Monday, July 30, 2018
Giving grace
2 Corinthians 8:7 (NIV 1984)
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 of giving.
It is difficult, if not impossible, to separate money from the exercise of faith, worship and ministry.
We have talked a lot in these devotionals about abuses and excesses of those who have turned church into a place of business, and who conduct ministry for profit. That does not mean that there is not a proper place for money in ministry. As a matter of fact, if the money dries up the church or ministry would soon die too.
There are some church meetings where, when you attend, you feel ambushed by the constant requests for money. And there are some ministers who are deemed to be very good at raising an offering so before the sermon or other high point, they are brought on to rid the congregation of any cash they might still have.
These events, where we feel ambushed by expert raisers of offerings, use a variety of techniques which include the manipulation of scripture, exploitation of gullibility, and orchestration of the mood through music. A good example of this is how they use Ron Kenoly’s song, Give to the Lord. In the song, a principle taught by Jesus about our relationship with others is combined with an Old Testament admonition on the children of Israel who withheld their tithes, to encourage us to give to get a blessing.
In Luke 6:38 Jesus said, “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.” In the entire section, Luke 6:37-42 Jesus is focused on our relationship with each other and challenges us not to judge but to be careful to look at our own lives first.
Jesus uses two powerful and familiar images to make the point to his first hearers. The first image is of the garment worn at the time that left a fold over the belt that could hold a measure of grain. The second image is of a marketplace where grain is put into the measure, shaken down, and then filled to overflowing before being smooth-off at the rim with the hand to ensure that the customer got the full amount purchased. I watched this all my childhood growing up, as I did, in the market.
In the writing of Malachi, storehouse tithing was being ignored and God’s curse had come upon the land. Malachi was sent to tell the people that in withholding the tithe they were robbing God. His challenge to them was to restore the tithe and watch the restoration of God’s abundance upon the land.
The tithe was a legal requirement, and was used for the support of the Priests, Levites, widows, orphans, and refugees. However, this becomes a very controversial matter for the church today. Ministers and other staff still need to be paid, and support programmes for unemployed widows, underage orphans, and struggling refugees still have to be funded. But the church is not the nation of Israel and we are not under the law.
Most churches and denominations, ours included, continue to teach ‘storehouse’ tithing. We teach it, preach it, monitor it, collect it and report it. Sometimes our success or failure is measured by it. This is difficult since the teaching of the New Testament does not directly include tithing. The apostles never mention tithing in any of their sermons, prayers or letters. Jesus mentions the word on one occasion in Matthew 23:23 (King James Version also recorded in Luke 11:42) when He was criticising the Pharisees for tithing but ignoring the “weightier matters of the law.”
Now don’t run off and stop tithing and tell your pastor that I was teaching against it. One of my colleagues in ministry, who reads these devotionals every day, tells a powerful testimony of God’s intervention in his life and circumstances that he anchors in the faithfulness of his tithing.
Nevertheless, I believe that Jesus and the apostles call us Christians to a practice of giving that is well above the tithe. My position is that if you are tithing then you have reached a minimum standard and that is good. That puts you in a place to really now excel in giving.
Giving is driven by circumstances, not by mathematics. These could be our circumstances or the circumstance to which we are giving. It is easy to calculate ten per cent, and it is easy to give it the more you earn. However, sometimes computation makes absolutely no sense. Some circumstances require that we give everything.
“As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” Luke 21:1-4.
This is what the apostle Paul was pointing to in his letter to the Corinthians, “brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches. Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity. For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” 2 Corinthians 8:1-5
Think on these things:
- Have much do you give?
- Do you tithe regularly at your church?
- Does your church provide other opportunities to give outside of the tithe and offering collection?
Prayer focus:
Let us pray today that we would be blessed with the grace of giving.
In His Grace
Pastor Alex
