Wednesday, January 24, 2024

“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, New Living Translation)

                We have been hearing a lot about “skimpflation” lately in the news.

                Skimpflation happens when food manufacturers reduce the amounts or the quality of their products to save costs. The products cost the same to us, the consumers, but we are not getting the same goods as we did before. Cereal boxes may be the same size but have less weight of contents. A granola bar was once labeled as being covered in milk chocolate; now all it promises is a “chocolatey coating.” Chip bags are smaller. A popular energy drink has 14% less fluid.  One pizza chain cut its chicken wings from eight pieces to six. We’re paying the same prices, maybe more, and getting less.

                These are tough times. The economy has been very slow in recovering from the pandemic. People are also having to stretch their hard-earned dollars to make ends meet. Food banks have never been so busy or so short of food, sometimes. Homelessness is extensive. Skimpflation seems to have pervaded our culture on many levels.

                Yet, Jesus, far from rich or prosperous himself, dependent on others for his daily bread, spoke against skimpflation. Not that he used such a modern word, but, more likely, he was thinking about miserliness, selfishness, stinginess, greed, hoarding, building our own bigger barns while others go without. We hold back rather than give forward. We hold out rather than hand out.

 Jesus, and likewise God, is synonymous with generosity. “From his abundance we have all received one gracious blessing after another.”  (John 1:16, NLT) Jesus is God’s generous gift for us: “You know the generous grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty he could make you rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9, NLT) Trust in this generosity is of paramount importance: “And God will generously provide all you need. Then you will always have everything you need and plenty left over to share with others.”

And that is the thing here – our willingness to give, share and provide for others because God has been so generous with us. “Yes, you will be enriched in every way so that you can always be generous. And when we take your gifts to those who need them, they will thank God.” (2 Corinthians 9:11, NLT)

In others words, don’t be skimpy when it comes to helping others. It comes with the journey of following Jesus.

A few weeks ago, I came out of the grocery store with my fully laden, food bags. There was a young man, standing the cold, by the door. He asked me for some spare change. Who carries spare change anymore? I certainly didn’t have any. I put my bags in the back and got in the car. But, for some reason, I was bothered by this brief encounter. Something niggled at me. Jesus’ voice? Perhaps.  I looked in my wallet and there was a ten-dollar bill in it. My first thought was that ten dollars was a bit rich for a handout to a stranger. Who knows what he really wanted the money for? But Jesus wouldn’t let me go. So, I got back out of my car and went to the man and gave him the ten bucks. He was very grateful.

I share that story not to pat myself on the back or to be praised; there have been lots and lots of times I have ignored and walked by someone who was panhandling. But the incident sharply reminds me that I have received directions from Jesus to be generous when I can. Don’t be skimpy, Jesus says. Why give 50 cents if you can give more!

“But generous people plan to do what is generous, and they stand firm in their generosity.” (Isaiah 32:8, NLT)

And although there are plenty of scriptural encouragements that we will be rewarded for our generosity, I don’t think that this should be our motivation alone. Our motivation is God’s Love as is evidenced in Jesus Christ.

“And I am praying that you will put into action the generosity that comes from your faith as you understand and experience all the good things we have in Christ.” (Philemon 1:6, NLT)

Dale