Generosity: R.O.I.

by Gary Johnson

We are off to a strong start in 2025. Each month, we are focusing on a trait in the life of Jesus in hopes of making this the year of surrender to Jesus. Wanting to obey the command in 1 John 2:6, that if we claim to be Christians, we must live as Jesus lived, each month we are pursuing one of the stellar traits in the life of Jesus. This month, we focus on how Jesus modeled outrageous generosity. What does it look like to live with God-honoring generosity? Think of it this way. 

ROI means return on investment. For those of us who look ahead, we focus on ROI because when we retire, we want to have sufficient resources to sustain us. For those who own or lead businesses, people focus on their ROI because they want their businesses to remain open and competitive. Yet, ROI should be the focus of every Christian. Let’s redefine ROI as Reflect, Overcome and Impact. 

Reflect 

When it comes to generosity, no one has been more generous than God Himself. From the opening pages of Scripture that describe the beginning of measured time, God was (and still is) outrageously generous. He created earth in all of its splendor and then He GAVE it to us to enjoy. Moreover, God so loved us that He GAVE us His one and only Son so that those who trust in Jesus receive the gift of eternal life. Jesus declared that there is no greater love than when someone lays down his life for his friend, and that is exactly what Jesus Himself did on the cross (John 15:13). Talk about indescribable generosity! 

Now think – reflect – on this. In Genesis 1:26-27, we read that we have been “made in the image of God,” and being that God is outrageously generous, we have the capacity of being the same. There is truth in the statement that “the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree.” As Christians (i.e., followers of Christ), we have every ability to practice generosity. After all, it is one of the stellar traits in the life of Jesus. 

We can give without loving, but we can’t love without giving. God so loved that He gave. If we say that we love God, but we do not give, we don’t actually love God. The first and greatest commandment is to love God with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength (Mark 12:30) and that includes our stuff—which leads us in our thinking to O for overcome. 

Overcome 

Living in America, it is very easy for our money (and what money can buy) to overcome us. Too often, we buy into the lie that more is never enough. We spend money we do not have on things we do not need to impress people we do not know. 

During His final journey to Jerusalem where He would die, Jesus talked about what really mattered in His few final days and weeks of life. One such topic was greed. In Luke 12:13-21, Jesus told the parable of “barn guy,” who decided to build a bigger barn because he did not have enough room in which to store all of his stuff. Boldly and clearly, Jesus declared that our lives do not consist in the abundance of our possessions. In other words, our net worth does not determine our self-worth. 

Barn Guy spoke with first person singular pronouns of “me, myself and I.” He talked about his barns and his stuff. He also spoke of having plenty – of having more than he would ever need – in this life. His focus was on HIS life and THIS life alone. Regretfully, too many of us follow the barn guy’s example, rather than the example of Jesus. 

Perhaps like me, you wear glasses because of having myopia, more commonly known as being near-sighted. We can see things close up to us, but we need our sight corrected in order to see things far from us. Similarly, Christians can be spiritually myopic in that we see things that matter to “me, myself and I.” We are selfish in that we think and act like the barn guy. We need to overcome that condition if we hope to live like Jesus, being outrageously generous, which leads us to I for impact. 

Impact 

During the last week of His life, Jesus was in the Temple, and He saw many people putting their Passover offerings into collection boxes (Mark 12:41-44). The text describes many wealthy people putting in their offerings out of their wealth, yet there was a widow who put in all that she had on which to live. This caught the attention of Jesus, and He then told His disciples of her giving out of her poverty. The widow had—and still has—an impact. 

When we generously give of our time, talent and treasure to the Lord, we have an impact on those around us. This is a part of what I call our legacy. 

Humphrey Monmouth (d. 1537) has had an enormous impact on my life and countless others because of his generosity. Yet, he is largely unknown. Monmouth was a businessman in England, and he became a friend of William Tyndale (1494-1536), the Father of the English Bible. Tyndale, a brilliant scholar and linguist fluent in eight languages, translated the Bible into English. Tyndale was branded a heretic by the Roman Catholic Church, tied to a stake, strangled to death, and his body was then burned – and all at the young age of 42. How does Humphrey Monmouth fit into this story? He used his wealth to underwrite Tyndale’s translation efforts, then to print and distribute thousands of copies of the first English translation of the Bible through England – and he was jailed in the Tower of London for doing so. Every time you and I open and read an English Bible, we have Tyndale, Monmouth, and others to thank for the opportunity. Talk about a worldwide impact! (more about Monmouth can be found here) 

To live like Jesus, be generous! Live every day to have a spiritual ROI.