It takes 11-14 years of training to become a doctor. During that time, you live off of student loans and then on a moderate salary as a resident. But when you get your first job as a doctor, you’re suddenly launched well into the 90th percentile of income earners with a salary upwards of $350,000 a year.
So what would you do with your newfound wealth?
This scenario played out for my friends Kealan and Alison. As Kealan’s surgical residency was coming to an end, they began to think about his upcoming pay increase in a counter-cultural way. Since they had already lived with their four kids on his smaller salary, they decided to live on the 50th percentile of income for a family of their size in the United States, and then give the rest of it away.
Kealan wrote, “[When I finish my training], we don’t anticipate changing a thing about our lifestyle. However, we will certainly have more to give. And we are excited! We have already seen God do so much, and we can’t imagine what He might be able to accomplish with even more. And humbly, we get to be a part of it, to see it firsthand.”
That’s some radical generosity!
We love to hear inspiring stories of generosity, and we’re moved when someone is generous towards us. But it’s hard to live out that same generosity in our own lives. In Nehemiah 5, God’s people were wrestling with the same thing.
The Oppressed Cry Out
The book of Nehemiah gives an account of the rebuilding of the walls of Jerusalem. The Jewish people had just returned from exile, and God had given them this mission so that the people could once again be secure and prosperous, and God’s name would be magnified.
But when they began to rebuild, they encountered opposition from their enemies. And that’s no surprise since their enemies preferred the Jews to remain vulnerable without a wall to protect themselves. But in Nehemiah 5, we see there is also conflict from within the people themselves.
“Now there arose a great outcry of the people and of their wives against their Jewish brothers” (Nehemiah 5:1, emphasis added).
The people are suffering for four reasons. First, rebuilding the walls had taken them away from farming their fields, which was their livelihood. Second, there was a famine, which made it even harder to harvest. Third, the people had to pay a tax to the Persian king who governed their land. On top of all those external pressures, their own brothers were oppressing them when they needed to borrow money to pay for all of the aforementioned expenses.
When I moved to Portland to attend college, I didn’t have any money. It took me a while to find a part-time job, so things were pretty tight for a while. I felt the financial pressure, but I never worried that I wouldn’t have money for food or rent because I knew my family would help me.
But imagine if, when things are getting tight, instead of sacrificing to support you, your own friends and family take advantage of you. That’s similar to what’s happening here to the oppressed Jewish people.
Instead of being concerned for the wellbeing of their fellow Jews, some of the wealthy Jews were charging them interest on loans and buying and selling them into slavery when they couldn’t repay their debt. So instead of being united in the mission God gave them to rebuild the walls of Jerusalem, they were thinking only about building their own security and future and how they can profit from the situation.
The Oppressors Repent
When the prophet Nehemiah found out about this situation, he was furious! He heard the outcry from the poor and is righteously angry about the selfishness and injustice. He holds an assembly of all the people, and when he calls the oppressors out, they’re cut to the heart and have no defense for their actions (Nehemiah 5:7–8).
“So I said, ‘The thing that you are doing is not good. Ought you not to walk in the fear of our God to prevent the taunts of the nations our enemies?’” (Nehemiah 5:9)
Notice the reasons Nehemiah gives for why what they are doing is wrong. First, they’re not walking in the fear of God. All of our lives should be lived in the fear of God. That is, everything we do should be in reverence of God and for his glory. In our finances, we should ask, “How can I spend my money in such a way that pleases God and brings him honor?”
The second reason Nehemiah gives is that these lenders should be concerned with preventing the taunts of their enemies. Jerusalem was in ruins and the surrounding nations were insulting them and their God because of their lack of progress. These Jews had completely lost sight of their mission.
We often do the same thing. It’s so easy to focus only on our careers, our own financial goals, or the things we want to buy for ourselves. It’s easy to neglect the mission God has given us as his church.
Jesus has called each one of us to be active in his mission to make disciples of all the nations. Now it doesn’t mean we all should become pastors. God has called most of us to serve him in a different vocation. But we’re all called to live for something much greater than ourselves.
One of the best indicators of where our priorities lie is how we spend our money. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there your heart will be also” (Matthew 6:21). And the world notices. When they see Christians selfish with their money, they scoff at Christianity. But when they see Christians like my friends Kealan and Alison, who give away more of their income than they keep, it makes them intrigued about why we would do that and who our God is.
These wealthy Jews had severely misplaced their priorities, and Nehemiah calls them to repent.
“Let us abandon this exacting of interest. Return to them this very day their fields, their vineyards, their olive orchards, and their houses, and the percentage of money, grain, wine, and oil that you have been exacting from them” (Nehemiah 5:10b–11).
He tells them to return everything they took and to cancel their debt. And look at how they respond. “Then they said, ‘We will restore these and require nothing from them. We will do as you say’” (Nehemiah 5:12a).
What an incredible response! They’re confronted with their sin, and they’re not defensive; they don’t argue. They just repent. Any money they loaned, was now just given as a gift. Oh, that we would respond in such a godly way!
The People Praise God
When the wealthy Jews turned from oppressing to giving generously, it meant these Jews didn’t have to worry any longer about whether or not they’d have food on the table next week. All of Israel could again focus on the mission God had given them. And in fact, in the very next chapter, they finish rebuilding the wall!
The generosity of these wealthy Jews brought great unity to the people. The conflict is resolved, and the assembly ends with everyone saying “Amen” and praising the Lord (Nehemiah 5:13b).
Our Debt Is Paid
The problem is that none of us are generous all the time. Even Nehemiah contributed in part to injustice against the poor (Nehemiah 5:10). We all have greed and selfishness in our hearts. And God takes that very seriously.
When the wealthy Jews promise to cancel the loans, Nehemiah makes them take an oath and says, “May [everyone who does not keep his promise] be shaken out and emptied” (Nehemiah 5:13).
This is a curse we all deserve. We owe God a debt we could never repay. But the good news is that instead of demanding we repay him, God has already paid that debt at his own expense. He sent his Son to empty himself and die the death that we deserve.
“For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you by his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
So let me challenge you to respond to the word of God in Nehemiah 5 by praying about your finances this week. Ask God to give you wisdom for how he may be calling you to grow in generosity. No matter what our income, God calls us all to give sacrificially (cf. Luke 16:10).
Maybe the first thing you need to do is to make a budget. Maybe even have a conversation about specific numbers with someone you trust. And ask God to change your heart, to make you more and more generous.
Let us remember that we have been reconciled to God through his Son. Like the Jews in Nehemiah 5, there is no longer any conflict. We are united to Christ by faith. And that union we have with him drives us to praise him and empowers us to live united as his people, with a radical generosity for his mission. May that be true of us today.