Wow! We Get to Give!!

Christ-followers are called on to be giving people. All of us are to be givers. Some folks have the spiritual gift of giving, or liberality, and are wired to give very generously. Often these folks have a lot of resources to share, but not always. Some folks, who don’t have much, are gifted to give far beyond what would be expected. The rest of us, even if we don’t have the gift of giving, do have the role of giving. I am one of those people. I love to give, and I feel honored to fulfill the role of giving my tithe and more, but I am not particularly gifted in giving. When someone with the gift of giving sees a need, his/her first move is to reach for his wallet. My first moves are to try to figure out a way to keep the problem from repeating itself (gift of administration), and how to learn from the situation (teaching). When someone who is a gifted giver suggests we all chip in, I am glad to do that. Often, I wish I had thought of doing it, but it is not generally my first reaction.

The Bible teaches a lot about giving. In the Old Testament a tithe (10%) is required to support the ministry of the temple. (If you read closely, it looks like the tithe is required three times a year so that would be a 30% annual gift) Old Testament people didn’t feel like they were giving an offering until after they had put in their tithe. The tithe reminds us that all we have comes from God, and “returning the tithe” is the way for us to acknowledge his generosity to us. So when you hear people talk about tithes and offerings, it is not really two words for the same thing. Tithes are what God requires, while offerings are our gifts to him and his work. The tithe was to support the temple, today, that would be supporting the church. Offerings might be for many things, like building projects, mission work, or special needs.

In the New Testament, money was a major topic for Jesus, and the Apostle Paul urged the church at Corinth:
On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. 1 Corinthians 16:2 (NIV)
This could indicate a sliding percentage scale. In light of what the Old Testament says, (of which Paul was a major student) 10% is the baseline of giving for the Christ-follower. If God has enabled us to have a better income, we should expect that he may well want us to give away more.

Giving is to be a joyous experience. We get to be part of what God is doing! God allows us to share in his great work in this world. What a privilege! What an honor to be allowed to partner with him! God could have chosen another way to finance his mission, but he his chosen method is to enable us to make a living, and then rely on us to share our living with his work.

Next time: “The Other Side of Giving”