The Missing Makarios
The Good Life and Generosity
"For our next gathering, there’s a small advance assignment. No more than one hour putting together a fifteen-minute talk on giving and generosity from 2 Corinthians 8-9. Expect to share this talk in person at the gathering on Tuesday."
I received this message last October as part of my ongoing work with Leaders Collective’s Church Planting Cohort. That short, moderately stressful exercise turned into a sermonette that has been sitting on a file my computer for months now. But as I’ve been thinking of ways to keep those of you following along with our journey toward planting a new church in Asheville, NC, it seemed worth dusting off and sharing here. Regarding the fact that it’s about generosity while we’re in a season of fundraising—well… let the reader understand.
A Word That Changes Everything
When Jesus began what would go on to be called the greatest sermon ever preached—the Sermon on the Mount in Matthew’s Gospel, his charter for the now-available life in the Kingdom of God—he didn’t start with a reading from the Scriptures, an engaging but relatable personal story, or even one of his classic parables. He began with a word—one word—repeated nine times.
So, whatever theological terms and phrases we might use to describe the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom of Heaven, or, as John called it, “eternal life, life unto the age,” it would seem that if we miss this one word, we might be missing everything Jesus was about.
Most English translations render this word, makarios, as blessed, but almost every scholar agrees this is a poor or at least murky translation. In English, blessed and the beatitudes we find it in often carries an if-then connotation—if you do this, then God will bless you. But Jesus wasn’t issuing commands or setting up conditional rewards for the appropriately religious and moral. He was declaring, “Congratulations!” Makarios is not about receiving or even earning a spiritual boon but about identifying and celebrating the good life when it’s seen ( Jonathan Pennington, The Sermon on the Mount and Human Flourishing).
Psalm 1 begins the same way: Blessed is the one who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked... A more accurate rendering? Flourishing (or as the CSB translation puts it, “Happy!”) is the one who does not walk in the advice of the wicked. The word is a declaration of joy, of a recognition of those who are living well.
In those opening beatitudes, then, we find Jesus laying out the Kingdom’s arrival in our midst. But the great surprise in each of them is how they turn our assumptions of "the good life” on their head, counter intuitively it's found among the poor in spirit, the powerless, and the persecuted. (BibleProject: The Beatitudes).
The Missing Makarios
For Jesus, life in the Kingdom was a life of surprising blessing, life that looked to the world like death, flourishing that looked like picking up your cross.. So with all that surprising makarios emphasis, it's interesting that there was another instance of Jesus’ description of makarios that didn't get picked up by the four gospel writers. But in Acts 20:35, Paul recalls Jesus himself as saying: “It is more blessed to give than to receive.”
Now, if we read this in religious terms, we assume it means: It is more right, more moral to give than to receive. And sure, that makes sense. It sounds noble. But if we read this (as we should) as “It is happier to give than to receive,” it strikes us as a bit more strange. Mostly because we assume the opposite: that receiving is the path to happiness.
I’m a one-pair-of-shoes kind of guy—I tend to wear one pair of slip-on Vans until they practically melt onto my feet. But for my birthday last year, Erin got me my first pair of Blundstone boots—something slightly dressier, a little more grown-up, and practically part of the Asheville uniform. When I opened the gift, I was thrilled. Here was someone who knew me, saw my needs, and loved me. I sure felt pretty happy—fairly flourishing—in that moment, putting on those new boots. More than I tend to feel when giving gifts to others, when giving to someone at a stoplight, or donating to a nonprofit.
So was Jesus wrong?
The Science of Generosity
It turns out, Jesus knew exactly what he was talking about. Modern social science has confirmed that generosity isn’t just good for those receiving it —it’s a pathway to genuine happiness for those giving. Studies consistently show that generous people:
Are happier
Have lower levels of depression and anxiety
Enjoy deeper relationships
Literally laugh more
Even have longer life expectancy
Generosity isn’t just morally good—it’s actually good for you.
And while that may be the good fruit, the spring buds of a generous life, that flourishing emerges within us as God’s image bearers in God’s world – we are stepping into the life of God when we give because, it could be argued we are never more like God than when we give.
John Ortberg once wrote that God is the happiest being in the universe—and also the most generous. Creation itself was an act of generosity. Every sunrise, every breath, every drop of rain on the just and the unjust alike—these are signs of divine generosity. The Father gave the Son. The Son gave his life. The Father and Son together give the Spirit. We have been given forgiveness, grace, and mercy, and in turn, we are invited to give.
Paul captures the generous heart of God in the gospel in 2 Corinthians 8:9: 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 through his poverty might become rich.
Generosity is not just something we do—it is a reflection of the God who made us and has saved us. Every act of giving shapes us, not only makes us more like the God who is life and is lavishly generous – it displays to others a tangible sign of the Kingdom.
Practicing the Missing Makarios
How do we lean into the joy of generosity?
Rethink the meaning of blessing – Instead of seeing generosity as a duty, recognize it as an invitation to flourishing.
Start small, but start – You don’t have to give away everything you own. Though with Jesus, it’s not off the table. But start with something that is genuinely sacrificial, but feels within your present capabilities, schedule, resources.
Give in secret – Jesus encourages giving without seeking recognition (Matthew 6:3-4). There is joy in unnoticed generosity.
Trust the process – The more we practice generosity, the more we will find that it truly is more blessed to give than to receive.
The Good Life Is a Generous Life
The missing makarios of Jesus is not about obligation. It’s an invitation—to flourishing, to joy, to a life that mirrors the generous heart of God to the world. A life that represents not only who God is – but what he had done for us – and the truly flourishing life comes not just in receiving that life, but sharing it with others.