By Doug Inglish
Jesus told a story about two men who walked into the temple to pray (Luke 18:10-14). One of them was quite proud of his life. He did all the right things, and he was happy to recite them in his prayer (just to make sure God was aware of his rigorously righteous life): fasting, prayer, and offerings. In order to drive home the point so God would fully grasp just how good he was, he listed some particularly heinous sins that he was not committing, and then contrasted himself with the other man who came to pray, an obvious sinner based on his occupation as a tax collector.
The lesson of the humble publican who bowed his head and poured out his confession, asking God to have mercy on him, is a powerful one. When we see the two men through the eyes of Jesus we can understand how important it is to humble ourselves and be more charitable in our estimation of others. We are all sinners, and justification is found in confession.
But it’s hard to really internalize that lesson. It’s not easy to be generous like the first man and remain humble like the second man. When we make donations, the devil whispers in our ear telling us that our giving makes us better people than the ones who will benefit from our generosity.
If we were to take the same parable and retell it in our time and place, it might come out something like this:
Two people went into church one Sabbath. As the offering plate passed by, a decent and faithful man dropped his envelope in while thinking, “I am so glad that my business is doing well enough for me to be generous, so I can help people like that sad case down at the end of the pew. I pray that she can find victory over her vices. I’d pay her rent for the month if she wouldn’t just use the money she saved on drugs. That would probably do more harm than good.” When the plate came by the struggling addict to whom he referred, tears slid down her face as she slipped in what she had left so she couldn’t spend it on drugs. She lifted up a silent prayer begging for forgiveness and asking to make it through just one more day of sobriety without landing out on the street. And God ignored the boasts of the comfortable sinner while the prayers of the distressed and penitent sinner touched His heart.
The majority who read this will more easily identify with the life situation of the businessman than with the addict. But Jesus told us that no matter our circumstances, our life choices, or even our generosity, we should identify more with the attitude of the addict than the businessman.
It is impossible to have a truly grateful heart without humility. If we don’t understand that we stand on an equal footing before God with those whom we help through our offerings, then our offerings are not coming from a grateful heart. Humility comes before gratitude.
I am glad that I have the means to pay my bills. I am glad that I don’t struggle with addictions. And I’m glad that Jesus died for me just as much as for anyone. It’s when I feel that kinship with all humanity that my offerings can come from a grateful heart.
–Doug Inglish is RMC director of planned giving and trust services. Email him at: [email protected]