As I write this at Christmas time I’m being bombarded by the usual discussion on television and in churches about who is donating to charity and who isn’t and what “donating” really means. I wanted to discuss the different claims about what giving really means and where the Bible comes down on the subject.
The first thing that comes to a lot people’s minds when you mention giving to your church is tithing, which means donating 10% of your income to charity. I was at a friend’s house once and he was telling me about how his church had really been pushing tithing and how great he thought it was. Somehow the conversation led to him asking me where I sent my tithes. I told him I did not pay tithes. His reaction was that of stunned surprise. “You don’t tithe? You’re such a good Christian, I can’t believe you don’t tithe.” I explained to him that I donated to causes and individuals as I was called on to do so. Nowhere in the New Covenant are we as Christians called on to tithe.
Now, in saying that, I don’t mean to imply that giving regularly (weekly or monthly) to a church or other ministry is wrong. On the contrary, the workers in the field need a steady flow of support to be able to continue their work. Tithing, however, lets you off the hook. “I can see this person needs help, but I already paid my 10% to my own church. He’ll have to be someone else’s responsibility.” Do we only belong to God 10%, or do we belong to Him 100%? The fact that you give is not what’s important. What is important is WHY you are giving. Are you giving as a result of the natural outpouring of God’s love in your life to a ministry that you perceive is doing vital work for God’s Kingdom, OR is it because it’s something your church is twisting your arm to do?
II Cor 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
Sadly, in addition to the issue of shirking one’s responsibilities, many churches push tithing on their congregations, not to promote their members’ spiritual growth (which it doesn’t anyway), but as a means to ensure their own revenue. I know that is a very sad and cynical view to take, nonetheless, it happens. It’s understandable for an organization to want to ensure its own funding and Churches often have a number of financial pressures they must wrestle with. For example: the mortgage on the fancy new building, the rock concerts they put on, the new audio and video production equipment they use during the service, printing the beautiful new cookbooks they hand out to anyone who walks in the door, the lavish deli trays they put out for their members after Sunday services or the tour bus the youth group uses to take its kids to amusement parks. All things which are clearly essential to spreading the Gospel and maintaining the spiritual wellbeing of a congregation, right?
I’ve seen churches take other approaches to leveraging revenue from its members. My mom took my sister and me to a very large church once (it probably seated 3,000 people) to see a concert or magic show or something. Before the show started, someone got up and spoke to the crowd and told us that the show was free and went on about how nice it was for them to do that for us. But, they were going to pass the collection plate around for anyone who would like to donate out of the goodness of their hearts to help offset the expenses they were incurring from the show. Of course, most everyone was glad to help out. Then an intermission in the show came and this guy came back up again and said he had sad news. They had been counting the money and it was not enough to cover their expenses for the night.
He stressed again how nice his church was for putting on this great free show for everyone and that we were all responsible for making it free for everyone… by paying for it. The plate was passed around again. I was fairly young at the time, but I felt uneasy about this second, guilt-laden request and I could tell that those around me felt the same way. BUT, the guy said they needed it, so a few people ended up putting in more money still. Once the show was over, the same guy got back up in front of everyone with more sad news. The second collection was still not enough and he needed to take a third collection before anyone was allowed to leave. The guilt was laid on very thick and I was really taken aback by it. A palpable sense of uneasiness could be felt throughout the cavernous hall. I was almost afraid to leave at that point because I thought I might be turned upside down at the door to see if any change fell out of my pockets. I felt like the donations were not for the show, but that they put on the show so they could pass a collection plate around three times. I also strongly suspect that if more people had given the third time the collection was taken, they would have sent it around a fourth time, just to make sure they weren’t missing anything.
A huge church like that needs quite a lot of money to keep running, but the question I have is two-fold. How does constantly twisting your congregants’ arms to give you money make them a better Christian? And are all the things your church is spending money on really necessary to the Kingdom of God?
I was at another large church once that was suffering under the weight of an economic downturn at the time. The minister was quite annoyed at his congregation for their lack of giving. He looked out on them and said with frustration and annoyance: “This congregation should be able to support a budget this size.” So what was wrong with this congregation that they clung selfishly to their money, preventing the church from putting on an even more spectacular Christmas program this year? There are two main reasons any body of Christians fail in their duty to provide service to a ministry. First, their spiritual health has been neglected.
James 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
James 2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?
James 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.
We as Christians cannot sit and watch and say, ‘gee, that looks bad brother,’ then turn and walk away. How can we say we have faith then? No matter the faith we may have once had inside us, it is now dead and there is no use in trying to deny it. When we are presented with a brother or sister or ministry in need, we should earnestly turn our hearts to God and ask Him to lead us to what we should do. I’ve done this many times and the Lord leans on my heart and makes it very clear to me what help I should offer.
The second big reason that a congregation is lax in their service to the church is closely intertwined with the first: They do not see the vital work of the Kingdom being performed there. If a church is no longer a place of learning and Christian fellowship and is instead just a social club with loud music, parties and simplistic talks masquerading as sermons, why should a Christian feel obligated to help keep it running?
In either case, the source of the problem can be traced directly back to the leadership of the church body. Church leadership in the United States today is possibly the limpest and most anemic of any in world history. The minister I mentioned who demanded of his congregation why they weren’t supporting his budget needs to look no further than himself to see what kind of spiritual stewardship he was providing his flock and how his church was carrying out the great commission. I hope this discussion we’re having can be a wakeup call to any minister reading this to take their responsibility seriously and soberly.
I Tim 5:17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honour, especially they who labour in the word and doctrine.
I Tim 5:18 For the scripture saith, Thou shalt not muzzle the ox that treadeth out the corn. And, The labourer is worthy of his reward.
I’ve been to some other churches where people give lavishly, but I’m afraid they have the wrong idea entirely about what it means to give to God. I’m sure you may have walked into a church like this (at least once) that had a statue or an impressive piece of art or fountain or something, and on it there was a placard that states “This [whatever] was donated by Mr. and Mrs. Smith”. Now don’t get me wrong, I love things like fountains. If I could live inside a giant fountain I would. There is nothing wrong with fountains in and of themselves. But, I think it’s more important to understand why a person would gift something like this to their church.
I Tim 6:17Charge them that are rich in this world, that they be not highminded, nor trust in uncertain riches, but in the living God, who giveth us richly all things to enjoy
Let’s start with the ‘donated by’ sign. “But Eric,” you say, “what could be wrong with a sign giving people their due credit for having this beautiful statue installed at my church. After all, they paid to have it put there for the glory of God.” Sadly, I must tell you that no, they did not. They donated that piece of art or fountain or whatever for their own glory. How can I make that claim? Because their name is on it. Their name is attached to their donation so that every time someone sees it, they think, “Wow, what a wonderful and generous person Mrs. Smith was that she gave this amazing piece of art.” That is for the glory of the person doing the giving, not for the glory of God. “How can you say such a mean spirited thing Eric?” Simple. If they were giving truly out of the love of God in their hearts, they wouldn’t insist on everyone knowing it was them who did the giving. Giving out of true joy carries with it its own rewards both immediate and eternal.
Matthew 6:1 Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.
Matthew 6:2 Therefore when thou doest thine alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.
Matthew 6:3 But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth:
Matthew 6:4 That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly.
Think of it this way: you’re standing before God’s judgment seat in Heaven and you’re asked what it was you did in service to the Kingdom of God while you were alive. You respond: “Well, I gave generously to this big church where I lived. With my own money I had a beautiful fountain and some amazing modern stained glass windows installed. I’m pretty sure that impressed a lot of people about how great You are God. What sort of reward do I get for that? They were really expensive.”
I believe God will look at you and say something like this: “That wasn’t your money. All you had was given to you by me to use for your own welfare and for the good of My Kingdom. It was up to you to use those things wisely in the short time you had. How did you use what was given to you to benefit the spread of the Gospel? Did you buy Bibles for people in places like China or India who don’t know me? Did you pay to have church buildings constructed for the poor in Africa? Did you share the Good News with those you knew? Did you ever study the Bible with someone who was earnestly seeking Me out? Did you ever sit and pray with someone in need? These are truly the things that benefit My Kingdom. What did you do instead? You built a fountain, put your name on it and told everyone about how generous you were for doing it. As a result, you have already received your reward, the admiration and adulation of men.” Surely that must be worth a little something… right? St. Paul says:
Philippians 3:8Yea doubtless, and I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ,
The only things that will never fade and survive from this life into eternity are those things which we did through the Holy Spirit for the Kingdom of God. Prizes, positions of authority, money, fame, admiration… the more you gain those things, the more you lose truly knowing Jesus Christ.
Luke 12:33 Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that faileth not, where no thief approacheth, neither moth corrupteth.
Luke 14:14 …for thou shalt be recompensed at the resurrection of the just.
I was at a church I had been attending for a while one Sunday, when the minister mentioned to the congregation that there was a member who was in need. He owned a restaurant jointly with a very crazy woman who was destroying the business. To save his sanity and his business he wanted to buy her out of her share and he was $10,000 short. So the minister asked the congregation if we would think about it and see if any of us could do anything to help. During the tough economic situation at the time, that was a tall order for a congregation of less than 10 people. One of the congregants, a friend of mine, sat there during the service and thought about the request very seriously.
You see, he wasn’t a rich guy but he had just recently come into some money due to an inheritance. Now it wasn’t a million dollars or anything, but it was more money he had ever had on his pocket at any one time in his life. He was also unemployed at the time with bleak job prospects in the bad economy and a mortgage payment looming every month. He could easily foresee a time when he might really need that money. But as he sat there in the church that day, he looked at that money, not as his rightfully earned inheritance that belonged to him and him alone, but as God’s money. “This pile of money is God’s,” he thought, “right now it’s sitting here in front of me. However, I don’t need it right this second. BUT, there is a brother in Christ in this room who does need it. What’s mine is his. If I end up needing money later on, God will provide.” With God pressing on his heart and giving him peace of mind over the situation, he decided to offer up the whole sum to the struggling chef.
Now, to many whose eyes are focused on the temporal here-and-now, this would have seemed like a very difficult decision to make. Handing over $10,000 to someone you don’t know very well is kind of a huge thing, especially considering the giver’s situation at the time. But I challenge you to look at this situation (and your own lives) through the lens of eternity, as this believer did.
I Peter 4:9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.
What would have happened as he stood before God and was asked why he didn’t give the other believer at least some of that money. How do you respond to that? “uh, God, I was trying to be careful with my money, I might have needed it down the road at some point. Besides, what good would it be if I gave him that money and he ended up wasting it?” Almighty God, sitting on His throne from which shines the blinding light of His truth, would probably say a few things to you. “First, I gave you all you had. If you needed a house and a car and money in the bank, that is what I gave you. But whatever you have, you were called therewith to be content and be joyful in the grace and love I’ve given to you freely. If all you needed was a coat and a sleeping bag, I would provide for you. True joy comes not from your physical comfort or possession or social status, but from your acceptance of, and submission to, the Holy Spirit dwelling inside you. Second, if you had given him the money due to the outpouring of My love in your life, and he squandered it, so what? You would have done the good and honorable thing and earned yourself an eternal reward in heaven. His dereliction would carry with it a punishment for me alone to decide. Now tell me what excuse you have to offer Me as to why you ignored your fellow worker while you were in abundance and he was in genuine need?” How do you come up with a self-serving reply to that?
You don’t, because there is none.
II Cor 9:6But this I say, He which soweth sparingly shall reap also sparingly; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully.
You might be saying that I sure know a lot about what this guy was thinking, what happened to not letting one hand know what the other was doing? Well, after the service was over, he went to the minister and said he would be willing to help out with the whole amount of money that was needed, assuming in his head that it would happen mostly anonymously. However, upon hearing the amazing news, the minister immediately told everyone in the church about it. At that point, there was not much reason to keep it to himself and since it was obvious he wasn’t trying to impress anyone by doing it, we ended up discussing it a bit.
Colossians 3:14 And above all these things put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness.
I’ve heard some pretty gigantic lapses from ministers before on the subject of giving. I was listening to a minister on the radio once whose ministry was struggling for donations. Normally, a radio ministry will ask listeners for donations at the end of the program and they usually don’t make a huge deal out of it. To stay on the air they need donations, and if money does not come in, they are unable to continue their ministry. This minister, however, was really struggling it seems and spent all thirty minutes of his show showering guilt on his audience for not sending him money. Not just once, but every day for nearly two weeks straight. In his lengthy exposition, there were a couple of things that demonstrated to me that this minister had taken his eyes off of the eternal things of God and was focused instead on the temporal things of this world.
First, what would happen if no one sent in any money? His radio ministry would end. This may be unfortunate, but does that mean that God is somehow defeated? Certainly not. If your ministry is real, vital and important to His Kingdom, God will ensure it gets to the right people and the right people get to it. But if your ministry gets shut down, doesn’t that mean you’re a failure? Maybe, maybe not. Maybe God has something different He needs you to be investing your time and energy in. Your eyes should be fixed on the eternal things of God and what He needs you to be doing now and not on your own personal position and notoriety. However, in saying this, I don’t mean to imply that if you are a great Christian everything will be easy and your ministry will be pelted with stacks of money. On the contrary it will often be a very difficult road as the Cross of Christ is not popular and never will be. Friendship with the world is enmity with God, so if you’re involved with a ministry that is very large and popular, you might need to take a closer look at it and yourself. The point I mean to make is that whether a ministry is well funded or not, we should be content with what we have and have faith in God that he will provide for us what we need to move forward His agenda.
Romans 8:28 And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.
Second, during this nearly two week long guilt-fest, this minister threw away an eternal reward in the hopes of getting a donation to keep his show on for another month. How? He told a story. A story about how once many years ago he had been speaking with a fellow believer who was in great need. I don’t recall exactly what this need was, but it was serious and he required several thousand dollars. Without being asked, the minister thought on it for a second, reached into his pocket and pulled out the required sum, which he just happened to have on him at the time, and gave it to the man. It was certainly a great story of true generosity and the love of God. He ended the story by saying that he had never told it to anyone before. It had been a secret between him and the man he helped, as it should be. He wasn’t giving him the money for the recognition, but because the Spirit of God dwelled inside him and he knew the reward for this good deed would be awaiting him in heaven. But now, in his panic, he pulls out his own good deed to use, not so much as an example, but as a tool to manipulate his audience into giving to his ministry out of guilt.
The Apostles did admonish churches because of their lack of charity (II Corinthians 8:10-15), but far more often they encouraged them. How is that different to what this radio minister did? Again, this all goes back to motivation, what is the true intent in their hearts? In this radio minister’s case, he was afraid for his ministry and the platform he got out of it. Conversely, when the Apostles saw a church’s charity start to dwindle, they weren’t upset or concerned that a stream of revenue for their ministry was cut off. What they were concerned about was what this indicated about the spiritual health of that church. When Christians are strong in the Spirit, their works (such as charity) are the natural outpouring of God’s love that is present in their lives. When these outward signs of God working through us diminish, this demonstrates that something is wrong with our connection to God.
Doing good deeds does not make you have faith. Doing good deeds does not make you a better person. When you have faith, good deeds are the natural result. It would be as if you had a flowering plant in your home. You get the plant, place it in a window and water it. The plant begins to grow and beautiful flowers spring forth. Time goes on and the seasons have changed and the window the plant is in doesn’t get much sun anymore and you stop watering it. Well, naturally the flowers fade and wither. One day, you see the sad state your plant is in and what do you do? Do you yell at the plant and tell it to start growing more flowers? After all, flowering plants are supposed to make flowers, so clearly something is wrong with it. Certainly, you can see the short-sightedness of this line of thought. The plant doesn’t grow flowers “just because.”
The flowers are a natural result of the good health of the plant. When it receives the proper nourishment from sunlight, water and the soil, its flowers will bloom. So trying to make the plant feel guilty about its lack of flowers does not solve the deeper issue of its malnourishment. So when a church’s flowers began to dry and fall off, the Apostles knew this meant something more serious was at hand. Their admonishments to these churches were not because they were in need and these churches were not handing out enough money, but because the Apostles wanted those churches to wake up and examine the issues that were distracting them from being one with the Spirit of God. They didn’t tell the people in those slack churches: “You need to give me more money so you’ll be a better Christian.” They usually encouraged them by saying things like this: “You need to pray and get your focus back on eternity and the good things of God. When that happens, your good deeds will flow from you and be a demonstration to all of God’s love.” One of these motivations is a selfless spiritual approach, the other a self-serving worldly one.
James 2:18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
Allow me to end this discussion on charity in the Church with a few thoughts on this verse:
Matthew 6:21 For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.
There are two main ways we can look at this verse, literally and figuratively. I believe that in this case, both are correct. Literally speaking, where is your treasure? Is it in your fancy jewelry, your house, your car or your giant memorabilia collection? Or is it put into serving your family of fellow believers? Figuratively speaking, where is your treasure? What are the things that you put all your attention and energy into? Are those earthly things or heavenly things? If all that is important to you is in the here-and-now, (sports, politics, games, gossip and other distractions) it will not follow you into the next life. Do not, however, fall into the trap of legalism.
“I need to give more money to this thing, because by doing that, it will show that my heart is in the right place, or it will put my heart in the right place.” God knows your heart better than you do and it is your innermost motivations that truly matter to him, not the appearance that you try to cultivate. You either wake up every morning and gladly ask God to show you what He wants you to do for Him today or you don’t. Either you ask God to give you the strength and wisdom to do it His will today, or you don’t. You are either interested in the things of God and focus your attention on His eternal Kingdom, or you don’t.If you set your heart on heavenly things now my friend, when you enter into eternity, you will find your eternal treasure waiting for you.
Eric Jay Miller is originally from California. He is the webmaster for the website http://www.godspointofview.com, which contains volumes of Bible study materials for the serious Christian.
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