Cyprian of Carthage: No hesitation or preference

The wife of a man from the company of the prophets cried out to Elisha, “Your servant my husband is dead, and you know that he revered the Lord. But now his creditor is coming to take my two boys as his slaves.” 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.” Elisha said, “Go around and ask all your neighbors for empty jars. Don’t ask for just a few. Then go inside and shut the door behind you and your sons. Pour oil into all the jars, and as each is filled, put it to one side.” She left him and shut the door behind her and her sons. They brought the jars to her and she kept pouring. When all the jars were full, she said to her son, “Bring me another one.” But he replied, “There is not a jar left.” Then the oil stopped flowing. She went and told the man of God, and he said, “Go, sell the oil and pay your debts. You and your sons can live on what is left.” 2 Kings 4:1-7

“Thus that widow in the book of Kings, when in the drought and famine, having consumed everything, she had made of the little meal and oil which was left, a cake upon the ashes, and, having used this, was about to die with her children, Elisha came and asked that something should first be given him to eat, and then of what remained that she and her children should eat. Nor did she hesitate to obey; nor did the mother prefer her children to Elisha in her hunger and poverty. Yea, there is done in God’s sight a thing that pleases God: promptly and liberally is presented what is asked for. Neither is it a portion out of abundance, but the whole out of a little, that is given, and another is fed before her hungry children; nor in penury and want is food thought of before mercy; so that while in a saving work the life according to the flesh is contemned, the soul according to the spirit is preserved.

Therefore Elisha, being the type of Christ, and showing that according to His mercy He returns to each their reward, answered and said: “Thus saith the Lord, The vessel of meal shall not fail, and the cruse of oil shall not be diminished, until the day that the Lord giveth rain upon the earth.” According to her faith in the divine promise, those things which she gave were multiplied and heaped up to the widow; and her righteous works and deserts of mercy taking augmentations and increase, the vessels of meal and oil were filled. Nor did the mother take away from her children what she gave to Elisha, but rather she conferred upon her children what she did kindly and piously. And she did not as yet know Christ; she had not yet heard His precepts; she did not, as redeemed by His cross and passion, repay meat and drink for His blood. So that from this it may appear how much he sins in the Church, who, preferring himself and his children to Christ, preserves his wealth, and does not share an abundant estate with the poverty of the needy.”

Cyprian of Carthage (190-258) in his Treatise 8. On Works and Alms, 17.

This may be a long post and may employ somewhat archaic English but don’t miss the powerful message. The widow did not do two things we also must not do.

Firstly, she did not hesitate. In our generosity to God’s work, we must not hesitate. Not for a minute. When God whispers, nudges, moves us to give, or puts opportunities before us to deploy His resources, we must not hesitate.

Secondly, she gave no preference. This may even offend some people. But hear this. We must put God ahead of our family. God will also call us to care for our family but we must never say family first but rather God first in all things.

If we do not hesitate and show no preference, God will look after us and our families like he did look after the widow. This is what Christ will do for us.

Our role is to live, give, serve, and love with no hesitation and no preference trusting Christ to care for us and our families better than we can. Let’s do this.

And pray for God’s blessing today on the Stations of Generosity Youth event serving the young people of Cayman Islands. Thanks. We pray a movement starts here from their radical obedience.

[Jesus] looked up and saw rich people putting their gifts into the treasury; He also saw a poor widow put in two small copper coins. He said, “Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them, for all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4

“But you who are such as this, cannot labour in the Church. For your eyes, overcast with the gloom of blackness, and shadowed in night, do not see the needy and poor. You are wealthy and rich, and do you think that you celebrate the Lord’s Supper, not at all considering the offering, who come to the Lord’s Supper without a sacrifice, and yet take part of the sacrifice which the poor man has offered?

Consider in the Gospel the widow that remembered the heavenly precepts, doing good even amidst the difficulties and straits of poverty, casting two mites, which were all that she had, into the treasury; whom when the Lord observed and saw, regarding her work not for its abundance, but for its intention, and considering not how much, but from how much, she had given, He answered and said, “Verily I say unto you, that that widow hath cast in more than they all into the offerings of God. For all these have, of that which they had in abundance, cast in unto the offerings of God; but she of her penury hath cast in all the living that she had.”

Greatly blessed and glorious woman, who even before the day of judgment hast merited to be praised by the voice of the Judge! Let the rich be ashamed of their barrenness and unbelief. The widow, the widow needy in means, is found rich in works. And although everything that is given is conferred upon widows and orphans, she gives, whom it behoved to receive, that we may know thence what punishment, awaits the barren rich man, when by this very instance even the poor ought to labour in good works.

And in order that we may understand that their labors are given to God, and that whoever performs them deserves well of the Lord, Christ calls this “the offerings of God,” and intimates that the widow has cast in two farthings into the offerings of God, that it may be more abundantly evident that he who hath pity on the poor lendeth to God.”

Cyprian of Carthage (190-258) in his Treatise 8. On Works and Alms, 15.

Let Cyprian’s words sink in.

Jesus cares “not how much, but from how much” we give. Or in plain terms, He cares not about how much we give, but about how much we hold back and what that says about our hearts.

If you have an abundance, let me suggest a place to put it.

Share it with the poor of the world, but not as a handout that creates a dependency. Give them a hand up to build them as disciples who can build up others. Give to GTP here.

That’s our work at GTP. Let me explain.

We have workers in places like Albania, Brazil, and Japan begging for GTP to engage translation work of resources to help them strengthen administration, local resource development, and biblical governance of ministry.

They don’t want to rely on handouts from outsiders. They want to be taught and trained to aid others.

That’s partly what I am doing in Cayman Islands this week (pictured above). At GTP, we’ve poured into workers like Rev. Dr. Sylvia Wilks. She has passed the instruction on to others.

It’s resulted in a movement to form a peer accountability group here.

But let’s go back to your situation. If you are sitting on earthly wealth, then Cyprian’s words are fitting for you. Don’t be overcome by “barrenness and unbelief” but put in all you have so that you too may be “praised by the voice of the Judge.”

You never realize that Christ is all you need until He’s your only hope for today and the future.

If this seems radical to you, I want to invite you to journey through Lent with me and GTP. I wrote a devotional book called Lent Companion, and will be doing three instructional zooms during Lent on Giving, Prayer, and Fasting.

Click here to register to join this global Lent cohort at no cost.

You say, ‘I am rich; I have acquired wealth and do not need a thing.’ But you do not realize that you are wretched, pitiful, poor, blind and naked. I counsel you to buy from me gold refined in the fire, so you can become rich; and white clothes to wear, so you can cover your shameful nakedness; and salve to put on your eyes, so you can see. Revelation 3:17-18

“You are mistaken, and are deceived, whosoever you are, that think yourself rich in this world. Listen to the voice of your Lord in the Apocalypse, rebuking men of your stamp with righteous reproaches: “Thou sayest,” says He, “I am rich, and increased with goods, and have need of nothing; and knowest not that thou art wretched, and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked. I counsel thee to buy of me gold tried in the fire, that thou mayest be rich; and white raiment, that thou mayest be clothed, and that the shame of thy nakedness may not appear in thee; and anoint thine eyes with eye-salve, that thou mayest see.” [Revelation 3:17-18] You therefore, who are rich and wealthy, buy for yourself of Christ gold tried by fire; that you may be pure gold, with your filth burnt out as if by fire, if you are purged by almsgiving and righteous works. Buy for yourself white raiment, that you who had been naked according to Adam, and were before frightful and unseemly, may be clothed with the white garment of Christ. And you who are a wealthy and rich matron in Christ’s Church, anoint your eyes, not with the collyrium of the devil,  but with Christ’s eye-salve, that you may be able to attain to see God, by deserving well of God, both by good works and character.”

Cyprian of Carthage (190-258) in his Treatise 8. On Works and Alms, 14.

This post touched me deeply. My prayer for my 5,322 daily posts and counting is for them to serve as salve “so you can see” what to do with earthly riches.

I appreciate hearing him say that almsgiving and righteous works purge us.

Some people misunderstand that as sounding like our works save us. They do not. Almsgiving and righteous works sanctify or cleanse us from worldly thinking and behavior.

I fly from Newark to George Town, Grand Cayman today. Pray for safe travel.

Pray also for my GTP meetings this week activating a peer accountability movement in Cayman Islands. That country is known for great banking standards.

Soon also for their church and ministry administration and governance standards.

But God said to him, ‘You fool! This very night your life will be demanded from you. Then who will get what you have prepared for yourself?’ Luke 12:20

“Wherefore do you applaud yourself in those vain and silly conceits, as if you were withheld from good works by fear and solicitude for the future? Why do you lay out before you certain shadows and omens of a vain excuse? Yea, confess what is the truth; and since you cannot deceive those who know, utter forth the secret and hidden things of your mind. The gloom of barrenness has besieged your mind; and while the light of truth has departed thence, the deep and profound darkness of avarice has blinded your carnal heart. You are the captive and slave of your money; you are bound with the chains and bonds of covetousness; and you whom Christ had once loosed, are once more in chains. You keep your money, which, when kept, does not keep you. You heap up a patrimony which burdens you with its weight; and you do not remember what God answered to the rich man, who boasted with a foolish exultation of the abundance of his exuberant harvest: “Thou fool,” said He, “this night thy soul is required of thee; then whose shall those things be which thou hast provided?” Why do you watch in loneliness over your riches? why for your punishment do you heap up the burden of your patrimony, that, in proportion as you are rich in this world, you may become poor to God? Divide your returns with the Lord your God; share your gains with Christ; make Christ a partner with you in your earthly possessions, that He also may make you a fellow-heir with Him in His heavenly kingdom.”

Cyprian of Carthage (190-258) in his Treatise 8. On Works and Alms, 13.

Cyprian has a way with words.

Today he points out that fear and solicitude seem logical but they limit our generosity and guide us down a path of foolishness and disobedience.

Instead, he beckons us to do the opposite of what the world teaches us.

He says, “Divide your returns with the Lord your God; share your gains with Christ; make Christ a partner with you in your earthly possessions, that He also may make you a fellow-heir with Him in His heavenly kingdom.”

As we approach Lent, it takes shape as a season to learn to divide and share.

The more we do it, the more we realize that it loosens the chains and bonds of covetousness and puts us on a path of freedom and joy. Stay tuned as I will invite you to do Lent together.

And pray for me as I travel to Newark today to connect to Grand Cayman in the morning tomorrow.

GTP has been invited to come do a “Stewardship and Standards” launch event to form a working group who will draft standards and start a peer accountability group (like ECFA in USA) for Cayman Islands.

I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings. Luke 16:9

“Unless you imagine that he who feeds Christ is not himself fed by Christ, or that earthly things will be wanting to those to whom heavenly and divine things are given, whence this unbelieving thought, whence this impious and sacrilegious consideration? What does a faithless heart do in the home of faith? Why is he who does not altogether trust in Christ named and called a Christian? The name of Pharisee is more fitting for you. For when in the Gospel the Lord was discoursing concerning almsgiving, and faithfully and wholesomely warned us to make to ourselves friends of our earthly lucre by provident good works, who might afterwards receive us into eternal dwellings, the Scripture added after this, and said, “But the Pharisees heard all these things, who were very covetous, and they derided Him” [Luke 16:14] Some suchlike we see now in the Church, whose closed ears and darkened hearts admit no light from spiritual and saving warnings, of whom we need not wonder that they contemn the servant in his discourses, when we see the Lord Himself despised by such.”

Cyprian of Carthage (190-258) in his Treatise 8. On Works and Alms, 12.

We show whether we rank among Christians or Pharisees by how we relate to and handle worldly wealth. This statement from Cyprian aims to shock us and get our attention. He adds that in the Church we see people with “closed ears and darkened hearts” and this condition admits “no light from spiritual and saving warnings.”

At times, I can relate to this perspective. I feel my role is prophetic. To call people, myself included, to align with biblical patterns and to remind people of the consequences of disobedience. To hold on to worldly or material wealth on earth or store it up for yourself instead of using it for eternal purposes places you among the Pharisees. Is that where you want to be?

To rank among Christians, use all you are and all you have for earthly responsibilities and to accomplish eternal purposes. You will find life and joy coupled with inevitable challenges that strengthen your faith and dependence on God when you choose the righteous path.

Don’t allow covetousness to trick you into holding on to wealth, like it did to the Pharisees, lest it drag you to destruction like it did for them.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. Psalm 23:1

“Are you afraid that your patrimony perchance may fall short, if you should begin to do liberally from it? Yet when has it ever happened that resources could fail the righteous man, since it is written, “The Lord will not slay with famine the righteous soul?” [Proverbs 10:3] Elijah in the desert is fed by the ministry of ravens; and a meal from heaven is made ready for Daniel in the den, when shut up by the king’s command for a prey to the lions; and you are afraid that food should be wanting to you, laboring and deserving well of the Lord, although He Himself in the gospel bears witness, for the rebuke of those whose mind is doubtful and faith small, and says: “Behold the fowls of heaven, that they sow not, nor reap, nor gather into barns; and your heavenly Father feedeth them: are you not of more value than they?” God feeds the fowls, and daily food is afforded to the sparrows; and to creatures which have no sense of things divine there is no want of drink or food. Thinkest thou that to a Christian — thinkest thou that to a servant of the Lord — thinkest thou that to one given up to good works — thinkest thou that to one that is dear to his Lord, anything will be wanting?”

Cyprian of Carthage (190-258) in his Treatise 8. On Works and Alms, 11.

We are getting a massive winter storm in Denver. It’s wet and heavy. It’s how God supplies moisture to the land. He’s a faithful Supplier of everything creation needs and everything we need. And it’s beautiful to look at!

I appreciated the recollection that He cared for Elijah and Daniel and will care for the righteous. This represents another one of those choices we must make. If we choose the right path, He will care for us too.

This brings to mind the well-known psalm and today’s Scripture reference. When the LORD is our shepherd we shall have no want. If we decide, instead, to shepherd ourselves, we will live in perpetual want. It’s the result of our own choice.

Generosity comes into view today in two ways. One, God is the faithful Provider of the righteous. And two, those who trust in Him to supply get to reflect a righteous witness of experiencing no want to a watching world.

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.” Hebrews 13:5

“You are afraid lest perchance your estate should fail, if you begin to act liberally from it; and you do not know, miserable man that you are, that while you are fearing lest your family property should fail you, life itself, and salvation, are failing; and whilst you are anxious lest any of your wealth should be diminished, you do not see that you yourself are being diminished, in that you are a lover of mammon more than of your own soul; and while you fear, lest for the sake of yourself, you should lose your patrimony, you yourself are perishing for the sake of your patrimony. And therefore the apostle well exclaims, and says: “We brought nothing into this world, neither indeed can we carry anything out. Therefore, having food and clothing, let us therewith be content. For they who will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many and hurtful desires, which drown a man in perdition and in destruction. For covetousness is a root of all evils, which some desiring, have made shipwreck from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”

Cyprian of Carthage (190-258) in his Treatise 8. On Works and Alms, 10.

I love how Cyprian writes and employs Scripture to make his points.

Today he alerts us to not allow fear and anxiety to hinder our obedience. Worrying about whether our estate will diminish or fail should we give generously causes us to be diminished and fail. This is a powerful idea.

Worrying about our patrimony causes us to perish for the sake of our patrimony.

The writer of Hebrews urges readers to keep their lives free of the love of money and rest in the fact that they have God who will neither leave nor forsake them. This aims to lead us to peaceful contentment.

Sadly, what we worry about both controls us and becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Notice how God gives us what we choose. Those who are afraid and anxious get the fruits of that choice. They themselves are diminished in the process. But those who choose liberal generosity grasp peace and life in God.

The choice is yours. Remember God is watching and will give you what you choose.

Shout out; do not hold back! Lift up your voice like a trumpet! Announce to my people their rebellion, to the house of Jacob their sins. Isaiah 58:1

“Finally, beloved brethren, the divine admonition in the Scriptures, as well old as new, has never failed, has never been silent in urging God’s people always and everywhere to works of mercy; and in the strain and exhortation of the Holy Spirit, every one who is instructed into the hope of the heavenly kingdom is commanded to give alms.

God commands and prescribes to Isaiah: “Shout,” says He, “with strength, and spare not. Lift up thy voice as a trumpet, and declare to my people their transgressions, and to the house of Jacob their sins” [Isaiah 58:1]. And when He had commanded their sins to be charged upon them, and with the full force of His indignation had set forth their iniquities, and had said, that not even though they should use supplications, and prayers, and fastings, should they be able to make atonement for their sins; nor, if they were clothed in sackcloth and ashes, be able to soften God’s anger, yet in the last part showing that God can be appeased by almsgiving alone.

He added, saying, “Break thy bread to the hungry, and bring the poor that are without a home into thy house. If thou seest the naked, clothe him; and despise not the household of thine own seed. Then shall thy light break forth in season, and thy garments shall arise speedily; and righteousness shall go before thee, and the glory of God shall surround thee. Then shalt thou cry, and God shall hear thee; whilst yet thou art speaking, He shall say, Here I am” [Isaiah 58:1-9].”

Cyprian of Carthage (190-258) in his Treatise 8. On Works and Alms, 4.

I am safely home from Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan. And, this may sound funny to some of you, but I thought of doing laundry when I read this. One of the first things I do when I return home from a trip is put all my clothes in the laundry.

So, when I read the word, “Shout,” I thought of the cleaner used to remove stains from my clothing. And then I pondered this idea further. Lent is a time to focus on prayer, fasting, and giving to “shout” the stains out of our lives.

But we don’t remove the stains just to be clean. We remove them to prepare us for service that brings justice, serves the poor and needy, and makes things right where God has placed us.

Mark your calendar to make the Lenten journey this year from 14 February to 31 March 2024. And invite at least one neighbor to join you. Pray today about who that person might be and invite them.

As it is written: “There is no one who is righteous, not even one. Romans 3:10

“Let us then acknowledge, beloved brethren, the wholesome gift of the divine mercy; and let us, who cannot be without some wound of conscience, heal our wounds by the spiritual remedies for the cleansing and purging of our sins. Nor let any one so flatter himself with the notion of a pure and immaculate heart, as, in dependence on his own innocence, to think that the medicine needs not to be applied to his wounds; since it is written, “Who shall boast that he hath a clean heart, or who shall boast that he is pure from sins?” [Proverbs 20:9] And again, in his epistle, John lays it down, and says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.” [1 John 1:8-9] But if no one can be without sin, and whoever should say that he is without fault is either proud or foolish, how needful, how kind is the divine mercy, which, knowing that there are still found some wounds in those that have been healed, even after their healing, has given wholesome remedies for the curing and healing of their wounds anew!”

Cyprian of Carthage (190-258) in his Treatise 8. On Works and Alms, 3.

I return tonight from two weeks in Hong Kong, China, and Taiwan.

On the last leg of my journey I visited Taipei (pictured above) and met a long-time reader of Daily Mediations, Ning Wang. We had breakfast, shared about our lives, and prayed together.

And praise God, she has agreed to be GTP Country Coordinator for Taiwan. Now, when you read this, I will be somewhere over the Pacific Ocean en route home.

I have seen God work in powerful ways on this trip. It’s been a humble privilege to serve as a conduit of blessing.

And yet, simultaneously, there were many times I felt unprepared, unworthy, or inadequate to deliver powerful and prophetic messages to audiences of tens, hundreds, and thousands.

In the words of Isaiah, I felt like “a man of unclean lips.” Maybe you can relate? It’s one thing to deliver a message to a small group. But when the audience numbers in the thousands, it’s a whole new ballgame.

The fact is that we are all sinners. We are all unclean. We all need washing and cleansing for service.

That’s what Lent is for. In the Western Church calendar, it runs from 14 February to 31 March 2024. It’s like Spring Training for the big leagues of life. And God has given me a fresh vision for Lent this year.

Go through it with a neighbor. Ning told me today she was just telling others about it. You can do this too. Don’t do Lent alone. If you want a travel guide for the journey, download my Lent Companion here.

Why do this? Do it because we are aiming to keep our neighbors ever in our view in 2024. And do it because the process just may give them the wholesome gift of divine mercy.

Giving that gift is the greatest act of generosity you can ever do for a person.

You fools! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? So give as alms those things that are within and then everything will be clean for you. Luke 11:40-41

“As water extinguisheth fire, so almsgiving quencheth sin.” [Sirach 3:20]. Here also it is shown and proved, that as in the laver of saving water the fire of Gehenna is extinguished, so by almsgiving and works of righteousness the flame of sins is subdued. And because in baptism remission of sins is granted once for all, constant and ceaseless labour, following the likeness of baptism, once again bestows the mercy of God.

The Lord teaches this also in the Gospel. For when the disciples were pointed out, as eating and not first washing their hands, He replied and said, “He that made that which is within, made also that which is without. But give alms, and behold all things are clean unto you” [Luke 11:40-41]; teaching hereby and showing, that not the hands are to be washed, but the heart, and that the foulness from inside is to be done away rather than that from outside; but that he who shall have cleansed what is within has cleansed also that which is without; and that if the mind is cleansed, a man has begun to be clean also in skin and body.

Further, admonishing, and showing whence we may be clean and purged, He added that alms must be given. He who is pitiful teaches and warns us that pity must be shown; and because He seeks to save those whom at a great cost He has redeemed, He teaches that those who, after the grace of baptism, have become foul, may once more be cleansed.”

Cyprian of Carthage (190-258) in his Treatise 8. On Works and Alms, 2.

Cyprian first quotes Sirach, also called Ecclesiasticus (not to be confused with Ecclesiastes). In modern times, we include it in the Apocrypha. The early church considered it as a helpful piece of Jewish wisdom literature.

He also cites Luke’s Gospel in admonishing us to wash ourselves, inside and out.

This treatise has got me thinking about Lent which starts in a couple weeks. The aim of the Lenten journey is to wash us on the inside and the outside in preparation for another year of living the Christian journey.

We fast, we pray, and we give to rinse away the foolishness (on the inside) and the foulness (on the outside) so our lives give off the fragrant aroma of Christ. Want to join me on the journey?

If so, download Lent Companion here. In my role as President & CEO of GTP, I plan to invite stewards around the world to a series of zooms during Lent. I will invite you to join as well.

And join me in praying for 34 church and nonprofit workers who travelled from 8 provinces across China to Beijing to get teaching and tools for strengthening biblical governance, resource development, and faithful administration.

And how are they to proclaim Him unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!” Romans 10:15. By the grace of God, the time went without interruption. I am safely in Taipei now.