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The Giving Church It is the main subject in nearly half the parables Jesus told. In addition, one out of every seven verses in the New Testament deals with the topic. What is the subject? Money. Money and the Believer The Bible certainly has a lot to say about the believer and his money. While Scripture offers about 500 verses on prayer, and fewer than 500 on faith, there are more than 2,000 verses on money! Perhaps that is why the early church placed such a high priority on giving. In Acts 2:45 we read that they "sold their possessions and goods, and divided among all, as anyone had need." The early church looked out for one another and invested financially in what God was doing. Unfortunately, the concept of giving today has become somewhat distorted. On the one hand, we have those who tell us that we must take faith vows and send in our "seed money" so that God may prosper us. On the other hand, we have those who see no need to regularly give of their resources to God. Yet, this aspect of our lives tells a great deal about our spirituality. You can tell a lot about a person by taking a tour of his checkbook. It reveals that individual's real value system. Jesus Himself said, "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also" (Matthew 6:21). It is sometimes said that we should give until it hurts. But Jesus teaches that it should hurt when we cease to give. Giving: A Real Test of Faithfulness Jesus said, "So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own"(Luke 16:11–12). To God, the faithful giver is one who understands that he is not the owner, but the steward of his resources. Martin Luther once said that three conversions are necessary: the conversion of the heart, the mind, and the purse (or wallet). Biblical Principles on Giving 1. Our motive in giving is important.
The word for cheerful in this verse could also be translated "hilarious." We should give hilariously, joyfully"not out of mere duty or guilt. As Jesus said, "It is more blessed to give than to receive" (Acts 20:35). 2. As we give, God will give to us.
God promises that if we have the right attitude and are generous, He will bless us. In reality, if our financial condition is bad, it could be because, in a sense, we have reaped what we have sown (we've sown little, we've reaped little).
This truth is conveyed many times in the pages of Scripture:
3. Our giving should be sacrificial The context of this familiar promise of God supplying our need in Philippians is significant. At the time Paul penned those words, the Philippian believers had just helped Paul in his hour of need. They believed that love should not just be in word, but also in deed. So, they had given Paul a financially sacrificial gift. As a result, they had a need. Their need was not created by bad stewardship or an unwillingness to work, nor by extravagance or foolish spending. Instead, it came from a heartfelt desire to assist a fellow brother in Christ in his work for the Lord. Because their hearts were right, Paul assured them—and all believers—that God would indeed supply their needs. God would not be their debtor. Some may say, "I can’t afford to give!" In reality, you can’t afford not to give. David said that he would not give to the Lord that which cost him nothing (2 Samuel 24:24). Generosity is not measured by the size of the gift itself, but by its size in comparison to what is possessed. The widow who gave two mites to the temple treasury gave more than the many rich people who gave large sums because, as Jesus said, "They put in out of their surplus, but one, out of her poverty, put in all she owned" (Mark 12:44). Some might say, "If I had a million dollars, I would give more to the Lord." But that is not necessarily true. It is all relative. The person who has a million could easily say, "If I just had ten million..." The question God would have for us is this: What are you doing with what I have given to you? Are you being faithful with that? When we read that God promises to meet our needs, that does not mean that we can strike a bargain with God, in which as we give to God, He must give back to us in a multiplied way. That would be giving to get. God will not honor that type of giving because it comes from an impure motive. Instead, we should give because God has so graciously and generously given to us. As Christians, we have received the gift of forgiveness and the hope of eternal life. Others may have also received the healing of a marriage or the mending of a home. And you have received it from the Lord free of charge. We should give because we have received. The Right and Wrong Ways to Give to God We can miss the boat on giving in a number of ways:
The Wrong Way to Give The latter is the case in this passage of Scripture. Verse two says, "When you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from men. Assuredly I say to you, they have their reward." The word "reward" in this verse means "paid in full and receipted." In other words, if you give financially or of your time or do something in such a way as to draw attention to yourself, you have already received your reward. The Right Way to Give God wants us to give with the right motive. Jesus explains, "But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly" (vv. 3–4). In that particular culture, the right hand was considered the primary hand of action. In a normal day, many things would be done with the right hand that would not involve the left. The idea here is to do our giving quietly, not proclaiming it, announcing it, or bragging about it. We should also give in secret—no matter what kind of gift it is. Whether you give of your finances, in faithful prayer, or by serving in Sunday School or some unknown region in the mission field, it should be done unpretentiously, with no thought of recognition or appreciation. Then, your Father who sees you in secret will reward you openly. It comes down to this: if we remember, God will forget; but if we forget, God will remember. We need to leave the bookkeeping to God, realizing that we have only done that which we ought to have done. Our Giving Reveals Our True Priorities In the Old Testament, the Prophet Haggai addresses the needs of the people as they lamented about the fact that no matter how much they made, it was never enough. God then reveals to them that their real problem is not material but spiritual. They had experienced a spiritual breakdown. While they had plenty of money for their own needs, they had nothing left for the work of God and the maintenance of His temple. God said, "You eat, but never have enough. You drink, but never have your fill. You put on clothes, but are not warm. You earn wages, only to put them in a purse with holes in it" (Haggai 1:6). God reproves the people for thinking only about themselves and not about His work or the needs of others. God goes on to tell these people, "What you brought home, I blew away. Why? Because of My house, which remains a ruin, while each of you is busy with his own house" (Haggai 1:9). The people’s improper priorities, their selfishness, and their failure to seek to please God caused their lives to be out of balance, frustrating and unfulfilling. The giving issue is the outgrowth of a life that is right with God. We need to discover the joy of giving—sacrificially, hilariously, regularly and quietly. Remember, God is not asking us to give because He needs our resources. The whole world is at His disposal! In essence, He is challenging us to make Him the focus of our love, rather than our money and possessions. Then, as we express our love to God by freely giving him a portion of our resources, He will tangibly display His faithfulness to us in return. |
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