Radical generosity leads to radical impact. I believe that more than almost anything. Generosity opens the doors to allow us to impact, influence, and ultimately shape our culture and the people around us. I was studying Luke 16:10-13 recently and came across three realities that I think shape us in how we think about our finances. Over the next couple of days I'll unpack them here.
Luke 16:10 says "Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much. So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?"
Reality #1 - Money is a test for what matters most.
A lot of times we hear people say things like "If I had their money, I'd be a lot more generous." It's easy to look at how much an athlete gets paid, for example, and insist that if it were us we would give away our whole salary and live off of endorsements, etc. Can I just say it? That's bull. No we wouldn't. I know we like to think that, and maybe it gives us an excuse for why we aren't generous now, but the fact is that we wouldn't change. Jesus says basically the same thing above. He says that however you are now is exactly the same person you would be if you added a bunch of zeros to your account. More money doesn't make a stingy person generous. All it does is magnify what the person already is.
And beyond that, Jesus says here that money is simply a test for what really matters. If we can't be trusted with something as insignificant as money, why would he trust us with what really matters - "true riches." You see, Jesus is talking about a lot more than cash here. In fact he contrasts "worldly wealth" with "true riches." For Jesus, the opportunity to have influence and to impact those around us comes as a result of how we steward the physical stuff he gives us. So if you and I want to have radical impact on those around us, how we use our money and what we do with it matters.
Radical impact comes from Radical Generosity.
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