What to Give, What to Give...

Deciding what to give someone else isn't just a challenge at Christmas time or on birthdays. For the Christian, deciding what to give to the Lord's work is an ongoing challenge. As a pastor I've had numerous people inquire over the years into what the Bible actually teaches about our giving. "But wait," we might say, "that's not a difficult decision at all. God specified in the Bible exactly what we're supposed to give: 10% of our gross income." That's true, the Bible did say that. However, it's not quite that simple.

Different Day, Different Law
The Bible taught God's people to give 10% of their gross income to the Lord in Leviticus 27:30-32. Notice, that's Leviticus: the law for God's people under the Old Covenant. But we're under the New Covenant now. Leviticus is the same book that also taught God's people to avoid eating pork and to bring an animal to the priest and have it killed for their sin. But we don't do those things anymore. I'm quite the fan of good, thick-cut bacon, and in almost a dozen years of full time pastoring I have (thankfully!!) never seen anyone bring a goat to church on a Sunday morning so I could slaughter it for them.

You see, part of the reason people have asked me over the years what the Bible teaches about giving is that they hear "you should give 10%; it's in the Bible," regularly, but they sense that something is amiss because that's Old Testament Law. And they're right. Sometimes I think evangelical teachers & preachers might be guilty of cherry-picking the pieces of the Law of Moses which suit our purposes, and leaving aside the rest.

Now, the question of how to correctly and consistently apply the Law of Moses to Christians today may need another post by itself (perhaps some thoughts on that should be the next post?). But for now, the important thing to note is that the strict 10% giving law is one we're no longer under. 2 Corinthians 9:7 says that we should give "not under compulsion", so it's clear that being forced to give a certain amount is not the Biblical ideal. That doesn't mean the 10% standard is meaningless (more below), but it does mean it's not our rote obligation.

The Good and Bad with Law
And that's a good thing. In fact we usually like the idea of a law going away; of personal freedom, and of making our own choice. But let's be honest, a strict law in the Bible does have some advantages. For one thing, I know exactly where I stand with God! Did I give 10%? Then I'm good with God. Clearly defined lines provide a ready answer to the question 'am I giving enough?', and as such they provide a sense of security.

But there's a downside too: clearly defined lines also provide a limit on personal growth. After all, if I knew that God required me to, say, read my Bible three times per week, would I have incentive to read it more than that? Likewise, if I'm supposed to give exactly 10% and I do so, the result is that an "I've done my part" mentality sets in, and this actually de-motivates me from further growth.

New Testament Giving
So then, we're back to the question: how much does God want me to give?

Rather than specifying a specific amount of money to give, the New Testament provides 4 principles which every Christian should use to evaluate - and plan - their giving. All 4 principles can be found in 2 Corinthians 8 & 9, as well as throughout the New Testament. My suggestion is to give your giving plan some concerted thought at least once per year, and let these principles shape your giving plan.

Principle #1 - Generosity
2 Corinthians 8:3-7 tells us to excel in the grace of giving, up to and even pushing the limits of our means. Clearly, we're to give generously. But how much is "generous"? God leaves that to each individual to determine. But that's not as undefined as it might sound at first. After all, we know generosity when we see it, don't we? We also know its opposite - stinginess - when we see it too. When a man who earns $200,000 per year gives $100 to a local charity, we don't call that generous. Nice maybe, but not generous. He can afford it. But when a family of 6 living on $25,000 per year scrimps and saves so they can give the same $100, we rightly say 'wow, that's generous!' In the same way, as you look at your income, your spending, and your giving, would an honest, third-party observer look at what you give and call it "generous"?

Principle #2 - Cheerfulness
2 Corinthians 9:7 tells us that whatever amount we give, the giving is to be done "cheerfully". This isn't really about how much I give, but rather about how I feel about the act of giving. Does my money leave my hand reluctantly? Does my heart sigh when I write that check to my church because I think of all the things I could do with that money for myself? Does giving feel like a burden? Or is it a joy? God cares very much about where our hearts are at in the giving process. In 2 Corinthians 8:3-4 Paul lauds the Macedonian churches because they literally begged to give. It was not a burden, but a joy! That's what God wants from us.

Principle #3 - The Precedent
I mentioned above that the Old testament 10% tithing law still has some relevance for today: it serves as a precedent. God no longer stipulates a specific amount that his followers must give, but when he did he specified 10%. So based on that precedent, if I give less than 10% now, it is not likely that my giving would be considered by God as being "generous".

I've heard the 10% giving standard referred to as God's "training wheels" for giving. I think that's a good metaphor. With a bicycle, the point of taking the training wheels off is not so that you will ride you bike even slower, but that you would really take off and go much farther and faster than the training wheels allow you to. So it is with giving. God once stipulated 10%, and now he takes that mandate off of us and says "give cheerfully and generously!" with the goal being that we would delight in doing much more than that.

Principle #4 - Reward
Some Christians are uncomfortable with the Biblical doctrine of eternal rewards, but we shouldn't be. 2 Corinthians 9:6 makes the point clearly and forcefully: if you give a lot now, you'll enjoy a bigger reward for all eternity. Why does God tell us this? To motivate us to fund his kingdom now. It's difficult to get excited about giving more when it feels like a loss. But it's far easier to get excited about it when we realize that the more we give, the more we gain in eternity. Biblical giving isn't a net loss, it's a net gain.

But this requires having an eternal perspective; that is, living this life in light of the next. When I sit down to plan my giving, am I thinking only about this year, this month, or this week? Am I 100% focused on the needs and expenses I have right now, and how much I can afford to let go of today? Or is part of my thought process focused on eternity, and how much of God's kingdom I want to have made happen when I stand before God? Remembering that today's sacrifices = much bigger reward later is a powerful motivator to give.

Give Like Eternity Depends On It
These 4 principles...

...Generosity
...Cheerfulness

...Precedent
...Reward

shape the Christian understanding of giving. When we fully embrace what Christ has done for us, and when we become captivated by his future plan for a redeemed life on the New Earth full of God's goodness and glory, giving takes on a whole new meaning. The reasons we give change, and consequently the amounts we give do as well. As we fund the expansion of God's kingdom rather than of our own little kingdoms, more and more people come to understand who Christ is and experience his forgiveness. But if God's people become too fixated on life here and now, others may miss out on the gospel of Christ.

God wants us to give like eternity depends on it. Because it does!

9 comments:

Pat said...

Giving is something I struggled with as a new Christian over 30 years ago. God worked with me and showed how I could rely on Him to supply all my needs over the next few years. Over the years the amount and percentage given grew each year. The result is I can give joyfully, without worry, convinced he will supply my needs.

Matt Guerino said...

That's awesome Pat! I think the journey you describe is exactly the kind of journey God wants to take every Christian on. And it never ends. It's good for me to write some of this out again because I still find myself thinking "there's no way I can ever give more" and I have a load of great excuses. But then I'm not thinking with eternity in mind...

As always, God patiently and steadily changes us!

Jon said...

Remove far from me falsehood and lying; give me neither poverty nor riches; feed me with the food that is needful for me, lest I be full and deny you and say,“Who is the Lord?” or lest I be poor and steal and profane the name of my God.

Proverbs 30:8 – 9

“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth” (1 John 3:17-18).

What ever happened in Boma?

Jason said...

So, in the old testament, ~ 1/12 of the population was a priestly population. Today, things are different.
Church bodies handle finances different, some people do home church, etc.

We have been challenged lately whether our giving should be mainly given to "the church" or divided up to local, community, and global 'church'...

Matt Guerino said...

Jon, the referendum vote in Sudan is scheduled for early January. Until then not much is happening in Boma - the staff have gone home to Kenya for the holidays and to see what the situation is like in January. Please pray for peace and for the ongoing work there. Best/most recent info will be available at sea-partners.org or by contacting Michael Harris: michael@sea-partners.org

Matt Guerino said...

Jason, thanks for your comment. You touch on a big discussion: how are modern offerings used by churches, and whether that knowledge should affect our giving level to a local church. Legit questions, but they're too big to respond to thoroughly in a comment!

What I'll say for now is that whether it's OT or NT we're talking about, the purpose of the offerings seems to be to support (financially enable) the ministry of the church. This would include paying leaders, staff, and missionaries, etc., operational expenses, funding care ministries to the poor and needy both locally (as in Acts 4) and beyond (as in 2 Corinthians 8), etc. That all seems biblically legit to me (individual expenses at a given church can be questioned of course, but that's beyond the scope of this comment).

Regardless of one's view on the details of how much a Christian should give and where one's giving should go, all Christians have to decide how much of their income will go to support the ministry of their local congregation, global missionaries, or other non-church (would we include non-religious?) charitable organizations in one's community.

Curtis said...

I too have struggled in the beginning to give and to figure out where / who to give to.
Thank you for this article which gives me more insight on this topic.

Crown of Beauty said...

I know there's more on your heart about the theme of tithing in the Bible... and you are right, 10% is a good place to start... Personally I want to stick to "bringing the full tithe" to the storehouse... as my starting point for handling "The Lord's Tithe". After all, as the Bible calls it, it's "the Lord's", and not mine to start with. But your post is very relevant to me in the area of the giving aside from the tithe that is considered kingdom giving... the offering part of giving. Letting go of our material possessions to fund kingdom work is a matter for spiritual warfare because the enemy wants to make sure that funds are never enough for the work of the Kingdom... Yes, you are so right in everything you have written here - we are to be generous, and if we will be truly generous, then the 10% is clearly not enough. The widow's mite was obviously not 10%, it was probably all she had...

I read this post at about the time you wrote it, however I needed to read it again before giving you a heartfelt response.

Praying for you Matt, and want you to know your testimony as a husband and father shines brightly for the King. May you continue to be encouraged to share your heart on this blog to enlighten your readers on their journey.

Blessings,
Lidj

Matt Guerino said...

Lidj, the spiritual warfare side of this is an important insight. Satan's goal is not only de-funding the Kingdom of God, as you note, but also tying the hearts of God's followers to the temporal through their (our) stuff. Both are deadly!

Thanks for your ever-thoughtful contributions and encouragement!

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