9. The Gift of Giving
Did you know that the NT describes the ability of Christians to give money to their local church and to mission as itself a ‘gift’? In 2 Corinthians 8 verse 7 Paul talks about giving in the same way he speaks about other spiritual gifts:
“But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace [or gift] of giving.“
Therefore our financial giving to the church is as important as other gifts such as preaching, singing, or teaching kids about Jesus.
Most of us realise that our giving is part of our Christian faith but I think some of us have confused generosity with spontaneity. In other words, I think to myself, ‘I have the freedom to give generously to whatever needs come across my path.’
However, this is a common fallacy. Research has shown that, while disciplined givers often view their giving as modest and spontaneous givers as generous, regular givers are by far the most generous. Why do you think Street Chuggers (that is Charity Muggers who accost you with their clipboards) are so desperate to get you to sign up for monthly direct debits? They do this because they know full well that even if you only give $15 a month it will still add up to much more than a ‘generous’ donation of $100 once every few years.
Have a read of 2 Corinthians 8 & 9 - I’m preparing a Bible Study on it for BS groups. You will see that Christian giving is a gift, and it is meant to be done sacrificially, willingly and regularly.
- Have you read 2 Corinthians 8 & 9?
- How do you decide how much to give and how often?
- Have you reviewed your giving to PBC?
“Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.” (2 Corinthians 9: 7)
1 comment:
Thanks for preparing the Bible Study on giving-we are looking forward to exploring the issue as it does seem to be kept underwraps in churches, probably due to not wanting to pressurize people or maybe that talking about money is somehow regarded as a bit tacky.
Curious about the 2nd question you pose-we need to work out how much to give based on generosity and sacrificiality. These are extremely subjective guidelines! What I'm curious about is why on the subject of giving we confine teaching to the NT whereas in every other area of Christian life we draw from the whole counsel of Scripture. Yes, its true the NT doesn't prescribe the minimum tithe but perhaps that's just assumed. Maybe Paul just didn't need to spell that one out but simply emphasize , because of Jesus and his monumental giving/sacrifice, how we need to copy him, using the example of the Macedonians. That's speculation on my part I suppose but I do remain perplexed as to why we throw the baby out with the bath water in regard to ignoring the light the OT can shed on this. Perhaps the logic could be that if the tithe was the command for God's people of old then how much more should we be ready and willing to give at least a tithe in the light of the new covenant. That doesn't equate to a command but its a guideline thats a bit more objective than generosity/sacrificially. Because widows and poor people were looked after by the early church one can assume that a tithe would not be expected of them.
Back to defining generosity-probably needs to be in the context of making a sacrifice. However I still stumble at that as for me, giving up a nicer car/house/holiday doesn't really feel like a sacrifice. How ever little I give its still sacrificing in a sense ie. I give 3 dollars I have just sacrificed a cup of coffee. So at what point do I know I am giving sacrificially?
I'd really like to understand this and hope tomorrows BS will help shed more light!
Cathy
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