Redeemer is a church in Manchester always looking to grow closer to God and more in love with others. We’ve been looking at our habits as a way to do just that.
Generosity: Rebelling Against the Consumerist Industrial Complex
We live in a transactional culture. If you have any problem at all, I bet there's a way you can pay your way out of it. When we're sad, we go buy something and call it retail therapy. Then, when we're happy, we go shopping and call it a celebration.
When we don't have enough money, we lose sleep over it. Money physically affects us, and when we're happy, sad, or worried, we can easily look to money to fix things.
There is a toxic combination of technology, business, habits, capitalism, wealth, power, and knowledge that all intertwine. I call it the Consumerist Industrial Complex. The Consumerist Industrial Complex works tirelessly to keep you stuck in a transactional culture. Billion-pound companies spend every moment of every day making sure you stay hooked into the machine.
Have you tried to find somewhere just to sit in Chorlton without paying for something?
The Scarcity Mindset
There's a reason all of this works. There's a reason the Consumerist Industrial Complex has so much power over us to begin with. It works not because there are powerful and (maybe) evil corporations out there. It works because we love ourselves more than others. It's our broken hearts that we give over to this dehumanising machine.
The heart of the Consumerist Industrial Complex, this transactional culture, is a scarcity mindset.
Transactional means: I pay for what I want, and in order to get something, I pay for it.
Scarcity mindset: A way of thinking that sees the world as having a lack of resources—such as money, time, or love. There's never enough for me, and there's not enough going around, so I need to get mine where I can. There is never enough. This leads to fear, anxiety, and toxic individualism. I have to get what I can.
We give all of life the Netflix treatment, browsing what we want, getting it at our leisure, and we pay for it. Oh, we pay for it.
A favourite singer-songwriter of mine, Joe Pug, has these wonderful lines that encapsulate the Consumerist Industrial Complex we're stuck in:
"The more I buy / The more I'm bought The more I'm bought / The less I cost"
It's dehumanising.
Enter Jesus: The Generous One
Enter Jesus, who gives us a different way to live. He tells us not to live with scarcity but with its opposite: generosity. Generosity is a rebellion against the Consumerist Industrial Complex. It is what makes our souls happy.
Our time, our talents, our treasure—we are to give them away freely because we know that if we're in God's kingdom, there is never scarcity. What is often described instead is an overflow!
Scarcity: Lack Generosity: Overflow
Scarcity: Get for yourself Generosity: Give for others
Scarcity: When giving, it's to get something in return (transactional). Control. Generosity: Can be free in giving. Doesn't have to be connected to control. We get to give.
Scarcity: Produces fear, anxiety, inward focus Generosity: Produces joy, freedom, outward focus
This isn't just something Jesus tells us to do. Before He tells us to do it, He goes first:
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).
Jesus not only taught about being generous; He lived it in ways beyond us. So the more we practise generosity in our lives, the more we act like Jesus. We can all grow in this way, and because it's a way God has called us to live, it's always good for us.
Understanding what it means to be a Christian fundamentally includes grasping this call to generosity.
The Principle: The More You Give, the More You Get
Paul starts with a principle in 2 Corinthians 9:6:
"Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously."
We see this throughout Scripture:
What you put in is connected to what comes out.
"One person gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty" (Proverbs 11:24).
"A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed" (Proverbs 11:25).
"The generous will themselves be blessed, for they share their food with the poor" (Proverbs 22:9).
The more we give, the more we get. If this sounds countercultural, it's because we are stuck in a transactional culture with a scarcity mindset.
If we are living in God's generous kingdom, our typical orientation would be: well, the more I give, the more I get. I'll be eager!
Generosity Is the Entrance Point of a Joy-Filled Life
So that's the principle: the more you give, the more you get. Generosity is the entrance point of a joy-filled life.
It's the opposite of that line we looked at: "The more I buy / The more I'm bought / The more I'm bought / The less I cost."
In fact, one could write:
"The more I give the more I've been given. The more I've been given, the more I am."
The Practice: Starting with the Heart
Paul next goes to the practice in verse 7:
"Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion."
Giving is part of the heart. God tells us to put our money where our heart is. One reason we avoid the practice of generosity is because we're thinking of money first. But the Bible teaches us that with generosity, we start with the heart.
That means we don't start with what we do; we start with who we are. And if you are a Christian, that means you are someone headed to death whom God, in His infinite generosity, plucked from the brink and gave life, gave love, and keeps giving it to us, like a fire hose on full blast.
Not Reluctant
If that's true, that means when we give (for we will), we aren't reluctant. We aren't passive. We are intentional. We chase it down. The opposite of reluctance is eagerness. We are eager to be generous in God's kingdom if we start with the heart.
But we are reluctant by default, though. Humans have always been plagued with materialism. Jesus talked about this in the Sermon on the Mount (to people who lived with much less than we do):
"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moths and vermin destroy, and where thieves break in and steal. But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moths and vermin do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also" (Matthew 6:19-21).
We do store up for ourselves all sorts of treasures.
Not Under Compulsion
Paul also says: "Not under compulsion."
There is no arm-twisting. Another reason we aren't generous is because leaders try to twist our arms. This is something we are highly sensitive to, and that's not a bad thing. We should be wise and watchful.
But here's what I find interesting: most of the people who are highly sensitive to a ministry leader trying to twist their arm to give have actually never been in that situation themselves. They hear stories about it from others or the media. When we internalise this and own this narrative for ourselves, we end up being suspicious in general of anyone in leadership.
At a church in Manchester like Redeemer, we rarely talk about money, and because we don't, our giving isn't as high as it should be. That affects ministry.
We will never put anyone under compulsion. But we will encourage people to live the way God has told them to (even if people don't like that).
What we're told in 2 Corinthians, though, is that being eager in generosity—chasing it down—is a sign of your own maturity in the faith. If your giving isn't really generous, or if you do give and have control issues, this area of your faith can stand to grow a bit.
God Loves a Cheerful Giver
Positively put, verse 7 ends: "For God loves a cheerful giver."
And I dare you to find an unhappy generous person. Generosity feeds joy, which feeds generosity.
How to wrongly interpret this: "If I'm not feeling cheerful, I won't give." I've heard this before, and it's a version of "if I'm not feeling it, I won't do it." That's the opposite of obedience. In fact, obedience calls us to this: I do it even if I don't feel it.
You know what happens when we follow this route? Practice begets feeling. The more we do, the more chance we will feel it. The ideal is to be a cheerful giver, but if you don't give at all, there's no chance!
I wonder how many of us have organised our lifestyles and bigger financial decisions around the Consumerist Industrial Complex. So when we read parts of the Bible like this, we are operating in much thinner margins than we ought to be.
With generosity, we start with the heart. We aren't reluctant; we aren't forced into it. We are eager, and when we give, we do so with joy. This gives us joy.
The Generosity Mindset: God Is Able
Let's delve into what a generosity mindset looks like. It all starts with who God is and what He does for us.
Verse 8 says: "And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work."
He's able! This is the kind of God He is! He has everything—literally the universe. He owns it! That's our Father. Notice how Paul writes this: "having all that you need." It's not that you need to work for it, get good to get it, or do some special dance. The good news of the gospel is that, in Jesus, we already have all that we need. All things, all times... (does this include our bank balance?) Paul assumes it!
How God Gives Us Everything
God of all things gave Himself for you! And He keeps giving Himself to you through the Holy Spirit.
If that's true, why don't we act like it? When we aren't generous, when we don't give, we are saying in our actions that we don't believe this is who God is. That He's either not generous Himself, or He doesn't want to bless us, or He isn't able to. You see how our giving is linked to our heart? We put our money where our heart is. If we believe God to be who He is, we are freed to be generous, and we'll be eager to follow through.
In fact, the reason we are given all that we need is for a purpose: "you will abound in every good work." God has given you what you have in order for you to be part of His plan of drawing all people to Himself.
Freely Scattering Gifts
So, if you are God's son or daughter, you have been given all that you need. You are called "the righteous," and this verse that Paul quotes from Psalm 112 should describe you:
"As it is written: 'They have freely scattered their gifts to the poor; their righteousness endures forever'" (verse 9).
The previous verse says: their hearts have no fear. To have no fear in your heart, to not be stuck in a scarcity mindset, means you can freely scatter your gifts—to those who need it most. And we believe that the spiritually deprived in South Manchester need Jesus.
Now Paul applies the principle in practice, in a generosity mindset (verses 10-11):
"Now he who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food will also supply and increase your store of seed and will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness. You will be enriched in every way so that you can be generous on every occasion, and through us your generosity will result in thanksgiving to God."
This is a promise. Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. If you want a small Christian life, don't be generous. If you want an expansive Christian life, be generous.
How Should We Give?
Let's say to begin with: if you aren't a Christian, there is no expectation of you giving to the church. But I hope you'd see how living in God's kingdom unlocks a way of being generous that people who aren't Christians just don't have access to.
And the other side: if you are a Christian, we are called to put our money where our mouth is—hopefully, where our heart is. You say God will provide? Good. Let's live like it.
How Much Should We Give?
In the Old Testament, the standard was 10%—that's what the word "tithe" means. A tenth went to the Levites, the priests. But then there were other offerings as well. Scholars estimate between 20-30% in the Old Testament.
This is actually a very helpful number for us. If you pay taxes, this could be similar to what you pay and what you can give to the church.
But what goes on in the New Testament? We don't see the word "tithe" used. There is no 10% command in the New Testament, but every leader, scholar, and mature Christian will say: it's a good guideline, a good starting point. Some people might make more money and are able to give more; some make less and need to give less. Remember, the principle is based first in generosity, not material amount. £20 per month for one person could be generous, whereas £500 per month for another is generous.
So it's probably best not to use the word "tithe" in the New Testament context, but "offerings" instead. But let's not let a more expansive view of generosity translate to us being less generous!
If you are able to and aren't yet giving at least 10% to the local church, you should consider it. There is no generosity without sacrifice. Let's be wise with our money (which has to include sacrificial generosity) and let's not try to co-opt a term like wisdom to legitimate our reluctant giving.
By the way, as a church, we are sacrificially generous. When you start a new giving plan, 100% of that first gift goes to people who are homeless through ROC. And we give a portion of our income to other churches. This is money we could have spent on ourselves, but we want to model being generous as a church for you all.
Who Should We Give To?
You've heard it many times: we are a gospel-formed family on mission. The Bible teaches that the priority of your giving should be to your gospel-formed family on mission. If God has drawn you into this family, this family should be the first priority in giving. Over and over in the New Testament, that's the context for giving: the local church.
In the New Testament, when the giving isn't to the local church, it's to another local church. If the church is a family, it makes sense for you to be responsible with your part as a family member.
Now it's good to give to other organisations—our family does that too. But God teaches a specificity in the priority of our giving because the church is the means God has given us to bring good news to the spiritually deprived. There is nothing like it! It's the only organisation that brings people from death to life, the only organisation that connects gospel actions with gospel words in gospel community. This is what we all get to do! The more of us that do it, the more we get to do more good work. The less you give, the less work we get to do. So how effective are we in ministry? It's up to you!
Give to other organisations, yes, but don't let that eclipse you following the Bible's teaching on giving: making your church your priority. Understanding what it means to join God's mission includes being generous with the church.
If we are a family, the other side of generosity means: if you have needs, this is where we try and meet them! Maybe your question isn't how much should I give, but how am I going to eat? This is also part of being in community—to make it clear that if you have needs, that's an opportunity for us, your family, to be generous. Others' needs give us an opportunity to live this out.
The Ripples of Generosity
If these ideas are radical at all, know that it's because our starting point is that Consumerist Industrial Complex. We have scarcity mindsets.
In the verses after our text today (verses 12-15), Paul writes that when God's people are generous, others praise God. The more we are generous, the more our imaginations get shaped and we see the bigger picture—beyond the pain of money leaving our bank account.
Generosity is always generative. There are always these positive waves that ripple out toward others.
As a church in Manchester, we're learning together what it means to live generously in a culture that constantly pushes us toward scarcity and consumerism. Exploring how to have a meaningful life inevitably leads us to generosity.
Our Generous God
Now, let's end where we began: with our generous God.
"For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich" (2 Corinthians 8:9).
You will never be able to outgive God. And you will find—I promise you—you will find that when you take a step of faith in giving, God will supply what you need. That is my experience, but don't take my word for it.
"And God is able to bless you abundantly, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" (2 Corinthians 9:8).
When we aren't generous, we prevent ourselves from joining in with God's work. When we are generous, we get to join Him in every good work. And others will praise God because of it.
We have been saved to generosity. Our lives, our love, our hope and joy—they get to be filled with joy as we get to be generous. And others will praise God because of it.
The practice of generosity is a rebellion against the Consumerist Industrial Complex, a radical reorientation from scarcity to overflow, from fear to joy, from hoarding to scattering. It's not just about money—it's about who we are and whose we are.
When we start with the heart, when we give eagerly and cheerfully, when we trust that God is able to bless us abundantly, we discover that generosity doesn't deplete us—it fills us. We find that the more we give, the more we receive. We experience the truth that in God's kingdom, there is always overflow, never scarcity.
This is the joy-filled, generous life that Jesus invites us into. Not as a burden, not as compulsion, but as a gift. Because when we're generous, we look most like our generous God.