How Generosity Heals

Gregory R. Lanier, Ph.D., Reformed Theological Seminary (Orlando)

“Doomscrolling” the news in today’s world can produce a lot of different emotional reactions, from fear to anxiety to anger to cynicism. It is tempting in particular for Christians to fall into perpetual pearl-clutching, hand-wringing, and despair. But NCF and those it serves who are blessed with material prosperity might be in a unique position to pursue a different path than negativity. For a few moments I want to build a positive case for how generosity can be a healing force in a polarized age. To do so I will make a few observations on a pivotal passage in the book of Acts and then reflect on the “so what?”

Acts 6:1-7 records a crisis in the early church that the apostles addressed in a masterful way. Typically, this passage is used to support the office and role of deacons in today’s church. But we can also look at it from a different perspective as a window into the healing role of wise benevolence. Let me explain.

Observations on Acts 6

The scene opens with a note that the church is growing—but there is a problem. Everything comes to a screeching halt. A group of “Hellenists” raise a complaint against the “Hebrews” because some of their widows are being overlooked in the “daily distribution.” So much for church in the good ole’ days, right?

At this stage of the game, the “Hebrews” (likely referring to Jewish-background Christians who mainly used a Semitic language) had the bulk of the power and influence in the church. The “Hellenists” (Gentile-background converts who defaulted to Greek language) were relative newcomers. There was already, in other words, a bit of division brewing. On top of this, just as today there was quite an economic gap between the “haves” and “have nots.” Though the Jesus-movement was somewhat middle class in today’s terms, many Christians were destitute. Thus, the apostles had already started a “daily distribution” of food to help those in need (a practice that is also behind 1 Tim 5:9-16). Indeed, the early church was well known for its generous spirit in helping the poor (Acts 11:29-30; Gal 2:10; 2 Cor 8:1-5).

But things get snarled in Acts 6 when some people are getting bypassed in this benevolent aid. It is quite striking to look at the attributes of those who are being overlooked:

Ethnicity	✓	Gentile-background		Jewish-background
Culture/language	✓	Greek		Semitic
Gender	✓	Female		Male
Marriage status	✓	Widowed/single		Married
Social status	✓	Poor		Middle/upper class

As Gentile-background, Greek-speaking, poor, widowed females, they checked all the wrong boxes and held the smallest amount of social capital in the church. They also would have been small in number. It would have been incredibly easy to ignore their needs to keep this church thing booming.

Why does this matter? Today, the identity labels mentioned above prove to be very polarizing. One perspective within the broader church is that ethnicity, culture, gender, marriage, and social standing are all that matter—that intersectionality (the combination of such identities) should drive everything towards “social justice.” The opposite perspective is that such labels do not matter at all—that the church must only preach Jesus to save souls, and anything else is a diluted “social gospel.”

How did the apostles respond?

The issues in Acts 6 sound remarkably contemporary, no? The apostles could have ignored the snag, but they didn’t. Eight things stand out about their solution:

1. Priority: they stop everything to get this right.
2. Honesty: they acknowledge where things have broken down rather than hiding or blame-shifting.
3. Dignity: they lift up the needs of these suffering Greek widows to agenda item 1 on their docket.
4. Risk: they, being in the “Hebrew” camp, reach across the aisle to the “Greeks” who are different.
5. Clarity: they recognize differences in respective gifting/calling (some to word, some to deed; verse 2) and are willing to “pass the ball.”
6. Leadership: they find the best possible men to lead the effort, who are “full of the Spirit and wisdom” (verse 3), not the interns!
7. Trust: they specifically pick seven Hellenistic men (all their names are Greek, not Jewish) who know the community in need and are known by that community.
8. Empowerment: they publicly commission this group with an apostolic “seal of approval.”

And what is the result of their decision to handle the crisis in such a wise manner? Benevolence heals the wounds in the church. Once they unclog the distribution to ensure this handful of overlooked widows get the care they need, “the word of God continued to increase” (verse 7). It’s incredibly fascinating: they hit the brakes to sort things out financially, and then (and only then) the movement regains momentum.

The gospel goes forward not in spite of but precisely because people’s material needs are met through wise stewardship. Generosity heals.

So what?

Stepping back from this intriguing story from Acts, I would offer a few words of encouragement for those who seek to use God’s financial blessings to help others.

First, the dichotomy between proclaiming the gospel and addressing material needs is a false one. The apostles believed the two are mutually beneficial when done rightly. It is not “word > deed” but “word + deed.” Today’s church desperately needs generous givers for its kingdom mission to go forth.

Second, the apostolic solution is a masterclass in wise benevolence: identifying needs, clarifying your lane, valuing people across all boundary lines, casting a vision, and implementing with wisdom.

Third, in a divisive age generosity heals because it shows you…

• Are listening
• Recognize the complexities of people’s needs outside your bubble
• Can hold differences of belief and opinion, but still cherish all people as God’s image-bearers
• Take the long view to work for real change (not just throw money at something)
• Care about outcomes, not buzzwords or virtue signaling.

My hope is that you are encouraged to see generosity as a powerful force to break down walls—that the word of God might continue to increase in our day just as it did centuries ago.

---

Greg Lanier (Ph.D. Cambridge) teaches New Testament at Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS Orlando), serves as academic dean of RTS Global, and is associate pastor at River Oaks Church in Lake Mary, FL. Prior to ministry he served in various corporate roles in management consulting, banking, and private equity, and he is a graduate of UNC Chapel Hill. He has written several books on topics related to the New Testament, and he lives in Oviedo, FL, with his wife (also a Tar Heel) and three daughters.