Be a Giver, Not a Grabber

Date: July 25 2010 Scripture: Ephesians 4:28

Series: The Gospel for Relationships

Proposition: Put on the new humanity in Christ of being a giver rather than a grabber.

Title: Be a Giver, Not a Grabber

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Intro: Are you a thief? “No, of course not. I’m not even tempted!”

Well, maybe you are tempted, and maybe you have been, or are now a thief.

There are lots of ways to steal, as we shall see. As we want to live in God’s blessings, we need to make sure we are right about stealing.

A woman walked into a meat shop near the end of the business day and asked the butcher for a chicken. He pulled a chicken out of his cooler, and laid it on his scale. Is that alright?

She asked: Do you have a one that’s a little bigger?

That was his last chicken, but he wanted to sell it.

So he said: Yes, I think I do. And he put that chicken back in the cooler, and then he pulled it out again and laid it on the scale, but this time he put his thumb on the scale and it weighed a pound and a half more.

Is that all right? He asked.

Yes, it is she said. I’ll take both of them.

There are lots of ways to steal, and lots of ways for our sins to find us out, sooner or later.

Transition: Let’s see how God’s word instructs us on this. It may surprise you.

Ephesians 4:28

Main Points:

I. Paul has prefaced this section with a call to put off and put on

V 22 Put off the old human being

V 24 Put on the new human being

Vv 25 to the end of the chapter give specific examples of that.

II. We are to put off Stealing

Let him who stole steal no longer.

A: Dictionary Definition Stealing is to take the property of another without right or permission. (American Heritage)

B) There are motivations or reasons for theft –

1) Anger – the self-pity that ’m not being compensated enough for my work. or revenge – if someone stronger has upset them then stealing can become a way of revenge. Or ti can be a way to show anger against the rules of life, a rebellion against the law.

One person said: “Well, I don’t think stealing from corporate entities is wrong…
With how badly they’re ruining my country, I couldn’t care less.”

2) For some it may be an addiction. They get a rush from the danger of being caught. “When I take something from a store, I feel more in control” a younger girl in the group said.

For others the motivation to steal is to support their drug habits. Their addiction compels them to get the money anyway they can, no matter what the consequences.

3) Need – someone who is lacking basics of life can be tempted to steal

4) Greed – a person simply wants to have more

5)) Laziness – there are those who would rather steal than work for their money. Whether they are too lazy to work or be diligent or learn a viable trade, or enjoy rebelling against the law. And then there is the very common – loafing or wasting time at work

6) It can be motivated by a desire for status, Stealing can mean being “cool” or being accepted by the friends one hangs out with Or it can be seen as a way to keep up with others financially, the way to run with the big dogs.

C) Why is stealing wrong?

It steals from someone’s time, and therefore from one’s life

It injures a person’s sense of security and stability

Most victims of burglary attest to the fact that their stolen possessions and their dollar value are dwarfed compared to the personal injury felt.

This verse is in the context of unity, of living in reconciliation, and stealing is dividing.

D) The Westminster Catechism expands on all the commandments and it tell us many of the ways we can steal.

Question 142: What are the sins forbidden in the eighth commandment?
Answer: The sins forbidden in the eighth commandment, are theft, robbery, and receiving anything that is stolen; fraudulent dealing, false weights and measures, removing land marks, injustice and unfaithfulness in contracts between man and man, or in matters of trust; oppression, extortion, usury, bribery, vexatious lawsuits; engrossing commodities to enhance the price; unlawful callings, and all other unjust or sinful ways of taking or withholding from our neighbor what belongs to him, or of enriching ourselves; covetousness; inordinate prizing and affecting worldly goods; distrustful and distracting cares and studies in getting, keeping, and using them; envying at the prosperity of others; as likewise idleness, prodigality, wasteful gaming; and all other ways whereby we do unduly prejudice our own outward estate, and defrauding ourselves of the due use and comfort of that estate which God has given us.

Let him who stole steal no longer. Put if off.If you have drifted into stealing, put it off. Make restitution where you have done that.

A Christian who worked for the railroad in Western Nebraska took home tools from work. After hearing a sermon on not stealing, he confessed to his fellow church members what he had done, and returned the tools to his company with an apology. That man helped spark a revival in his church as those who had stolen or casually rationalized other sins confessed their sins and stepped back onto the road of holiness.

III. We are to Put On something in place of stealing

But let him work with his hands what is good

A. Work is not a curse

Adam and Eve had work to do before the fall – they tended the Garden.

The curse is the weeds and thorns that infest the ground – literally for farmers symbolically the frustrations of work for others.

But work itself is a good gift of God. God is the greatest worker of all and we are created in his image.

B. With his hands

This means to apply yourself in your work.

Don’t base in on whether you feel like working.

Base it on God’s call.

Colossians 3:23

“Whatever you do, do your work heartily, as unto the Lord rather than men.”

Have a good work ethic

Show up for work everyday

On time

Ready to give a full day’s work

Don’t call in sick unless you are sick

C. Work with his hands what is good

Your vocation makes a difference – Your work should be good

In some way it should contribute to life – to protect or nurture life, to add beauty, or value.

Preying on people’s weakness is always a way to make money, but it is not working what is good. Being a bookie, dealing pot, getting people drunk do not work what is good. Trading on lust or greed does not work what is good. But as you can identify how your work helps life, how it edifies, how it promotes integrity and order and growth, then you work what is good.

So test your vocation! Is it the performing of what is good?

D. The Westminster Catechism gives us another way to look at God’s call in this area of working with our hands what is good – Question 141: What are the duties required in the eighth commandment?
Answer: The duties required in the eighth commandment are, truth, faithfulness, and justice in contracts and commerce between man and man; rendering to everyone his due; restitution of goods unlawfully detained from the right owners thereof; giving and lending freely, according to our abilities, and the necessities of others; moderation of our judgments, wills, and affections concerning worldly goods; a provident care and study to get, keep, use, and dispose these things which are necessary and convenient for the sustenance of our nature, and suitable to our condition; a lawful calling, and diligence in it; frugality; and an endeavor, by all just and lawful means, to procure, preserve, and further the wealth and outward estate of others, as well as our own.

IV. Paul ends this verse with a New Motive

A) It is to be a giver, rather than a taker

It is a blessing to help someone in need

I hope you have found the joy of giving.

We can take an attitude to hold on to all we can, thinking that is wise stewardship.

B) There are three levels in this area –

First, you can steal in order to have.

Second, you can work in order to have.

Third, you can work in order to give.

Paul says: don’t stop at the second level. You can stop there and it’s legal – work in order to have. But there is another step to take in Christ – as you work, be grateful it provides you the opportunity to give. This verse can change your life.

C) Let’s think about helping:

We know there are people who take advantage of help. We don’t want to enable bad habits.

There is a book titled: “When Helping Hurts”

That is an arresting title.

When does it hurt? When it creates dependency, or discourages responsibility

The mantra of the book is working WITH the poor rather than doing things FOR them or to them

But given that caution, take joy in helping someone in need.

V. A necessary concept in this is that everything belongs to God.

1. Psalm 24 “The earth is the lords, and the fullness thereof.”

IL: We lose blessings when we don’t understand that. A man took his kids to McDonald’s and he bought his boy fries and his boy was sitting across from him and the father didn’t have any fries himself, but as he began to smell those fries — you know how good they smell — he began to smell those fries and instinctively, he reached across to get some fries out of his little kid’s packet, and as soon as his hands touched those fries his little boy grabbed that hand and pushed it back. He said, “Dad, Dad, don’t take my fries!” And Dad recoiled and felt bad. I felt terrible.” He said, “I began to quickly think of what just happened.” He said, “You know, I looked at my son and I said to myself, my son doesn’t realize where those fries came from. He doesn’t realize about five minutes ago I went to the counter, reached into my pocket, took out my money and bought those fries for him and I am the source of those fries. He doesn’t understand that.” He said, “Secondly, he doesn’t understand that if I want to, I can take those fries away from him which, probably about right then was a good thought. Thirdly, he doesn’t understand that if I want to, I can go over to the counter, and I can order about a dozen fries, and I can bury him in fries.” He said, “What he didn’t understand is I didn’t need his fries. If I really wanted to, I could go back to the counter and get my own. But what I needed was his willingness to share what I had already previously given him.”
One of the first things to learn about money and good is: “We own nothing.” Everything you and I have right now is a gift of God’s. Life and breath itself is a gift of God. (story adapted from John Maxwell’s sermon “Stewardship Living”)

We can forget that God is a giver, and it makes us a grabber.

But when we remember that God is a giver, and what we have is form Him,. We are givers.

Be a giver, not a grabber.

B. Christ’s is an example of this:

He did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom.

He said: The thief comes only to steal and to kill and to destroy, I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly. He is a giver.

This is the Gospel for relationships: Gospel means good news – that the Good news here is that God is a giver. He gave life to this world and to us, and sustenance. He gave His Son. He daily loads us with blessings.

It is also good news that God does forgive thieves – his forgiveness can put us on a new path where every day it’s not what can I grab, but what can I give.

Application:

Follow Christ and be a giver, not a grabber.

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