“Some people will do ANYTHING for MONEY.” This is a tagline for American Greed, a current television series chronicling true crime stories and examining “the dark side of the American Dream.” A recent episode features Michigan doctor Farid Fata, who administered poisonous chemotherapy to healthy patients, pocketing millions of dollars in payments. Another episode tells the story of a Seattle socialite who lived an extravagant life (two yachts, an airplane, and a mega-mansion), while simultaneously perpetrating a decade-long fraud that cost victims as much as $102 million.
While extreme, stories like these illustrate the dangers of living a life completely controlled by greed. Most will never be involved in a multimillion-dollar scam. But if a person’s primary goal is to amass fortune, it is very likely he will eventually make decisions that are both self-destructive and hurtful to others.
Contrast these stories with the example of the God of the Bible:
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” John 3:16
He is a generous God. Read the following section from a sermon transcript by Matt Chandler that highlights God’s incredible generosity (Source).
Matt Chandler
From “Grace Made Visible (Part 2): The Generosity of God”
God the Father gives us Jesus. The generosity of the Father is seen in him sending the Son. John 3:16… If you have a background in church or watching any sporting event, you know verse 16, but the other verses are just as profound. “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” Here’s the thing right out of the gate that makes the generosity of God stunning and so different than, say, Bill Gates’ generosity. God’s generosity is pointed toward his enemies. Do you know who Gates never gave money to? Apple. In fact, if you’re a businessman and want to study ruthlessness, study Bill Gates… What makes [God] so different in his generosity is his generosity is pointed at his enemies. Here we see in John 3:16-18 that God sends the Son into the world not to condemn the world but rather to give them a way out. Think about it. We are all in glad rebellion against our Creator. We are all, to the man or woman in here, firm believers that we can be our own God, our own authority, know what is best for us in life. It is the default posture of the human heart, wicked rebellion against our Creator. The response of God is not to destroy but rather to send the Son, not to condemn, not to show up with a new list of things you will not be able to do, but rather show up as a way out of condemnation, to create a way out from under our failures, shortcomings, and rebellion, to eradicate past sins, present struggles, and future screw-ups. This is the generosity of God. He sends the Son.
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