“And if you lend to those from whom you expect to receive, what credit is that to you? Even sinners lend to sinners, to get back the same amount. But love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return, and your reward will be great, and you will be sons of the Most High, for he is kind to the ungrateful and the evil.” (Luke 6:34, 35 ESV)

‘Selfish, grasping Christians’ should be a ridiculous oxymoron. It should be so absurd that the phrase makes us react immediately in disbelief. But when we see stories in the news that yet another pastor has pilfered money from his church family, or when we see a minister at a poor church driving a very expensive car or living in a lavish house there is something inside of us that simply replies, ‘Well, that’s not surprising.’ And that is highly unfortunate that it has happened enough to be an almost predictable scenario.

Christians the world over should be seen as quite the opposite. We should be the examples of generosity, selflessness and love. There should be no cause for anyone to look at our lives and see self interest in any way distorting the focus that should rightfully be on Christ.

And so we must ask the question, ‘Where are my priorities? What comes first?’ Do we seek comfort and worldly goals or are ow we seeking Christ? Are we storing up our treasures here on earth or are we investing in heaven? The rich do not need to feel guilty and the poor do not need to feel left aside. Instead, we should be focused on living each day a God intends, one taking care of the other and helping to provide for their needs.

Giving what we have, even if it is only a small lunch of 5 loaves and 2 fish, we seek to be defined by the generosity that our Master, Jesus has shown us. We see what it means to give it all for the sake of others, and to invest our whole lives in to the work of the Kingdom and the glory of God. We give expecting nothing in return, and we give knowing that what we have is only something we possess as stewards, never as if we possess it on our own.

When we GoLove others for the sake of Christ every day, radical generosity should be one of the markers that defines us, and never the moniker of ‘greedy,’ ‘grasping’ or ‘selfish.’ Live in the generosity of our Master today and love well.