On this day as we celebrate stewardship and giving, I have
been asked to say a few words about the importance of generosity. A topic that initially seems so simple and
yet for a variety of reasons can become quite complicated.
Just by definition, Webster’s dictionary gives no less than
2 specific meanings to the word generosity.
1) Any person showing a readiness to give to others, more of
something, like money or time, than is strictly necessary or expected.
2) Plentiful, being more than enough without being excessive.
Naturally, we tend to think of the importance of financial
generosity as our congregation prepares for another year of keeping things
moving in a forward direction. As
important as this type of generosity is, I would like to focus on some other
ways to be generous beyond monetary giving.
First of all, I believe that every one of us has a special
gift(s) that when shared freely with others can make a tremendous
difference. I personally have
experienced this type of generosity more times than I can count.
One such occasion comes to mind when my wife Ivy and I were
still dating. We were both from small towns, each about 40 minutes from where
we met at Kearney State College. During
the summer I would usually drive from Lexington on a Friday afternoon to
Holdrege where she lived. I would stay over until late Saturday afternoon when
I would have to leave and go back to Kearney to work my swing shift at a local
grocery store. One of these weekends showed me how generous a person, who was not
really familiar but was not a complete stranger could be.
John Teter was always working on something. If not one of his own cars, he would be busy
repairing clocks for other people, fixing old radios or finding new potential
projects at garage sales. He was always
busy and I think he truly enjoyed being able to give back to others in this
way. He rarely asked for more in payment
than the cost of parts on work he did for other people in his community.
This one Saturday, he happened to notice that my car was
leaking antifreeze so he asked me to pop the hood. Upon further inspection he diagnosed the
problem as being a bad water pump that would need to be replaced. At the time, he probably didn’t see the
feeling of pure panic that shot through me upon hearing this news. I was thinking new water pump . . . this is
Saturday, where would I be able to get it fixed. . .I had to be at work by 5 .
. .in another town. Strike that, how was
I going to pay for it? I had maybe $10
on me, no check book and I didn’t have a credit card. Maybe he did see a worried expression cross
my face.
“I think we can fix it here in
the garage if you want to.”
“I’ve seen
sicker horses than this get better,” which was one of John’s favorite sayings. He was already heading to his old pick-up
truck to go down to the parts house. I
followed and hopped in the passenger seat, feeling nervous and a little
apprehensive.
While the man at the counter was retrieving the new water
pump, I noticed that John already had his credit card out.
“John, I may be a little short for this. I will gladly repay you.”
“Don’t you worry about it, we can settle up later.”
I was speechless, but grateful. I was also grateful for his
mechanical expertise. I had never changed a water pump and had really no idea
what was involved. We worked together, tearing things down just to get to the
defective water pump. By now it was getting close to the time for me to be
leaving for work. I was going to call and let them know that I wouldn’t make
it, but he handed me the keys to his Buick without even batting an eye.
“Here, take my car, I will keep working on this.” I was just feeling so amazed and pretty
guilty this man that I barely knew was fixing my car, with parts that he paid
for, and then lending me one of his own cars to get to my job. Why would he go
to all of this trouble for me?
At that time, his daughter and I weren’t even engaged yet,
but he was treating me like I had been family for years. Maybe he thought that it was either fix my
car or he would soon be claiming me as a dependant. Either way, he showed me what true generosity
looks like and I learned how to accept it from another graciously.
By the way, Ivy and I were engaged within about 3 months and
I don’t believe John ever did allow me to pay him back.
I have been able to find numerous verses in the Bible that
speak about being generous with our individual gifts. Remember, each and every
one of us have some special gift or talent to share.
Ephesians 4:7 “He has
given each one of us a special gift through the generosity of Christ”
Romans 12:8 “If your
gift is to encourage others, be encouraging.
If it is giving, give generously.
If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility
seriously. And if you have a gift for
showing kindness to others, do it gladly.”
2 Corinthians 9:7-8 “For God loves a person who gives cheerfully. And God will generously provide all you need.”
Tim Hanson, shared in worship on 10-26-25.
