Free Milk and a Cow

When I was a kid my younger sisters got a recording called Animals and Other Things with songs about Christian virtues each using an animal as an example. We got a special kick out of the one about generosity. I can still remember it. The first verse goes like this:

“The cows in the field

They chew their cuds all day

And when the farmer comes around they give their milk away

They're willing to cooperate

They never seem to mind

'Cuz giving is a better way of living all the time!

Give give give give each and every day

Like those cows keep livin' that givin' way.”

You can listen to the song yourself by clicking here, along with all the other songs on the recording as well.

We laughed at that song because we had a milk cow. I'm not sure that “living that giving way” would be the best way to describe the situation. The cow was often not willing to cooperate and would happily kick the bucket, swat you in the head with the frozen manure clod on her tail and step on your foot. Although we didn't pay money at the store for our milk the way my town friends did, there was a time and work involved even when the cow did cooperate. It needed to be milked every morning and evening and fed, and the milk needed to be strained and skimmed as soon as it was brought in. We got a lot of benefit from that cow and it did not involve money but it wasn't free.

My guess is that the people who wrote the song were not familiar with cows and as I listen to that song now as an adult I also wonder whether they were familiar with generosity.

Jesus didn't “give, give, give, give, each and every day”. We shouldn't either and we shouldn't invite others to live that way. Jesus regularly withdrew from crowds of people who were waiting for him to give them more teaching, more healing, or more inspiration. He withdrew in order to stock up his own resources, spend time with God, and spend time with loved ones. In one case the crowd was so pressing that Jesus left in a boat and the crowd ran all the way around the lake while he floated across so they could meet up with him on the other side. We read that sometimes early in the morning Jesus' disciples couldn't find him even though there were people waiting to be taught, healed, and led because he snuck away to be by himself with God. Jesus sometimes took his close circle of friends and went somewhere else so he could spend time with them instead of being eaten up by his public work. As a result of sometimes refusing to give to those who were asking for it he had disciples and we have the gospels.

Generosity is costly. It's good and it's freely given and worthwhile but it's not cheap. When we give things away, whether it's time or expertise or items or money, we offer those things from what we have available. It is our duty and privilege to be generous people but sometimes we run out when we have not balanced ourselves the way Jesus did. When we have nothing available generosity tips over and becomes exploitation or we become resentful frustrated givers instead of cheerful. In order to be generous, we also need to receive. In order to be generous, we need to learn when to pull back from giving.

It could be that somebody had told Jesus the story about free milk and a cow. There's a song about that too which you can look up on your own but the story is very short and goes like this: The cow gives free milk to the farmer as long as the farmer takes good care of the cow. The relationship needs to go both ways in order to stay healthy.

In the church, we might add a few participants and say that the relationship needs to go around and around to stay healthy. Sometimes I give and other times I receive. In order for me to be generous, you both get to and need to receive my generosity. In order for you to be generous, I get to and need to receive from you. In that way, we become brothers and sisters in faith.

A person who only receives is not able to be a full member of the community and neither is a person who only gives. Each of us receives sometimes and gives in other situations. Each person has better access to some things than others and can be more generous in those ways but we all both contribute to each other and lean on each other. Certain seasons in our lives require a lot of giving or a lot of receiving but those seasons come to an end and the balance shifts. People who seem to have endless resources turn out to be needy in surprising ways. Others who seem to have tremendous needs are able to be generous in surprising ways.

After a long pause due to public health orders, our church programs and activities are starting back up. Sunday school, small groups, worship times, and regularly taking care of each other and the resources that we have available present lots of opportunities for both giving and receiving. May you give well, receive well, and pull back effectively with Christ as your guide.