You already know this but the Bible teaches the Christ believer to give to God. This includes resources of all types such as our time, our gifts, our energy, and our talents. One of the most distinctive practices of the Christian life is, however, that he or she also gives financially to God. Not everyone in the world understands this behavior. We especially cannot expect those who do not understand what is the Christian faith to understand why Christians give. Therefore, it is possible many see this as nothing more than for churches to “get” you, and take away your money. But our Bibles talk about giving, do you not agree? Some of us may even say the Bible talks quite a bit about it. As New Testament believers in God, we are commanded to give to God. At LifeWay Church, it is our leaders’ conviction that according to the Bible, giving is a very important component of the Christian life. It is so important that it made it on the short list of spiritual habits that we are learning together this summer.
The New Testament gives several reasons why it is important for the Christ believer to give. There are passages where the believer is encouraged to give as an extension of his or her faith. It goes something like this – we give to God because we believe we will in some way get it all back from God, and more. In other words, we give with an expectation that the return is more than what we had put in. In the end, we don’t lose anything. We may even gain.
2Corinthians 9.6
Now this I say, he who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.
Luke 6.38
“Give, and it will be given to you. They will pour into your lap a good measure — pressed down, shaken together, and running over. For by your standard of measure it will be measured to you in return.”
But I don’t want you to think that this teaching is found only in the New Testament. It goes way back as far as the Old Testament.
Proverbs 3.9–10
Honor the LORD from your wealth
And from the first of all your produce;
So your barns will be filled with plenty
And your vats will overflow with new wine.
Psalm 112.5
“Good will come to him who is generous”.
I do not disagree with any of these verses. I cannot disagree with any of these verses because they come straight out of our Bibles. But for me personally, when I give, this is what goes on in my mind. When you and I give financially to God, we are saying that our trust is in our God fully, including our finances. We won’t feel we need to store away our wealth because we believe in a God who will meet our financial needs no matter what.
Christians say we trust our God for everything. But people are funny when it comes to money. There is something about our money that makes it difficult for us to part with it. It is natural for us to want to keep it close to ourselves. So, are we saying we trust our God in everything, except our financial needs? Our faith should be in God. Our faith should not be in our finances. When you and I finally give to God, we are finally walking the talk. This is where the rubber meets the road.
If you have attended any of the church family meetings in May or June (there is a follow up meeting this Sunday at 5 p.m.), you know by now that our church’s finances are not where they need to be. Billy shared with us that the overall giving to our church is down, and it has been down for many months. I don’t know how much you give or not give, and I don’t wish to know how much you give or not give, but I sense it is possible to me some of us are not giving faithfully. I do wish we will all give faithfully. But I don’t ever want you to start giving, or to increase your giving, simply because our church at the moment has a financial deficit. I don’t ever want you to give, as if to say to you that you should give until this period of financial hardship goes away. That would simply be the wrong message. You and I are to give faithfully to God, no matter there is a surplus or deficit. How much we give should have nothing to do with where we are in our church’s finances.
My encouragement to you is for you to give faithfully to God. My friend, Chong, reminded me some time ago that we give because everything we have belongs to God anyway, including our finances. 1 Chronicles 29.14 says, “But who am I and who are my people that we should be able to offer as generously as this? For all things come from You, and from Your hand we have given You.” Let us grow in our faith together, you and I, and give faithfully.
Your Friend
Alvin