Digging Wells of Generosity

Open your mouth, judge righteously, defend the rights of the poor and needy.—Proverbs 31:9

35 families in our congregation have lost jobs since COVID-19 changed our lives. More are soon to come. Little can be done. The community sees the freight train coming, but we are tied to the tracks. We are simply waiting to see just how bad the damage will be. As my grandmother used to say, “It’s all over but the crying.”

A silver lining has appeared in the midst of this grim economic reality: our congregation continues to be stunningly generous. I can take very little—if any—credit for this. Our church is almost 47 years old. I have been here little more than seven. Many of them have lived this before, in the 1980s. In those days Houston was an economic wasteland; the oil bust and the S&L scandal bled many dry. I was a kid at the time, but I’ve heard the stories. It hit hard in my hometown, too, like it did in many Texas communities. During my time in Houston I’ve heard how the people of my church learned to depend on the provision of God in those lean years. I’ve heard how they shared everything they owned. The economy was barren in those days, but they were sustained because they were led to dig wells of generosity and to share what they found within.

Many of my church’s families have come and gone since the oil bust of the 80s, but the wells of generosity continue to mark our congregation’s life. Newcomers, too, have heard how we have been—and aspire to be—a generous people. They, too, have heard of the ways God provided for His church through the generosity of His people. The days ahead will likely be financially difficult for many, yet I am encouraged by the fact that we continue to give, just as we always have.

Generosity, I have discovered, is a trait that is usually formed in the crucible of lack. I speak from some experience.I have had specific moments in my adult life when my household was rescued by someone who decided to give from their surplus, to share from their well. Joy and I decided many years ago that if we ever had extra we, too, would be like that. We would be generous; our well would be for sharing. We have tried to live up to that decision. When I encounter generous people in my church they almost always have a similar backstory. They give because there once was a time when they couldn’t. There are occasional exceptions, but, for the most part, I’ve discovered that those who are generous were once people in need.

Most Americans love random acts of kindness, but true generosity is rare. We like the way we feel when we slip someone twenty bucks, but we rarely like to live as one ready to help those in need. Maybe this is because many of us have never truly experienced need.

The Bible commands the people of God to care for the poor dozens of times. There is some disagreement as to the exact number of times, depending on how one chooses to translate certain verses, but the number of commands well exceeds 100. Generosity is not an option for those who claim to be followers of God. We are commanded to be generous, and we are commanded to care for the poor. It goes even further, in fact. We are commanded to care for any of those who are in a position of weakness or vulnerability. Those who find themselves in a position of strength are to flex their muscle in order to defend those cowering in the corners of society.

But why? Why would God want us to be generous? To stand up for the weak? To defend the outcast? The answer, of course, is because such behavior is how we display the love of God to the world. The gospel declares that we were once needy, that we were poor in spirit, that we were unable to save ourselves from destruction. The gospel says that we were living in the margins, far from the center of His will. The gospel says that we were outcasts, the sort of people who run away from home voluntarily and yet blame our situation on others. We were pitiful and in need. Even those who have never tasted material poverty have experienced this sort of weakness. This condition is universal in the human cosmos.

And so God was generous. He gave us His Son, and He brought us into the family. And this changes us—from stingy into generous. This is why we should care for the poor. Those who savor the generosity of Jesus should be quick to give.

I do not know if the coming economic situation will be as bad—or worse—than the 1980s. I do know that God will use the barren conditions to motivate his people to search for cisterns, to dig wells, remembering what we value. I imagine we will discover many important truths in this season—the centrality of human connection; the value of community.

But I imagine one of the wells God wants us to rediscover flows with the refreshment of generosity. Perhaps we have grown too wealthy, too accustomed to having all we need. And perhaps we must rediscover what it means to be in need again. Or perhaps we must rediscover what it means to finally see those who are in need, to give freely as we have been given.

In the process, we may rediscover God’s grace.