Staged Generosity

Be not forgetful to entertain strangers: for thereby some have entertained angels unawares. (Hebrews 13:2)

I want us to look at this verse in the context of Matthew 25 about the sheep and goats.

The primary reason I do it is because in the course of ministry I have severally encountered people who are always on the lookout for those angels to the point that it more or less becomes a passion.

But is that what the writer of Hebrews was teaching?

Of course not.

And this is why I want us to look at the Matthew discourse.

While the sheep were wondering when and how it was that they had ministered to Christ, the goats were wondering why it was that they didn’t see Him to minister to Him.

Reminds me of a story that was doing the rounds in my childhood in church.

You will allow me to paraphrase it to illustrate this point.

Jesus told someone that He would be visiting.

Of course, the person in question laid the red carpet in anticipation and went all the way to prepare for this very important guest. They even prepared a sumptuous meal for Him.

Then a tramp passed by looking for food.

Giving him food would mean dirtying everything, from the carpet to the utensils. And he couldn’t risk doing it because Jesus could be coming at any time. What would He feel seeing a stained carpet?

So, he chased him with a heavy heart.

Then a child came passed by for something or the other.

Again, he couldn’t risk his preparedness for the Saviour and therefore chased him.

A weary passerby came across looking for water to quench his thirst and he was also chased for the same reason.

Evening came and still no Jesus.

He therefore called Jesus, complaining because he had waited for Him the whole day and He had refused to honour His word.

‘But I came three times and you chased Me’, was Jesus’ reply

Our friend was perplexed, thinking that Jesus was pulling his leg or something.

Being on the lookout for angels produces the same results.

They will come and leave and you will be none the wiser because you were looking at the wrong signs.

Abraham was not looking for any angel when they appeared.

Moses was not looking for an angel when He appeared.

Jacob was minding his business when the angel appeared.

The disciples were not looking out for Jesus when He called them.

In short, angels do not visit the expectant. They visit the ready.

And I must explain what I mean by this.

Spontaneity is what produces results.

The nature of the giver is in its packaging.

Lest I confuse you more (or probably confuse you more), I think it is also wise for me to lay down some ground rules for what I am saying.

Jesus said that we will be known by our fruit.

A tree does not struggle to produce fruit.

A mango tree does not produce mangoes because it works really hard.

It does it because that is what it was created to do.

It just needs to live to produce.

Give it water and nutrients and it will produce mangoes.

We are like that mango tree.

We will produce after our kind by simply being us and not by striving to produce.

We will need water and nutrients to produce after ourselves.

But I also need to add that we are also fruit from elsewhere and not in any way autonomous beings.

The One who produced us will determine what we will in turn produce.

The quality of our produce is determined by the kind of nurture we are fed on.

In short, a mango must produce mangoes. But a well-fed mango will produce bigger and better mangoes.

What am I saying?

Hospitality is the fruit of a life lived on God’s terms. It is the product of a person who is born of God.

The relationship the person has with God (nurture) determines how good that hospitality is produced.

But as always, there is a counterfeit hospitality, originating from a counterfeit deity. But this is man-made and not spontaneous as it requires effort and external stimuli.

This kind leaves out everybody to be able to exclusively serve ‘Jesus’.

It does it because it cannot afford to waste resources on those without requisite resources for paying back, at least in kind.

One is a well that produces without asking where its water goes.

The other is a tank that needs the assurance that it will be refilled before considering whether to release its water.

I hope all these words are not confusing you.

The essence of Matthew 25 is the hearts of those two teams.

Though one team unconsciously did the right thing, the other team was simply unable to find the right thing to do.

It is impossible to think of them as being lazy or stingy. Because then they could not have asked the questions they did.

For our purpose allow me to ask what I think their question was.

Where were you when we were giving? How come we bypassed you in all our giving?

Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven. Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward. But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. (Matthew 6:1 - 4)

That is the spirit by which Christ is ministered to.

Giving is not acceptable to God when or if it is done for show. Meaning, I am not serving Christ when I am doing it with a camera, however noble the cause may be. And I am sure that was the way the goats did it.

Then said he also to him that bade him, When thou makest a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbours; lest they also bid thee again, and a recompence be made thee. But when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the maimed, the lame, the blind: And thou shalt be blessed; for they cannot recompense thee: for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just. (Luke 14: 12 -14)

And that is how the sheep did it.

No wonder none of the teams recognised Jesus in their service or non service.

What is your motivation for giving?

The long and short of what I am saying is the God judges the nature of the giver and not the substance of the absence of the same.

No wonder the poor widow who gave the least outgave the abundance of all the mega givers combined.

The question we need to ask ourselves, however, is, who am I? What am I composed of?

What overflows when I get full?

That is what God is looking at.

That is what Jesus will use when judging us.