Welcome to this episode of Sonday Life. It’s great to be back with you. This is Episode 31 of our continuing Sonday Life streaming series. This episode is entitled; How Selfless Generosity is Rewarded by God. To answer this question, we’ll look at an example of selfless generosity in Acts 9:36-42.
We’re going to answer three Questions by the end of this episode:
- Is generosity selfless if a repayment or reward is anticipated? Though not required…
- Is generosity selfless if it’s repaid or rewarded unexpectedly?
- How does God reward selfless generosity?
To get our answers, we’ll look at a miraculous incident with a woman named Tabitha in the Book of Acts (Acts 9:36-42).
Joppa (Jaffa) was a seaport and as deeply entrenched in Judaism as Jerusalem.
Tabitha is a disciple, and she is the only woman in the New Testament explicitly identified as a disciple. Mary, Martha, Priscilla, and other women were not identified as disciples, though they were disciples. This shows the reward given to Tabitha by God, honoring her for her ministry to the needy. She served others, and they knew she did this because she was a ‘disciple’ of Jesus Christ. She wasn’t just a good person; she was a disciple. The Gazelle was quick to jump into action whenever someone had a need.
She was always doing good, not just wishing people well and praying for them. She was ‘always’ working to do good things for others. This is an attitude, a mindset, to ‘always’ be looking for opportunities to do good things for others. She had the ability to sew, and she used her talent to help those in need.
The widows showed Peter all that she did; This was her reputation among believers and non-believers alike. People may question our religion, but they can’t question when we help the needy.
Peter gets a lot of bad press for some of the things he did, but here he did a lot of good things;
- He responded when asked (compassion).
- He listened to others (sensitive to emotions).
- He sought God’s will (he prayed).
- He acted (resurrected Tabitha).
Before Peter resurrected Tabitha, he had everyone leave. He didn’t need an audience, not like some evangelists today. First, he prayed for God’s will. Then, knowing God’s will, he asked Tabitha to get up. Everything we do relate to ministering to others for Jesus Christ should be done after we pray.
Tabitha gets up. In chapter 5 of the Gospel of Mark, a synagogue leader named Jarius had a young daughter that fell ill and was dying. He asked Jesus for help. When Jesus arrived, the little girl was dead. Jesus said to the child, ‘Little girl, get up.’ Peter was with Jesus when he resurrected the daughter of Jarius, and he follow his example.
So, now *let’s answer the three questions we asked to begin this episode:
Is generosity selfless if a repayment or reward is anticipated?
Is generosity selfless if it’s repaid or rewarded unexpectedly?
How does God reward selfless generosity?
All three of these questions are answered in the parable Jesus tells in Matthew 25:31-46 about the Sheep and the Goats of a kingdom. This parable compares Jesus coming into his kingdom to a king returning to his land after a long absence. When the king returns, he calls everyone together and separates them into two groups. One group he calls the sheep, and the other he calls the goats. Then the king tells the sheep to enter his kingdom because, when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was a stranger, you invited me in. When I needed clothes, you clothed me. When I was sick, you cared for me. When I was in prison, you visited me. And the chosen responds to him by saying when did we do all this to you? The king says whatever you did for the least in the kingdom, you did for me.
This shows that they did these things not because they were looking for a reward. They didn’t even think their actions were noticed. They did these things selflessly. It was so selfless they didn’t remember they did them. ‘Least’ in this parable means the smallest of all things. The people they helped were those who were viewed as the most insignificant people in society. They had the very least able to repay any kindness. So it shows those the king rewarded weren’t seeking a reward or a repayment.
But on the other side, the king tells the goats to leave his kingdom because they did none of these things. Do they answer the king by saying when did we see you in need of these things and not help you? And the king says to them whatever they didn’t do for the ‘least,’ they didn’t do it to him. This shows that those being kicked out of the kingdom did do things for others, but the others they helped weren’t the most insignificant people in society. Those they helped had the means to reward or repay them, maybe by publicizing what they did or giving them something in exchange for their help.
*Generosity isn’t selfless if it’s done expecting to be repaid or rewarded. It’s the opposite of selflessness.
*Generosity is selfless, though, if it’s rewarded unexpectedly. The person didn’t intend or seek a reward.
*God Rewards Selfless Generosity unexpectedly according to his grace and his will. By his grace and will.
How can we apply these examples of selflessness to our us today?
In Tabitha, we see a woman who everyone loved. All the good she did came from a heart that was filled with and for the love of Jesus. What she did, she did for love alone, no other motives. She gave from her heart. Did she know everyone she made clothes for didn’t waste their money on other things instead of clothes? We’ve seen this, right? Children don’t have food or clothes because their parents have done other things with their money. Should the children go hungry or unclothed?
I once knew a woman who one day cashed her paycheck at her bank at lunchtime on Friday. She was a single parent with a 9-year-old boy. The boy would walk home from school every day and wait for his mom to come home from work. He was a latchkey kid. Well, that Friday, his mom didn’t come home. Three days later, when she did come home, she had no money because when she left the bank, she saw her drug dealer. Was this the little boy’s fault? Did they both need help? Of course, they did, and we got them the help they needed because compassion compels us to act.
Tabitha saw her needs, and she acted. Why someone was in need wasn’t her concern. That’s between them and Christ. It’s the same for us. We’re not the judge of anyone but rather the helper of anyone in need.
As we seek to love others with the love of God, we might be tempted to over-complicate things. Tabitha teaches us to love others by using the gifts given to us by God for his glory by serving those in need around us. We may not be able to make clothes, and maybe we can’t even afford to buy clothes for them, but God has given us some unique gifts that we can use for others. We just have to step out in compassion and faithfulness and use them. Our gift may be to get them to the place where they can get the help they need.
Selfless generosity creates a ripple effect through the lives of those touched by it. Look at the impact Tabitha had on the city of Joppa. Look at Peter’s impact on the world. They used the gifts given to them by God for the benefit of others, and God blessed their lives in ways we can’t comprehend.
God’s given us all gifts. We can use them selfishly or selflessly. Peter and Tabitha gave freely, expecting nothing in return, but God rewards those who don’t expect a reward. In Peter and Tabitha, we see what Jesus said was greatness in the kingdom of heaven.
I’m going to give you three passages for us all to spend some time thinking about, discussing with others, and praying about so God can give us some guidance and understanding about how they fit into our lives as believers in Jesus Christ. These verses emphasize the attitudes we saw described in Acts 9, which Peter and Tabitha exemplified and which we have been discussing for the last four episodes;
- Humility;
- Philippians 2:3
- Compassion;
- Galatians 6:2
- Selfless Generosity
- Acts 20:33-35
This is what we are called to aspire to in our faith and in our actions toward God and others.
