Session 2: Giving (1 gallon bag and $2 Donation)
When I was in my undergraduate studies I was taking a class on spiritual disciplines. My professor told us that we had to choose a spiritual discipline from a list and practice it for a day and then write a paper about our experience. As I was looking at the list, I knew that silence was probably not going to work really well for someone who can start a conversation with a complete stranger, and most of the people would probably choose prayer. I wanted something that was a bit of a challenge and that I had not ever done before. So, for whatever reason I settled on fasting.
I started out the day great, after all I was not much of a breakfast person anyway at that time. I rounded out through lunch and pretty soon I started learning something new about myself which is that without food I am a person who quickly becomes hangry. In case you don’t know, hangry is anger that shows itself when one experiences hunger.
I am walking across the campus toward one of my classes with a bad case of hangry. As I pass about the third person without saying hello and glaring at anyone who even looks at me, I heard God whisper in my heart, you know it defeats the purpose of this if you walk around with your face like that. I lashed back quickly in prayer, “With my face like what?!?: And it was not so much a response but more like I could feel his sigh in my heart. I was suddenly very aware of how much I had missed the mark. I told him I was sorry and that I had really missed the point of the spiritual discipline in my desire for pity from the world.
I told God how important it was for me to pull closer to him in this spiritual practice and then I pulled myself together and began to smile and greet each person as I normally did on a small campus. Smiling and saying hi, making small talk without acting like the world was ending if I did not get a sandwich. The hunger was still there, but it was there as a secret shared between my God and myself. I felt like while I was going through my day within the world, my soul was somewhere else in fellowship with God. Each pang brought him closer.
We live in a world of recognition. We cannot open social media without seeing videos of people helping others or oversharing about the great deeds they have done to help others. My children really love following one social media influencer whose entire page is dedicated to all the ways that he “Helps” people for likes and the applaud of man. It’s easy to get trapped in doing things for the ways in which they bring us attention, but the scripture reminds us that in giving, prayer, and fasting all of it should be done in a way that is between us and our God, not for all of man to see. I had lost sight of that in my practice of fasting. Have you ever lost sight of that in your service, prayers or spiritual practices?
Today one of the items we brought is clear bags that can be seen through. The bag reminds us that our actions should be like the bags…not the thing we focus on but transparently revealing Jesus to the world.
Scripture
“Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of others to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 “So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 3 But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 5 “And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 6 But when you pray, go into your room, close the door and pray to your Father, who is unseen. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you. 7 And when you pray, do not keep on babbling like pagans, for they think they will be heard because of their many words. 8 Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 9 “This, then, is how you should pray: “‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, 10 your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. 11 Give us today our daily bread. 12 And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.13 And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one.’ 14 For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. 15 But if you do not forgive others their sins, your Father will not forgive your sins.
16 “When you fast, do not look somber as the hypocrites do, for they disfigure their faces to show others they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward in full. 17 But when you fast, put oil on your head and wash your face, 18 so that it will not be obvious to others that you are fasting, but only to your Father, who is unseen; and your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Matthew 6:1-18 [NIV]
There is a lot to unpack here in the scripture today. The reason this scripture was selected this week is because it focuses so much on the key themes of Lent. Giving, Prayer, Fasting. Last week you were asked to give up something to free up time for prayer and resources for giving. Some of you likely did and others of you may have chosen to just give more, without giving anything up. There is no wrong or right way about what you chose to do for Lent, but Jesus has some pretty clear instructions about how we are to give, pray and fast.
Discussion Questions
1. Is there a running theme between each of these sets of instructions? What are the common threads you notice?
2. What are the specific instructions that we are given in these verses regarding giving, prayer and fasting?
3. Why do you suppose that God wants us to do things unseen or in a way that does not involve drawing attention to ourselves?
4. Which of these if any do you struggle with the most? What comes most easily? Why?
5. Why do we long for the world to take notice when we give, pray or make sacrifices? Why do we seek the approval of man over God?
6. How do you suppose by keeping these things unseen will we receive a reward from God (verses 4,6 & 18)? What sort of reward have you experienced from God?
7. In what ways can we tangibly adjust the posture of our soul to do these things for the glory of God instead of the glory of man?
If you have found something to sacrifice or give up, I encourage you to continue to use that time to pray, reflect and use the savings to create more kits. If you have not elected to do so, please consider it this week. It is ok if you do not start right on time, no one is keeping score. Next week you are asked to bring a 3-4 oz bar of soap and a 12-19 oz bottle of shampoo. It is necessary to stay in the size specifications.
Closing prayer
All seeing God, we admit that frequently much of what we do is for the benefit of others. We give, prayer and even fast so that others will notice our holiness forgetting that it is for you that our hearts should strive. Help us to make our hearts like a transparent plastic bag, which is merely there as a means to do the work without being seen, clearing the line of sight so that others may see you and glorify you, instead of our actions. Help us set aside our egos in order that our actions, prayers and disciplines may draw us ever closer to you our Holy God. Amen.
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