I’ve been thinking about the counter-intuitive principles of God.  “Give and you will receive.” ?  But I want, why would I give away?  If I don’t hang onto my time and my stuff won’t I have less for myself?  Yet we have all experienced the satisfying results of genuine generosity- the times we did give ourselves to serve others, or our money to help someone.  Deep down we understand that our giving gets us good things.

“Give and you will receive.”  Luke 6:38

 

Sad?
Make someone else happy

Want others to overlook your faults?
Be gracious and give others the benefit of the doubt.
“Do to others as you would like them to do to you.”  Luke 6:31 

Want to be forgiven when you blow it?
Make a habit of forgiving others.
“Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.”  Luke 6:37

Need money?
Give it away.
When money is tight we must be especially diligent to give back some of our income to God, ie, give to the poor, give for relief efforts, to spreading the gospel, and to supporting those who teach and preach God’s Word. This principle is from the Old Testament and is exemplified in the New Testament. Being generous to those who need it while trusting God to provide for us is an act of faith.  Our giving should be proportionate (10% or so) to our income.  God isn’t comparing my giving with someone whose income is higher or lower than mine. 

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”  Luke 6:38

Lonely?
Give yourself to others. 
Put a priority on relationships above personal comfort.  Love is expressed by time spent with the ones loved, and meeting their needs as God helps us.  Time spent serving our family and friends is a priority we’ll never regret. To have friends, we must be one.  Look for ways to help whether it’s convenient for you or not. 

“Do to others as you would like them to do to you.”  Luke 6:31 

When I was a young adult, I admired a couple old enough to be my parents.  He was a leader in our church, intelligent, and personable. She was everything I hoped to be as a wife, mother, and professional.  Fast forward a couple of decades.  The husband had died after an illness that stole his mental faculties.  She had cared for him unselfishly even when he was an embarrassment to her.  After his death, I noticed that she did many wise things.  One of them was that she continued to be hospitable.  She often filled her home with friends and with those who desperately needed friendship. Out of a heart of love, she continued to serve her large family now grown to include many grandchildren.  I never heard her complain, but I did hear her reprimand herself for whining.  At a well attended party for her milestone birthday, the MC asked the group to raise their hand if they had ever been invited to her home.  Every hand went up!  Wow!  Her love and generosity had extended to us all.  She had invested her time, money, and care wisely for eternal dividends for her and those she served.  And she was a happy, loved woman because of it.

“Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.”  Luke 6:38

This is all well and good, you say, as long as you have likable friends and family.  But how am I supposed to treat those I fundamentally disagree with?  What about the gay nephew who brings his boyfriend to your family gatherings, or the relative who constantly wants to talk about abortion rights?  What about my friend who made it a point to remind me that she’s an atheist during every conversation?  We know from Scripture that even though they may be wrong, we still have to be kind to them.  They probably won’t appreciate us even when we are gracious to them, but God is our example who is kind to the unthankful and the wicked. We are commanded to do good to them and give to them out of a heart of gentleness and kindness. Of course we like those who like us.  The test is whether we will love those who don’t believe as we do or don’t even like us!

“Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.”  Luke 6:35 

 And we never know when our kindness may influence them.  My neighbor who was a little too fond of pointing out that she was an atheist later apologized and stopped making it a painful point.  After I helped following her surgery, we became close friends. 

What if those we disagree with aren’t personal friends, but public figures?  They may be harming themselves, us, and others, but we have to be compassionate and pray for their souls and a change of heart.  We must not ridicule, harass, or wish for their destruction.  

“You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.”  Luke 6:36

This isn’t the same as condoning the godless behavior of any person.  We should judge whether their actions are morally right or wrong.  We must not condone, or approve of behavior that violates God’s principles.  But we must not judge the person assuming we know their motives or what caused them to behave this way.  We simply don’t know what brought them to the place of wrong behavior.  We are right to hate their sins, but we must pray for them to repent and turn to God.  And in the meantime, we must treat them well.

In other words, we have no right to assign the person who is doing wrong to hell.  That is up to God as the rightful Judge of all the earth.  We must remember that we also should be condemned because of our wrong desires and actions, but God is merciful to us and every human and hasn’t given us what we deserve. 

“Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you.”  Luke 6:37

Giving our love, time, money, forgiveness, kindness, and compassion to others will bring it back to us- multiplied!

“. . . love your enemies! Do good to those who hate you.  Bless those who curse you. Pray for those who hurt you. . . Do to others as you would like them to do to you.

 “If you love only those who love you, why should you get credit for that? Even sinners love those who love them! . . . “Love your enemies! Do good to them. Lend to them without expecting to be repaid. Then your reward from heaven will be very great, and you will truly be acting as children of the Most High, for he is kind to those who are unthankful and wicked.  You must be compassionate, just as your Father is compassionate.

 Do not judge others, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn others, or it will all come back against you. Forgive others, and you will be forgiven.  Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full—pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back.” Jesus in Luke 6:27-38