Topic: Beyond Generosity [Charles Stanley Daily Devotional 20 October 2021]
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Beyond Generosity
Sharing our resources is a small part of being a servant.
Tim Rhodes October 20, 2021
During an event at my children’s elementary school, the school counselor offered parents and supporters a tour of the facility. As a parent who had never taken the time to really pay attention to the school’s inner workings, I was excited to explore the place where my children spend so much of their time.
As our tour was coming to an end, the counselor ushered us into her office, where we were suddenly surrounded by piles of goods. Coat racks full of kids’ jackets and hoodies. Boxes of toys and teddy bears. Stocked shelves, full of healthy snacks and water. It reminded me of those closets in cartoons, where if you displace one item, everything cascades into the room. And all of it was set aside for students in need.
I was overwhelmed by this trove of generosity and the outpouring of care from the community it represented. My children had already attended the school for several years, but until the tour, I had no idea this room existed. And I was nearly brought to tears, knowing there were others who cared this much for our school’s children. But then a question hit me: Why must a room like this exist? Why are kids going hungry? Why would they be without jackets or coats to keep warm?
Often when we think of “serving others” as Christ commands us, images that come to mind include donating food or clothing, maybe working at a soup kitchen, or giving money. These are all very good things, but they unfortunately do not get at the underlying problems that brought about these service opportunities in the first place. While this room full of essential items in our school had provided snacks and clothes and relief to children for several years, it could never address the source of this lack—namely, the greater need in the surrounding community.
“The Lord has placed each one of us in a position to serve others and thereby serve Him. The feet we wash, figuratively speaking, are those of our family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers.”
We’re at our best when we care about the well-being and equity of everyone around us. In his devotion titled “The Believer’s Highest Honor,” Dr. Stanley writes:
A believer’s willing acceptance of the servant role is countercultural. The world teaches us to chase after power but advises ignoring opportunities to serve unless there’s personal benefit. The leaders of the early church, however, were taught to see things differently. Jesus instructed them to feed the poor, draw near to those who were sick, and wash dirty feet. These men were honored to refer to themselves as bondslaves—in other words, lowly servants.
The Lord has placed each one of us in a position to serve others and thereby serve Him. The feet we wash, figuratively speaking, are those of our family, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. We must give our best effort to the relationships and work we have been given in this world. To offer anything less is to refuse the life we have been called to live—a life of service to the most high God.
What Jesus commands is something far more radical and demanding than charity as we know it: proximity to those in need. In other words, He is calling us to reject the desire for power and human comfort and to instead draw near to those who are suffering. Christ’s death on the cross didn’t only reconcile humanity with God; it was a work to reconcile humanity with one another as well—to restore right and healthy relationships with all. Colossians 1:19-20 says of Jesus, “For it was the Father’s good pleasure for all the fullness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of His cross.”
“That’s what Christ calls us to be a part of—real healing and reconciliation.”
And that’s what Christ calls us to be a part of—real healing and reconciliation. Not merely to give out of our excess, but to be bondservants to others. To resist the injustices that separate us. To deny a cultural and personal pull for our own comfort and betterment at the expense of others. To heed His words in Matthew 25:40: “Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.”
