The reason I've been thinking about this is that I have been considering how the world sees tithes and offerings, charitable giving, and philanthropic efforts. One prevailing view is that if you have more you should give more. (I won't pretend that some of my thought process hasn't been shaped by news stories and discussions on tax code and how to balance the budget). On the other side of charitable giving is the concept of a deal-hunt, where one objective of people at large (including myself) is to think first about preserving the best deal, the best economical choice for myself, and being willing to haggle or walk away. I have gotten bargains where I felt I was getting an absolute steal (in fact a few times such a good deal that I felt that I was taking advantage: like couponing at Shaw's and getting $30 worth of stuff for basically free.)
The main problem is when our purchase mentality crosses over into our generosity mentality. Do we really want to be the person to nickel and dime the Lord? As a corollary, who can we be generous to, if not Him?
Here are a few verses highlighting what we read from the Book of Mormon tonight, which taught me a wonderful lesson. The framework is King Benjamin talking to the believers who have received forgiveness and applied the joy of gospel living to their lives:
11 And again I say unto you as I have said before, that as ye have come to the knowledge of the glory of God, or if ye have known of his goodness and have atasted of his love, and have received a bremission of your sins, which causeth such exceedingly great joy in your souls, even so I would that ye should remember, and always retain in remembrance, the greatness of God, and your own cnothingness, and hisdgoodness and long-suffering towards you, unworthy creatures, and humble yourselves even in the depths ofehumility, fcalling on the name of the Lord daily, and standinggsteadfastly in the faith of that which is to come, which was spoken by the mouth of the angel.Okay, so this is the first mention of dealing justly with fellow man. "Rendering to every man" as far as being honest in making and keeping contracts. The next part is about being good providers to your children, and be a provider to anyone who stands in need.
12 And behold, I say unto you that if ye do this ye shall always rejoice, and be filled with the alove of God, and always bretain a remission of your sins; and ye shall grow in the cknowledge of the glory of him that created you, or in the knowledge of that which is just and true.
13 And ye will not have a amind to injure one another, but to live bpeaceably, and to render to every man according to that which is his due.
14 And ye will not suffer your achildren that they go hungry, or naked; neither will ye bsuffer that they transgress the laws of God, and fight and cquarrel one with another, and serve the devil, who is the master of sin, or who is the devil spirit which hath been spoken of by our fathers, he being an enemy to all righteousness.Seriously? Administer to all that stand in need, even the beggar? Maybe this is more like that friend than I thought. Looking back up to where this started from in verse 11, I see that these are traits of those who have tasted of God's love and retain in their remembrance the greatness and long-suffering of God toward us. They are traits that become evidence of our receiving God and and attributing our blessings to Him.
15 But ye will ateach them to bwalk in the ways of truth andcsoberness; ye will teach them to dlove one another, and to serve one another.
16 And also, ye yourselves will asuccor those that stand in need of your succor; ye will administer of your substance unto him that standeth in need; and ye will not suffer that thebbeggar putteth up his petition to you in vain, and turn him out to perish.
17 Perhaps thou shalt asay: The man has brought upon himself his misery; therefore I will stay my hand, and will not give unto him of my food, nor impart unto him of my substance that he may not suffer, for his punishments are just—These verses speak to my heart. Everything that I have is attributable to God. Much of these blessings have come regardless of my weaknesses and failures. And yet. And yet why do I have such a hard time being charitable sometimes?
18 But I say unto you, O man, whosoever doeth this the same hath great cause to repent; and except he repenteth of that which he hath done he perisheth forever, and hath no interest in the kingdom of God.
19 For behold, are we not all abeggars? Do we not all depend upon the same Being, even God, for all the substance which we have, for both food and raiment, and for gold, and for silver, and for all the riches which we have of every kind?
20 And behold, even at this time, ye have been calling on his name, and begging for a aremission of your sins. And has he suffered that ye have begged in vain? Nay; he has poured out his bSpirit upon you, and has caused that your hearts should be filled with cjoy, and has caused that your mouths should be stopped that ye could not find utterance, so exceedingly great was your joy.
21 And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to aimpartof the substance that ye have one to another.
22 And if ye ajudge the man who putteth up his petition to you for your substance that he perish not, and condemn him, how much more just will be your bcondemnation for withholding your substance, which doth not belong to you but to God, to whom also your life cbelongeth; and yet ye put up no petition, nor repent of the thing which thou hast done.It's not that I have to be rich or notorious to give. Sure I can't give hundreds if all I have is tens. But if I have tens, I can give of the tens. If I have ones, I can give of the ones. There is an opportunity to give and be generous regardless of the magnitude of the giving. Hence, the size of the gift does not indicate the degree of generosity. Instead, it's about consistency, diligence, and intent.
23 I say unto you, wo be unto that man, for his substance shall perish with him; and now, I say these things unto those who arearich as pertaining to the things of this world.
24 And again, I say unto the poor, ye who have not and yet have sufficient, that ye remain from day to day; I mean all you who deny the beggar, because ye have not; I would that ye say in your hearts that: I agive not because I bhave not, but if I had I would cgive.
25 And now, if ye say this in your hearts ye remain guiltless, otherwise ye are acondemned; and your condemnation is just for ye covet that which ye have not received.
26 And now, for the sake of these things which I have spoken unto you—that is, for the sake of retaining a remission of your sins from day to day, that ye may awalk guiltless before God—I would that ye should bimpart of your substance to the cpoor, every man according to that which he hath, such as dfeedingthe hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the sick and administering to their relief, both spiritually and temporally, according to their wants.
27 And see that all these things are done in wisdom and aorder; for it is not requisite that a man should run bfaster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order.It's about being accountable for the things that we've been given, the things we've been loaned, and the things that we have ourselves begged for.
28 And I would that ye should remember, that whosoever among you aborroweth of his neighbor should return the thing that he borroweth, according as he doth agree, or else thou shalt commit sin; and perhaps thou shalt cause thy neighbor to commit sin also.It's about standing tall and doing what's right, even if it's not an easy path. It's about helping others make good decisions by offering encouragement and counsel.
29 And finally, I cannot tell you all the things whereby ye may commit sin; for there are divers ways and means, even so many that I cannot number them.
30 But this much I can tell you, that if ye do not awatchyourselves, and your bthoughts, and your cwords, and your deeds, and observe the commandments of God, and dcontinuein the faith of what ye have heard concerning the coming of our Lord, even unto the end of your lives, ye must perish. And now, O man, remember, and perish not.
Ultimately, I think it comes down to remembering. If we start to be a "big guy," but always remember where we have come from and where our breaks have come from and what factors have combined for our good beyond what we deserve, we will be more inclined to be a factor for good for other people. We will help open doorways for others, we will answer the call when the Holy Spirit guides us to lift a weary head or comfort the downtrodden. We will give more tirelessly, since we know that everything that we ARE is a direct result of our relationship to Him. We are Children of a King, and (vs 19) depend upon him for all of the riches of every kind we have received, or could ever receive.
In that context, why should we resist distributing the riches of every kind in the same manner that He does?
Love it, Joe.
ReplyDeleteI take Mosiah 4 even further, however, beyond generosity of goods/money/etc. It's also about generosity in our "judgment." It's not our job to decide if someone is "worthy" of our help. It's about looking at someone in need and refraining to classify them as "lazy" or "moochers" or "addicts" or any other myriad of categories in which we could slot them. King Benjamin doesn't say, "Give to the poor, unless, of course, they aren't actively looking for a job," or, "Be generous with your means, unless the people are addicted to drugs or alcohol...and then...well...never mind." Nope. That's not what he said.
For a long time, Mosiah 4 has been one of the biggest influences informing the choices I make---with my time, with my money, and especially with my vote.
Awesome discussion, Joe!
ReplyDelete19 For behold, are we not all beggars?
ReplyDeleteWe just read a novel (Borrowed Light by Carla Kelly) which was based on one of the main characters having based his life on this. ( spoiler: His mom was , later to be thought to be one of the little pioneer children that was lost and then brought up by native americans, this scrap was in her shoe, most likely to keep her feet warmer. He did not know where it came from...and spent most of his life trying to find it in the Bible)
I have just read this same scripture as I plan to read the BOM by Valentines day. I love King Benjamin so much.
Thankyou for the post, Joseph!
I think we do need to read this over and over...as we overcome the natural man. ( woman, in my case)
We need to be generous of spirit. Give everyone both the benefit of the doubt, and of our open heart and hands. Why not make life happier for all we meet, in some small way? We are ALL beggars.