Generosity, Satisfaction, and Joy

Scripture — Luke 3:7-14 (NRSV)

John said to the crowds that came out to be baptized by him, “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the wrath to come? Bear fruits worthy of repentance. Do not begin to say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our ancestor’; for I tell you, God is able from these stones to raise up children to Abraham. Even now the ax is lying at the root of the trees; every tree therefore that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.”

And the crowds asked him, “What then should we do?” In reply, he said to them, “Whoever has two coats must share with anyone who has none; and whoever has food must do likewise.” Even tax collectors came to be baptized, and they asked him, “Teacher, what should we do?” He said to them, “Collect no more than the amount prescribed for you.” Soldiers also asked him, “And we, what should we do?” He said to them, “Do not extort money from anyone by threats or false accusation, and be satisfied with your wages.”

Devotion

When I was a boy, one of my cherished Advent traditions was an in-depth study of the Sears catalog, known colloquially as the Big Book or Wish Book. Okay, I recognize that this tradition wasn’t reflective of Christian Advent themes. But it was something that occupied many of my hours during the season of Advent.

If you were born in the last thirty years, you would not be familiar with the Sears catalog, since the last one was published in 1993. This means you would not have known the wonder of perusing a catalog that had over 500 pages, with at least 200 dedicated to an amazing collection of toys. Millions of children in my generation assembled their Christmas wish lists by careful study of the Big Book. That’s why this practice was so central to my boyhood experience of Advent. The Sears catalog filled me with desire for the new toys I hoped to receive on Christmas. When I received one or more of those toys, I experienced satisfaction and renewed my commitment to my Advent catalog tradition since it paid off so effectively.

Satisfaction shows up in the proclamation of John the Baptist in Luke 3, but in a different form and for different reasons. No Sears catalog here! John was calling his fellow Jews to “Bear fruits worthy of repentance” because God is on the move (Luke 3:8). When they asked, “What then should we do?” he offered several specifics.

First of all, someone who has two coats should share with one who has none (3:11). In a word, John called people to sacrificial generosity. This, I’m embarrassed to admit, is pretty much the opposite of my approach to the Sears catalog during Advent. That was all about getting, not giving. I really didn’t spend much time looking for gifts I could give my parents or siblings. I was more interested in what they might give me.

Second, John said that tax collectors should “Collect no more than the amount prescribed” (3:13). Though they were permitted to charge considerably more than they had to pay to Rome, John urged them to act with justice, not greed. Similarly, he exhorted soldiers not to extort money from people. Rather, he added, they should “be satisfied with [their] wages” (3:14).

There it is . . . satisfaction. Soldiers should be satisfied with their wages. They should be content with what they have. Though soldiers in the ancient world didn’t make much money, what they had should have been enough for their souls to be content.

The season of Advent can be a time for us to heed the dual exhortation of John the Baptist. It’s a great time to be generous. No, I’m not thinking about Christmas gifts. Rather I’m thinking about the end-of-year charitable giving we might choose to do in this season. Each year at this time my wife and I sit down to talk about the extra giving we’d like to do beyond our usual support of our church and a few ministries. We find genuine satisfaction in being able to give to others. In fact, what we experience is more than satisfaction. You could say it’s joy.

Sometimes, however, I do wish we had the financial resources to give even more to others. Yet I try not to get stuck in that attitude of dissatisfaction. Instead, I work on being satisfied with what God has entrusted to us and on being grateful for the opportunity to share with others. The joy comes in knowing that we are supporting God’s work in the world. That joy is enhanced when we hear back from those to whom we are giving.

In conclusion, I don’t believe it’s wrong to make a list of the things you want for Christmas. In fact, it can be a great service to your family if you make such a list. But I also believe John the Baptist would remind us that the seasons of Advent and Christmas are excellent times to practice generosity and to experience satisfaction. When we do, we will receive the timely gift of joy.

Find all Life for Leaders devotions here. Explore what the Bible has to say about work at the unique website of our partners, the Theology of Work Project. Reflection on today’s Life for Leaders theme can be found here: John the Baptist Teaches Workplace Ethics (Luke 3:8-14).