The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof, the world and those who dwell therein, (ESV)
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it; the world, and all who live in it; (NIV)
The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it. The world and all its people belong to him. (NLT)
Theme Intro:
This week marks the 100th verse that we have memorized together. What an immense joy and blessing. When we started this endeavor two years ago, I never would have imagined that so many people would be so passionate about storing up God’s word in their hearts with one another. Yet here we are! Thank you for actively participating in this mission, sharing resources within your communities, and, most importantly, drawing near to the Lord by dwelling in His word, fulfilling the call of 1 Peter 3:15.
As we kick off the final month of our Vices and Virtues series, we find ourselves right in the middle of the holidays and, with them, the biggest consumer season of the year. So, we want to remind you of how scripture talks about money, greed, and generosity. Purposeful generosity is more than buying your child the latest iPhone; and it has the ability to bring joy to our daily lives. As the saying goes, it is more important to give than to receive. Let’s discover it together!
Dive Deeper:
When We Take God Gives
In this new series, we are taking a look at the vice of greed and the virtue of generosity. We are exploring what goes on in the human heart that tempts us to take things, hoard, and be greedy for ourselves, and on the flip side, we want to discover where generosity comes from. Or rather, who does generosity come from, and how can we live in it?
This first verse we are memorizing in Psalm 24 is a declaration of Who is in charge and to Whom everything belongs. David writes this Psalm and comes right out of the gate with a strong statement that the earth is the Lord’s and everything that dwells in it belongs to Him. God, in His goodness, although He owns everything, has given humans created in His image the gift of stewardship over creation. From the beginning, God has been generous. He didn’t hope to keep His creation to Himself but rather to share it with people, partnering with us in love. The tragedy of the creation story is that God gave humans the gift to share in His creation, but Adam and Eve weren’t satisfied. Instead, their first sin contained greed when they took the fruit for themselves, which God had commanded them not to.
Even though they had already been given everything they could ever need from God, they wanted more. Ever since the fall, though, God has been generous in giving back so that He could restore His created people back to Him. He gave His people the law, He gave His people the prophets, pointing them to truth, and ultimately, He gave His Son, Jesus, and He gives His Spirit to all who believe.
Transformed Hearts of Giving
Just pause for a moment and reflect on that… God is a generous God. When we meditate on the gifts He has given us, the patience He has had with us, and the sacrifice He has made, it transforms us. Our hearts are reborn, and we start to see opportunities to give rather than take. When we recognize our Father's sacrificial, generous love, our hearts are directed to replicate it. We begin to mirror the God in whose image we were made. Our hearts echo out like David’s prayer of praise, “But who am I, and who are my people, that we could give anything to you? Everything we have has come from you, and we give you only what you first gave us!” 1 Chronicles 29:13
Rightly seeing God for the generosity He has first given us transforms us into generous people. We form a new heart to embody self-giving love, and we can start to look like those in the early church, “They sold their property and possessions and shared the money with those in need. They worshiped together at the Temple each day, met in homes for the Lord’s Supper, and shared their meals with great joy and generosity.” Acts 2:45-46
This is a beautiful hope and vision for us as God’s people, but this ideal doesn’t just become embodied in a community out of thin air. Instead, it is birthed in our hearts when we recognize deeply within ourselves the truth of Psalm 24:1, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it; the world, and all who live in it.” There is a freeing gift in releasing control of what we think is ours and when we see that God owns it all. When that shift happens, we are able to move through life, not attached to things but instead living generously, stewarding what has been gifted to us in full trust that God has our best intentions in mind.
Written by Ben Hesch
Challenge:
We encourage you to memorize Psalm 24:1 as well as soak in Scriptures that point to God’s generosity! As you read these Scriptures, prayerfully listen to the Spirit’s call in your own life to embody generosity to those around you.
Examples: Philippians 2, John 3, Luke 21, Ephesians 1