You Gotta Prime the Pump

This past Sunday I spoke on the subject of generosity. There is a story I read about in Charles Swindoll’s book on Mediocrity. I would like to share it with you—Let me set it up first… When I was a child, I would spend the weekends with my grandfather at his fishing camp on Lake Bistineau in Louisiana. My grandfather had one of those old-fashioned hand water pumps that people used to use. You had to pour water into the pump first to get water flowing from it. This is where we get the expression “prime the pump.” With that in mind, here is the story…

A man lost in the desert, wandering aimlessly, was desperately thirsty for a drink of water. He stumbled upon an old weather-beaten, windowless, roofless old shack. He took refuge inside its walls and found a little shade. As he glanced around, he saw an old water pump about fifteen feet away and stumbled over to it. He grabbed the handle and began to pump up and down, repeatedly, but nothing came out. Disappointed, he staggered back to a corner, but then noticed an old jug off to the side. He looked at it, wiped away the dirt and the dust, and read a message that said, “You have to prime the pump with all the water in this jug. P.S. Be sure to fill the jug again before you leave.”

He popped the cork off the jug, and sure enough, it was full of water! Suddenly, he was faced with a decision. If he drank the water, he could live, but if he poured all the water into the old rusty pump, it might yield fresh, cool water from the well—all the water he wanted. He studied the possibility of both options and wondered what he should do. Should he pour all the water into the old pump and take a chance on fresh, cool water, or drink from the old jug and disregard its message? Should he waste all of the water on the hopes of those words of instruction written on the jug, no telling how long ago?

Reluctantly and anxiously, he poured all the water into the pump. Then he grabbed the handle and began to pump–up and down, up and down. Nothing came out. Up and down, up and down. Still nothing came out. Suddenly at last, a little bit began to dribble out, then a small stream, and finally it gushed! To his great relief, fresh and cool water poured out of the rusty pump. Eagerly, he filled the jug and drank from it, and filled it another time and once again drank its refreshing contents. Then he filled the jug to the top for the next traveler, popped the cork back on, and added this note: “Believe me, it really works. You have to give it all away before you can get anything back.”
 
That is a picture of faith when it comes to generosity! It took faith for the thirsty man to take all the available water to prime the pump. Think of your resources as the jug of water, and then think of God’s blessings in your life as the cool, stream of gushing water. It raises the question: Will you keep your resources all to yourself, or will you, by faith, prime the pump of God’s flood of blessings? The choice is yours. However, remember this: our faith teaches us to live generously! “…Whoever sows generously will also reap generously” (2 Corinthians 9:6). May it be so…

Devotedly yours,
Pastor Ron