Takers are sour. Givers know joy.

Steve Brown:
Takers are sour. Givers know joy. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was author and seminary professor Steve Brown and this is Key Life. We’re all about radical grace, because of what Jesus has done, God’s not mad at you. Keep listening and that message will set you free to live a life of joy and surprising faithfulness.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you’re just joining us, we’re studying Philippians. And we’re looking at special passage in Philippians that opens, and I’m not going to read it to you again, because I did already this week. But it’s Philippians 1:18b through 26. And like much of the Book of Philippians, this particular text opens with joy, and joy is mentioned twice in this short text. And so, when you see that, I thought, where did that come from? Why was Paul so joyful? And we’ve looked at some reasons for that. We saw that joy comes from knowing the powerlessness of isolation, believe it or not. The irrelevance of circumstances, the danger of safety and the superficiality of egoism. We saw that yesterday. Ego is a big destroyer of joy. Do you know people? And maybe you would include yourself and I do sometimes, who get so concerned with themselves that the ego shines more than Jesus shines. Some religious people are that way. Some of our obsession about being good and pure and faithful is nothing but narcissism. It’s focusing on ourself and that’s why people like that. And I include myself when I’m that way, people like that are so sour and so sorrowful, that sometimes people misread it and think that that’s the Spirit. No, it’s not. When the Spirit is there, there’s joy. And that’s true in a congregation. If I don’t hear laughter coming from a congregation, I know that Jesus has left the building. And if there’s no laughter in me, no matter how religious I am, no matter how serious I look, no matter how sad I am, because so many people are lost, that’s nothing but ego and center on one’s self. And it’s the source of sourness. But when you think about him, it’s not about us and the ego gets dealt with, there is great joy. Now, let me show you something else. Please note that joy comes from knowing the emptiness of being a taker. Look at Philippians 1:22 through 24.

I am torn between the two.

He’s talking about between dying and living. And he said.

I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far.

Duh.

But it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body.

I want you to note that the whole thrust of what Paul is saying here is the fact that he wants to live, not to make money, not to become famous, not to be known, but on account of his brothers and sisters in Christ, his love for them and his wanting to serve them. One of my late mentors, John DeBrine, I used to tell my students that they don’t even know his name, but he’s the best Bible teacher in America when he’s on. And one of the students would always say, who’s the second best Bible teacher in America? And I said, John DeBrine, when he’s off. When I was a young pastor, for no reason I could understand he took me under his wing and he taught me so much for so many years, right up to the moment of his death. Years before that, John had had a funeral for Blair Richardson and Blair Richardson, believe it or not, was a Christian prize fighter. He’d won a number of titles and God was using him in an amazing way. Blair would go down to the worst parts of the city, he would set up a fighting rink and he would demonstrate fighting to the people that gathered, mostly kids. And then once he had the crowd and he showed them how to fight, he stopped and he told them about Jesus. Let me tell you what Paul, what John said at Blair’s funeral, he died young. And it was one of the sad things in my life because Blair was a friend of mine. And Paul said, at least that he was living on account of others. You can’t even say that because you have no reason to live. Blair is dead and he had a reason to live. You’re alive and you might as well be dead, because you have no reason to live. I used to say, John, you’re going have to get over your shyness and say what you really mean. Listen, there are two kinds of people in the world, the givers and the takers. The givers usually don’t own as much as the takers, but they sleep better. Mark Twain said to some rich gentleman one time.

Gentlemen, someday you’re going to meet a person who has nothing and is perfectly happy. And you will know that you paid too much for your whistle.

Stewardship, that’s the giving of yourself to somebody else, of your goods to somebody else, of reaching out to help a neighbor. Stewardship includes lifting up the arms of somebody who’s going through a tough time. Sometimes it has to do with encouragement, sometimes it has to do with money, but when you do it, there’s joy in it. In fact, I wish my reason for doing it were more spiritual because I’m more faithful and obedient and good and nice. That’s not true, because I have a melancholy personality. And sometimes, I don’t know what to do about it, except go out and find somebody who needs something, and provide it. And when I do that, my melancholy personality becomes one of joy, because it’s built into the very nature of the universe. A number of years ago, and if I could remember his name, I’d tell it to you. I heard an African American bishop talking about the story of the Good Samaritan. You remember the story, don’t you? The Samaritan came to the help of somebody who had been knocked down and robbed by thieves who left him for dead. And then the thieves left, the religious leaders came by and ignored him, and the Samaritan took him to the hospital and paid his bills. And this African American bishop had the best sermon outline I think I’ve ever heard, he said.

There are three kinds of people there. The thieves, and they said, what’s yours is mine and I’ll take it if I want it. There were the religious leaders who said, What’s mine is mine, and you can’t have it. And the Samaritan said, What’s mine is yours, and if you need it, you can have it.

You know, I don’t want to make something superficial out of this or something silly, but at the very heart of where a Christian is called is other people. Now, sometimes other people irritate me, sometimes I’m not a helper, sometimes I’m on the side of the taker, or at least somebody who says just leave me alone, but when I understand how the principle works and how it’s built into the very nature of the universe, I look for somebody who needs something, whatever it is, maybe it’s just a smile. Maybe it’s a cup of coffee, maybe it’s encouragement, maybe it’s money, maybe it is a word of Scripture that would encourage, maybe it’s just shaking a hand, maybe it’s walking a ways with them. But if you’ll think about it today, you’ll think of areas where you can be a giver. And if you’re not doing it for Jesus, do it for yourself. Sometimes selfish motivations are good. If you want joy, quit thinking about yourself, think about somebody else. And see if you can come alongside and become a giver. Let me just mention another one and this is the final one and I’m going to talk about it tomorrow. It’s the unimportance of death. You know I’m an old guy and I’m cramming for finals. That means that death is on the horizon for me. Our staff plans for DD day, the day Steve drools or dies. I haven’t yet, but I think about it. And that’s a good thing. We’ll talk about it tomorrow. Think about it today.

Matthew Porter:
Givers and takers. Which one are you? Which one am I? Thank you Steve, for that challenging word. If you’re just joining us, we’re still early on in our exploration of the Book of Philippians. And as usual, we’re digging deep, taking time to take in every site and side road. We’ll continue from here tomorrow, so hope you’ll join us. Is there such a thing as truth, and if so, does it even matter? Well, you and I know those answers are yes and yes. But increasingly, we brush up against a worldview that says it doesn’t matter what you believe as long as you believe something, and you’re sincere about it, and you’re tolerant of others who don’t believe what you believe. Well, Steve addressed this crisis in a timely message called A Matter of Truth. And if you’ll call us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE, we’ll send you that message on CD for free. Again, that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that CD. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for your free copy of the CD called A Matter of Truth. And finally, if you’re blessed by the work of Key Life, would you help share that blessing through your financial support? Giving is easy. Just charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can now gift safely and securely through text. Just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life, one word or two. It doesn’t matter. Just text that to 28950 then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.