quite different from the anthems of capitalist and materialist societies. This text strongly cautions against the deadly dangers of craving money, of making the acquisition of material wealth our primary value. The pursuit of wealth is a driving force of Western society, the key to what many people regard as the path to “life”, to the fullness of what life has to offer. The author warns us that, in the end, it does not deliver what it promises.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 1803.

I have appreciated this exploration of wealth and generosity by DeSilva, a voice with roots from the region of South Asia where I have recently served. I wish Westerners would travel to these places to see the needs.

And I suggest two steps in response. First, abandon the path of acquisition. Stop storing up treasures on earth and put to work the resources in your stewardship. Live differently than the Western society.

Secondly, do not give handouts that create dependency but rather hand ups to build disciples. By this way, you leave the people stronger and not weaker as a result of your engagement.

Sadly most Westerners do the opposite. They see needs and send money overseas. Sending money is the worst thing you can do. Think about it. Jesus did not send help. He came and showed people the way of life. We must do likewise.

Sure, maybe in a humanitarian emergency, crisis funding is vital, but not for supporting ministry. I see all the time recipients who either misused the outside funding or became dependent on external support.

But let me tell you the biggest reason to avoid the wrong path. It’s people. If you pursue being or staying rich, your example destroys people, in most cases, it’s the best way to send your children to ruin and destruction.

Avoid the wrong path at all costs. A few verses later in 1 Timothy, we discover that enjoying and sharing God’s blessings generously is the only way to grasp life and help others to locate it.

The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. James 5:16b

“Prayer is not a means to tap into God’s generosity to serve worldly ends; it is a means for seeking God’s resources for the restoration of the community and each of its members to wholeness.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 1939.

I am somewhere over the Atlantic ocean en route home when this posts. Thanks for your prayers for safe travel. Your prayers make a huge difference. Do let me know if you want a copy of the report of the work in India.

Recently God has moved me to pray for significant resources for GTP.

I don’t meeting the budget. I mean funds for rebuilding what is broken down in countries and for bringing restoration to churches and ministries in many nations that speak common languages.

Pray with me for this. A long list of countries is calling for help to strengthen accountability to grow generosity to churches and ministries.

At GTP we activated Spanish and Chinese teams this past month. I am praying for French, Arabic, Russian, and Hindi teams. Join me in praying for this. I and others will pour into the teams so they can go and do more than we could imagine.

It the prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective, imagine the impact of many people praying.

And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased. Hebrews 13:16

“The anonymous letter to the “Hebrews” provides the interpreter with neither the identity of the author nor that of the recipients. We do not know when it was written, and the location of both author and recipients remains unclear. Nevertheless, its message remains clear and pertinent: God’s favor and benefits are worth the cost of keeping faith with Him, no matter how great the pressure society places on the disciples to mute their witness and compromise their obedient response to God’s generosity. The cost paid by the Son to bring the disciples into God’s favor, moreover, necessitates their perseverance in fidelity to that relationship.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 1809.

This post makes sense where I find myself today. Pray for me as I wrap up commitments in India today.

“God’s favor and benefits are worth the cost of keeping faith with Him, no matter how great the pressure society places on the disciples to mute their witness and compromise their obedient response to God’s generosity.”

I will finish the trip report and start the long journey home late tonight. Reply if you want a copy.

No widow may be put on the list of widows unless she is over sixty, has been faithful to her husband, and is well known for her good deeds, such as bringing up children, showing hospitality, washing the feet of the Lord’s people, helping those in trouble and devoting herself to all kinds of good deeds. 1 Timothy 5:9-10

“Do some merit support more than others? If so, support for them must come first and not be lacking. The author [of 1 Timothy] insists that consideration be given to those who have spent themselves and their resources on the life of the community of faith. That they have the first claim to the generosity of that community in their time of need is basic to the
code of reciprocity.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 1806.

This text rings especially relevant to me as I serve in India. This country has 1.5 billion people so imagine the number of widows here. Churches and ministries that support them do well to follow the biblical instructions here.

Take care of the people who have cared for the community. Reflect this witness to the watching world to inspire others to join this community of love and generosity. But sadly, the developed world has taken a different path.

In my country, USA, the prevailing narrative mirrors the Rich Fool in Luke’s Gospel. Most people choose a path that says to store up treasures for yourself because you have to look after yourself when you are older.

And ironically, though I am not there to celebrate, today marks Independence Day in my country. See how deep the cultural value runs. I wish it was called Interdependence Day, to teach us to rely on God and each other in community.

Imagine the witness Western churches could have. If instead of hoarding money we used it to help the widows among us. As I serve workers who serve widows it makes me sad that churches in my country don’t do this.

God, help our actions reflect biblical patterns rather than cultural norms. Forgive our greed and selfishness. Teach us to care for one another and give priority to those who merit it within the community with our generosity. Amen.

Paul, a prisoner of Christ Jesus, and Timothy our brother, to Philemon our dear friend and fellow worker — also to Apphia our sister and Archippus our fellow soldier — and to the church that meets in your home: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

Therefore, although in Christ I could be bold and order you to do what you ought to do, yet I prefer to appeal to you on the basis of love. It is as none other than Paul — an old man and now also a prisoner of Christ Jesus — that I appeal to you for my son Onesimus, who became my son while I was in chains. Formerly he was useless to you, but now he has become useful both to you and to me.

I am sending him — who is my very heart — back to you. I would have liked to keep him with me so that he could take your place in helping me while I am in chains for the gospel. But I did not want to do anything without your consent, so that any favor you do would not seem forced but would be voluntary. Perhaps the reason he was separated from you for a little while was that you might have him back forever — no longer as a slave, but better than a slave, as a dear brother. He is very dear to me but even dearer to you, both as a fellow man and as a brother in the Lord.

So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me. If he has done you any wrong or owes you anything, charge it to me. I, Paul, am writing this with my own hand. I will pay it back — not to mention that you owe me your very self. I do wish, brother, that I may have some benefit from you in the Lord; refresh my heart in Christ. Confident of your obedience, I write to you, knowing that you will do even more than I ask.

And one thing more: Prepare a guest room for me, because I hope to be restored to you in answer to your prayers. Epaphras, my fellow prisoner in Christ Jesus, sends you greetings. And so do Mark, Aristarchus, Demas and Luke, my fellow workers. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit. Philemon 1-25

“This short letter provides a useful study on stewardship and responding to God, cutting through our embarrassment about mixing religion and financial concerns. According to Paul’s model, believers respond to God’s generosity by using whatever God has given to meet the needs of others in the body, just as God has lavished God’s generosity on us in Christ and in supplying the Spirit, and God will continue to act favorably as the time of inheritance draws near. This is how, for Paul, faith becomes effective, meeting real needs within the community of the believers. Paul also removes a major obstacle to unbegrudging generosity, namely, the excuse that we may have been injured in some way by the person in need. Paul tells Philemon not to withhold kindness from Onesimus because of any loss he may have suffered on Onesimus’s account, but rather to symbolically charge that to Paul’s own account. Similarly, we are challenged to measure other people’s “debts” to us against our debt to God, to forgive as freely as we have been forgiven, to share and help as generously as we have been helped and sustained.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 1581.

I felt today’s text and post challenge me to go to a deeper level in my stewardship.

It’s one thing to live, give, serve, and love generously. But it’s a much deeper level of generosity to remove major obstacles to unbegrudging generosity by challenging people who have been injured by people in need to charge the debts of others to our own account.

I am curious how you feel about this. It’s radical but makes total sense.

When we remove major obstacles we behave like Christ. It challenges me to think of how I can motivate people who I think should give more to charge wrongs to me. I need to ponder this further as I want to remove major obstacles to generosity.

Sit in this place with me. Ask yourself what it might look like for you to remove major obstacles. For me, this week, it links to teaching.

The biblical governance sessions are going well. Thanks for your prayers. The participants have come from all over India. It’s humbling and exciting to serve them. As they flourish, the gospel goes forth with power across this densely populated country to the glory of God.

“I have been paid in full and have more than enough; I am fully satisfied, now that I have received from Epaphroditus the gifts you sent, a fragrant offering, a sacrifice acceptable and pleasing to God.” Philippians 4:18

“The subdued tenor of Paul’s expression of thanks has often been noted. Paul seems to say that while he appreciates the thought, he really didn’t need the money. It is doubtful, however, that Paul seeks to belittle the gift. Rather, he affirms that his friends and their concern for him were more important to him than the money. Since Christ has also been at work supplying Paul’s need, Paul must bear witness to the help he has received from his divine Benefactor, balancing this with the help he receives from his human friends. We should note that the Philippians’ act of generosity toward Paul is also a gift to God, a “fragrant offering…acceptable and pleasing to God.” Although Paul is not in a position to repay the favor, he fully anticipates that God will look with favor on the generous act of God’s children and will remember their good character when they are themselves in need of God’s help. Thus in God’s economy no generous act goes unrewarded, even if the human recipients are unable to return a favor.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 1530-1531.

I needed this post today. It sums up in words how I feel. GTP went from 243 givers in 53 countries to 416 givers in 70 countries and. God supplied our current needs through His people. Praise the LORD.

This marks what would I love to say to each and every giver around the world: “In God’s economy no generous act goes unrewarded, even if the human recipients are unable to return a favor.”

I am unspeakably grateful, and I am tired after a long day. Actually, I am nearly exhausted after two weeks on the road. And since wisdom says not to post pictures of my work, hear this in words. Remarkable receptivity and fantastic fruits.

Thanks for your prayers. Don’t stop. I have 3 more days of biblical governance training with 75 ministry CEOs. Imagine the impact of 75 ministries raising local funds, following standards of administration, having good governance. They don’t just survive, they thrive.

Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. 2 Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:1-2

“The connecting word ‘therefore’ (Rom 12:1) that introduces Paul’s exhortations is not artificial. The life of obedience is entirely a grateful response to God’s benefactions and entirely predicated on them. Morality is not to be detached from theology but is truly only meaningful, possible and desirable when the connection between God’s gift and our response is made clear. The only fitting response to such selfless generosity on the part of God — the self-giving of the benefactor — is a like return from the recipients of God’s beneficence: “I appeal to you, therefore, brothers and sisters, through the mercies of God, to present your bodies as living and holy sacrifices, acceptable to God.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 1463.

For too many of us, our response to God’s benefactions is detached from reality. It marks a pathetic return, at best, compared to the level of sacrifice of God’s gift for us.

The Apostle Paul appeals to us because of the mercies of God (think: because we did not get the death we deserved) to give our lives as living and set apart sacrifices.

I have one more week of giving my life in service to workers in India. I praise God for continued good health and strength. How can you give your life as a living sacrifice this week for God?

Is it VBS season at your church? Serve. Does your neighbor need assistance? Help. You don’t have to go overseas to aid others. But you do have to leave your comfort zone.

He lifts the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump. Psalm 113:7

“As another example, we may look to the eschatological “parables” in Matthew 24:45–25:46. Throughout this passage honor is promised to those who have lived out their lives faithful to Jesus’ word; dishonor awaits those who fail to take his word to heart and commit their lives to bearing the fruits of righteousness. In the first parable (24:45–51) the servants who are continually occupied with the business that the master has assigned them will receive honor within the household of the master at his return. Those who neglect their service will be shamed and cast out from the household. In the parable of the talents (25:14–30) the language of approval and disapproval comes to the fore as the master praises and exalts those who use what the master has entrusted to them to increase the kingdom, but the one who fails in this regard comes to disgrace, being branded “worthless”, “wicked and lazy”, and being excluded from the kingdom. Finally, those who have engaged in works of love, deeds of charity and mercy toward the hungry, weak, sick, poor, and imprisoned are pronounced “honored” or “favored” by God (Mt 25:34). Here believers are taught that, ultimately, their honor depends not on networking with the rich and powerful but with responding in mercy and generosity toward the needy and nobodies.”

David DeSilva in An Introduction to the New Testament: Contexts, Methods, and Ministry Formation (Downers Grove: IVP Academic, 2004) 665.

I think there are more “needy and nobodies” in India than any other country on the planet, so this reading really stuck out to me.

Yesterday I had the privilege of training 59 workers to raise local funds. It went fantastic in collaboration with Sanjay Patra, Manju George, and Mercia Justin. These 59 stewards serve the poor, lead ministries, run hospitals, provide education for the marginalized, and more.

Their receptiveness to the training renewed my enthusiasm to serve those who work with the “needy and nobodies” after a tough day before.

Today marks the end of the fiscal year for GTP. If you have not given yet this year, I invite you to do so here. Your support cover trips like this one which results in the lifting of “the poor from the dust and the needy from the garbage dump.” Thanks.