Over the next three articles I want to post portions of an article by Dr. Robertson McQuilkin. He is the President Emeritus of Columbia International University in South Carolina and he passed away in back in 2016. He was a godly man who loved Jesus and lived radically for Him.
He described 6 different stages of spiritual maturity and relates it to how we give. I’ll post 2 stages at a time, progressing in maturity levels. As you read, honestly ask yourself, “When Jesus looks at my giving and spiritual maturity, does He see me in this stage?” Let’s all pray together that we can grow in our giving and in our maturity!
Measuring Maturity (Giving)
By Robertson McQuilkin
Spiritual maturity. We all think we have it, or at least aspire to it. But who actually has it? It may startle us to discover that the Lord Jesus measures spiritual maturity by one’s relationship to material things.
Lest we take a jaundiced view of anyone talking about money, remember that Jesus made it a major theme of his teaching. John MacArthur notes that 16 of Christ’s 38 parables deal with money; that the New Testament talks more about money than about heaven and hell combined, and five times more about money than prayer. While 500+ verses mention prayer and faith, over 2,000 deal with money and possessions. So the Lord must think our relationship to money is an important indicator of our level of maturity.
Infancy: Non-Giving
Infants are basically self-centered non-givers. Some time ago, I hazarded watching a nursery full of two-year-olds. After all, my grandson was one of them. One small boy seemed to take a fancy to me, repeatedly bringing me toys. I said to myself, “Kid, if you don’t quit this, you’ll ruin my sermon point about infants being takers and not givers.” So I tracked the little fellow cruising among the others. An unsuspecting little girl sat alone in a corner with her doll. My generous little friend slipped up behind her, bonked her on the head and snatched her dolly to bring as a gift. “Thank you,” I breathed, “for restoring my faith in original sin.”
An infant is basically a non-giver. Every church seems to have its share of infants—getters, not givers, needing a platoon of the faithful to quell their squabbles, entertain and clean up their messes. Jesus told us about this stage: The ground of a certain rich man produced a good crop. He thought to himself, “What shall I do? I have no place to store my crops. This is what I’ll do. I will tear down my barns and build bigger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. And I’ll say to myself, ʻYou have plenty of good things laid up for many years. Take life easy; eat,
drink and be merry.ʼ” (Lk. 12:16-18)
Godʼs response? “Fool! Dead man! Tonight your soul will be required of you.” Actually, the self-centered getter is already dead, spiritually. A sign of genuine spiritual life is often the desire to give.
Kindergarten: Impulse Giving
Luke introduces us to a kindergartner who began to get his kicks out of giving. The wealthy little, big-time chiseler, the despised head honcho of the local Roman tax unit, wanted to see Jesus, but couldn’t because of the throngs of people. So Zacchaeus climbed a tree to glimpse this famed itinerant preacher passing by. Jesus stopped and invited himself to a meal. We know there was birth from above because of the host’s announcement:
“I give half my goods to the poor. And if I have taken anything from anyone by false accusation, I will restore it four-fold.” (Lk. 19:8)
Quite a surge of generosity for an ex-getter! Impulsively he risked bankrupting himself. Most Christians give by impulse. While I was a student, my wife and I attended an event sponsored by a premier fund-raiser. Following his appeal, it was as if a giant vacuum cleaner swept through the audience, cleaning out every purse. We, too, emptied our pockets—right down to bus fare home. Impulse giving.
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Next Time:
-Elementary and Secondary Giving-
