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Christian Giving
"Oh, no! The preacher's talking about money again. Hold on to your
pocketbooks. It seems like that is all the preacher talks about these days money,
money, money!"
To even address the subject of Christian giving causes some people to be leery
of the motivations and intents of the speaker or author. "What is his angle? What
is in it for him?" It is tragic that such a glorious privilege as Christian giving
should be cast into such suspicion by the misrepresentation of the subject in many
religious environs today.
Monthly in letters, weekly from pulpits, and daily over radio and television,
their plaintive pleas arise, placing us under constant pressure to give. They make
it sound like a matter of survival. They emphasize that obedience to God's
financial laws is essential for our spiritual welfare, and don't omit to mention
of the fact that their financial survival will be jeopardized if we don't send
them donations to pay their bills!"
All of us want to help financially with the Lord's work. But how are we to know
where to give, when to give, and how much? Are we left to fall prey to the various
emotional and psychological gimmicks that preachers use? Is it a question of
giving to the most persuasive of them, who somehow convinces us of his great
needs? Perhaps in the end we begrudgingly respond because we feel guilt as a
result of some trip that has been subtly laid on us.
The present pathetic scene of mass-media preachers begging for money so they can
expand their organizations is totally foreign to the early church's experience."1
In order to explore God's intent for Christian giving in the context of His
church we will utilize chapters eight and nine of Second Corinthians, the most
extended and explicit passage in all of the New Testament on the subject. We will
allow these chapters to serve as our primary source of developing a balanced
Biblical perspective.
Paul begins in II Cor. 8:1 by writing, "We wish to make known to you the grace
of God which has been given in the churches of Macedonia." It is interesting to
note that there are more usages of the word "grace" in chapters eight and nine of
II Corinthians than in any other two consecutive chapters in the Bible.
Christian giving is the grace of God at work, the free-flow of God's activity
consistent with His character. This is predicated on the fact that the Creator-God
is the owner of all that He has created:
"Every beast of the forest is Mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. ...everything
that moves in the field is Mine. ...the world is Mine, and all it contains."
(Psalm 50:10-12)
"the silver is Mine, and the gold is Mine; declares the Lord of hosts." (Haggai
2:8)
"Every good thing bestowed and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from
the Father of lights.." (James 1:17)
Since God is the owner and giver of all things, we are but trustees, managers,
stewards of Another's goods. God entrusts some things to us whatever He can trust
us with. It is not "my" home, "my" car, "my" money, or even "my" child. I must
avoid avoid being "possessive." I am just a trustee of God's possessions. In fact,
I do not even "possess" salvation or eternal life. Christ who is "Life" (John
14:6) and is the Savior possesses me! I am just a vessel for the functionality of
God, the function of the Creator within the creature.
In the days of Martin Luther people were being asked to give in order to buy
indulgences of God's favor. Today, people are being asked to give in order to buy
prayer time and blessings. Is it any different? Neither has anything to do with
Christian giving, for Christian giving has nothing to do with purchase or "works."
Paul tells the Corinthians that by giving they can "prove...the sincerity of
their love." (II Cor. 8:8). Later he encourages them to "openly before the
churches demonstrate the proof of your love..." (II Cor 8:24).
"The love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who
has been given to us." (Romans 5:5)
We love, we give, because the loving, giving God is living and operative in
us. Christian love is an expression of God's loving character. Christian giving is
an expression of God's giving character which has been given to us by the presence
of the Spirit of Christ, the presence of Jesus indwelling the Christian.
There are forms of giving and contributing that are not expressions of God's
love. In I Corinthians 13:3 Paul writes, "if I give all my possessions to feed the
poor...but do not have love, it profits me nothing." Loveless giving is not
Christian giving.
On the other hand, some have been challenged to "prove their love" by giving.
This challenge is usually made by those who want to be the recipients of those
gifts. People then give to meet someone else's expectations, and their love is
evaluated and rated by the external criteria of the amount of the gift. We cannot
prove our love by giving to such a challenge. It is not "our" love anyway; it is
the Love of God expressed in us, prompting us to give. God's love is demonstrated
in active expressions of Christian giving.
The loving and giving character of God operative in the Christian is also an
expression of His righteousness. The righteousness of God is expressed in the
givingness of God. Paul writes in II Corinthians 9:9,10 quoting from Psalm 112:9:
"'HE SCATTERED ABROAD, HE GAVE TO THE POOR, HIS RIGHTEOUSNESS ABIDES FOREVER." Now
He who supplies seed to the sower and bread for food, will supply and multiply
your seed for sowing and increase the harvest of your righteousness;..."
Notice that Paul does not say, "..increase the harvest of your bank account," but
rather, "...increase the harvest of your righteousness." When God gives through us
and loves through us, He expresses His divine character of righteousness through
us, because the Righteous One, Jesus Christ (I John 2:1), is functioning in us. We
are not made righteous because we give. The giving of contributions does not, in
itself, constitute righteousness. Rather, the righteous and just character of God
is expressed in us as we are the conduits of His givingness.
Paul refers the Corinthians to the giving of the Macedonian Christians, and
explains, "they first gave themselves to the Lord and to us by the will of God."
(II Cor. 8:5). Christians have long sought to understand the "will of God" in
their Christian giving.
In the most general sense, the will of God is always to express His own
character within His creation, unto His glory. The will of God for the Christian
is always to allow the life of Jesus Christ to be lived out in giving to, loving,
and serving others.
As Christians we are to discern the specifics of God's intent for the giving
of that which He has entrusted to us. We must consult with God in the communion of
prayer to determine how God desires to give through us: when He want to give, to
whom He wants to give, how much He wants to give. We do not give just because the
offering-plate is coming around and we have been conditioned by Pavlovian
responses, or out of fear of what someone will think if we do not drop something
into the "plate a response of false-guilt.
Too often, because Christians know that it is the will of God to give and fail
to understand the expression of God's character of givingness, they give to "the
wheel that squeaks the loudest," to the person or cause that presents their "need"
most persuasively.
"The Lord Jesus Christ refused to be committed to the parochial needs of His own
day and generation; He was not committed to the political situation in Palestine,
or to the emancipation of the Jewish nation from the Roman Yoke! He was not
committed to the pressing social problems of His time, nor to one faction as
opposed to another... Christ was not even committed to the needs of a perishing
world; He was neither unmindful nor unmoved by all these other issues, but as
Perfect Man He was committed to His Father, and for that only to which His Father
was committed in Him -- exclusively! 2
"Thousands of earnest young Christians are challenged with the outworn slogan,
'The need is the call!' -- swept to their feet on a wave of sentiment... 3
It should also be noted that it is not wrong to make known a "need." Paul was
making known the "need" of the poor Christians in Jerusalem to the Corinthians. As
Christians we do not merely respond to the "need," but we respond to what God
wants to be and do in us, the will of God in our Christian giving.
We can only give what we have been entrusted with. What we do not have is not
ours to give.
In his previous correspondence with the Corinthians Paul had indicated that we
are to give "as God has prospered us." (I Cor. 16:2). In II Corinthians 8:11,12
Paul writes, "For if the readiness is present, it is acceptable according to what
a man has, not according to what he does not have." We can only give in accordance
with the means that God has given, what He has entrusted to us.
We can only rightfully give what we have been entrusted with by God. When the
Israelites gave for the building of the tabernacle, they gave only what they had.
They gave of the tangible assets God had entrusted to them.
In II Corinthians 8:3 Paul writes that "according to their ability and beyond
their ability they gave...." When Paul says that they gave "beyond their ability",
that does not mean they gave beyond their means, beyond what they had. Rather, it
means that they gave beyond the level of comfortability. Many people give only
enough so as to preserve their "comfort zone." Their giving does not really affect
their "standard of living." There is no personal discomfort involved. We have to
be careful here. We do not want to infer that every Christian should "give until
it hurts." The degree of pain and discomfort is not the measuring stick of
Christian giving.
Another variation is the plea that some make for "sacrificial giving." They
would encourage us to "sacrifice for the work of the Lord." Usually those
encouraging such have a self-serving interest in the so-called "work of the Lord."
The only sacrifice needed was that of Jesus Christ on the cross of Calvary, from
when He exclaimed, "It is Finished!" (John 19:30). According to the writer of
Hebrews, our sacrifice should be the "sacrifice of praise" (Heb. 13:15).
We do not give beyond our means, what we have been given; and we give of what
we have only as God directs.
The Overflow of Christian Giving
Paul speaks of the Macedonian Christians indicating that "in a great ordeal of
affliction their abundance of joy and their deep poverty overflowed in the wealth
of their liberality" (II Cor. 8:2). This is not to say that when we have "enough"
or "too much" or are "over-full" with the material things God has entrusted to us,
that we then over-flow in giving unto others. Who is to determine how much is
"enough" or "too much?" One of the members of the Rockefeller family is reported
to have been asked, "How much is enough?" The reply was, "Just a little bit more
than I now have." Our selfish perspective can never determine how much is enough
in terms of physical and materials things. It is God's prerogative to determine
the "how much" of what He entrusts to us.
What we have in Jesus Christ is the basis of Christian giving. The spiritual
abundance we have in Him will of necessity flow out and overflow unto others. That
is what is meant by "the overflow of Christian giving." It is not just giving out
of the overflow of our assets, but the overflowing, outgoing action of God's grace
in and through us.
Christians often fail to recognize the "riches" that are theirs in Christ. In
II Cor. 8:9 Paul points the Corinthians to Christ saying, "you know the grace of
our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sake He became poor,
that you through His poverty might become rich." It is not that we become rich
materially, necessarily, but we become rich with the spiritual riches that are
ours in Jesus Christ. To the Ephesians Paul refers to "the surpassing riches of
His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus" (Eph. 2:7) and "the unfathomable
riches of Christ" (Eph. 3:8). Those are the riches that cause us to overflow in
Christian giving. As the chorus says, "Freely, freely, you have received; freely,
freely give."
The Macedonian Christians in II Cor. 8:2 were not rich materially; instead
they were in "deep poverty," but they "overflowed in the wealth of their
liberality." We could translate those words, "they overflowed in the richness of
their not aspiring to be rich." They were content with their riches in Christ, and
out of such they overflowed in Christian giving.
Christian giving has both a divine side and a human side. We have been
considering what God does, and now we turn to man's response.
Of the Macedonian Christians Paul writes, "they first gave themselves to the
Lord" (II Cor. 8:5). In terms of human responsibility the first order of business
for genuine Christian giving is that we give ourselves to the Lord. We must submit
ourselves as available vessels to Christ's Lordship.
God is not interested in your gifts until He has you! Until we are available
vessels of God's grace, having given ourselves at His disposal, then we cannot
participate in Christian giving. In one sense, the only "offering" we have to give
is the offering of ourselves to God.
"Godliness in action -- presenting all that you are -- nothing, to all that He is
-- everything, you are committed to the Lord Jesus Christ exclusively, for all
that to which He is committed in you; and you may be supremely confident that He
who dwells in you...is gloriously adequate for all that to which He is committed!
...It is no longer necessary for me to ask you whether you are prepared to go
to the mission field! It is now no longer necessary for me to ask you whether you
are prepared to put your bank account at Christ's disposal, or your time, or your
home...
If Christ is committed in me to use the very last dollar I possess, and every
other dollar I shall ever earn, I am already committed to Him for this. ...There
are no more issues for me to face -- only His instructions to obey! 5
Having "given ourselves to the Lord," then the Lord Jesus Christ can "call the
shots" in our lives. This is the pre-requisite of Christian giving.
A pastor friend had so many missionaries coming to share their work and
yanking at people's heart-strings and purse-strings, that he determined to avoid
impulse-giving by only receiving gifts for the missionary one week after he had
departed. People would then have time to "purpose in their hearts" what God would
have them to share. Paul was doing a similar thing in I Cor. 16:2,3, so as not to
allow his personal presence to be an incentive for impulse-giving or social
approval-giving.
Christians are to give as they have "purposed in their heart, not grudgingly
or reluctantly" (II Cor. 9:7). If we are convinced this is what God wants to give
through is, there will be an eager willingness. It will not be like "pulling
teeth" or extracting funds.
You do not have to give! It is a choice. You certainly do not have to give in
order to be a Christian; that would be a criteria of "works." Once you are a
Christian and the Giving God and the Love of Christ lives in you, then you want to
give. God wants to express His character through you. But it is still a choice, a
choice of faith.
Paul says that our giving is "not under compulsion" (II Cor. 9:7). The root
word means "to bend the arm." We do not give because our arm is being bent and we
are being coerced, pressured or manipulated. Paul was not manipulating the
Corinthians Christians to give by competitive rivalry with the Macedonian
Christians or vice-versa. There was no "contest" to see who could give the most,
no comparisons to spur one another on and play one against the other, no
thermometers displayed to see who could meet their goal the soonest. These are
perversions of Christian giving.
Neither was Paul encouraging the Corinthians to give because of what other
people would think, to safeguard their reputation. Giving for social approval is
not Christian giving. Jesus exposes such giving for social approval in Matthew
6:2-4:
"When therefore you give alms do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites
do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may be honored by men. Truly I
say to you, they have their reward in full. But when you give alms, do not let
your left hand know what your right hand is doing that your alms may be in secret;
and your Father who sees in secret will repay you."
Christian giving is a choice as one has purposed in his heart before God. It
is a choice that should not be manipulated by emotion or mandated by percentage.
"Tithing was instituted as a law in the second year after the Exodus. ...it was
intended to provide the Levites with sustenance and payment for their services.
The only ones ever authorized to receive tithes were the Levites. Ever since the
destruction of the Temple in 70 A.D., it has been impossible to keep the tithing
law. This is the reason Orthodox Jews, who still believe in the validity of the
old covenant over their lives, do not tithe! No one is qualified to receive tithes
now that the priesthood and temple have gone.
Some Christians pride themselves saying, "I'm a good Christian giver; I've
never withheld God's ten percent!" Is that not the same kind of logic that might
say, "I've got a good Christian marriage; I've never committed adultery!"? Such
logic is to miss the entirety of the positive factor of Christ's life in us.
Those religious leaders who are honest enough to admit that tithing is not a
Christian obligation are often quick to construct another form of obligatory moral
duty. They want their members to feel a sense of obligation, a sense of "have to"
or "ought to," so that there will be consistent income to pay the expenses of the
organization. So they refer to the "law of giving," the "principles of love-
offerings," wherein the giving of Christians should supersede what was required of
Israel, just as the new covenant supersedes the old covenant, and thus Christian
giving should supersede ten percent. But this is still a percentage-based sense of
obligation that is not consistent with true Christian giving.
Worse yet are those who try to "lay on" Christians the obligation to "pay God
back." There is no way we can make payment for services rendered. Such is to lose
the understanding of God's grace altogether.
"...this is to your advantage, who were the first to begin a year ago not only to
do this, but also to desire to do it. But now finish doing it also; that just as
there was the readiness to desire it, so there may be also the completion of it by
your ability." (II Corinthians 8:10,11)
"So I thought it necessary to urge the brethren that they would go on ahead of you
and arrange beforehand your previously promised bountiful gift, that the same
might be ready as a bountiful gift, and not affected by covetousness." (II
Corinthians 9:5)
The Corinthians had voiced their discernment of what God wanted to do, what
God wanted to give, through them. The choice had been made, the purposing of God's
will. Then, due to circumstances of estrangement with the apostle Paul, the
Corinthians had not followed-through.
If we are convinced of what God wants us to do, and express our willingness,
readiness and availability, then it should follow-through to completion in order
to express the faithfulness of God. God is a faithful God. What He starts, He
finishes! What He commences, He completes! What He instigates, He implements! God
does not quit in mid-stream. He does not go off half-cocked to do a half-finished
job.
If God has impressed His desire upon us, His will does not fade out. He is an
eternally faithful God who completes that which He commences and finishes that
which He starts. God follows through!
"God loves a cheerful giver" Paul declares in II Corinthians 9:7. The Greek
word for "cheerful" is the word from which we get the English word "hilarious."
That does not mean that Christian giving is to be engaged in with a slap-happy
attitude of laughter and frivolity and light-heartedness. Rather, when we
understand the grace of God as the impetus of Christian giving, we are cheerful,
or better yet, we are satisfied. The Greek word hilaros, is the same root as the
word for "propitiation" or satisfaction. The Christian is satisfied that he is
functioning as God intended man to function by allowing the giving God to function
through him.
When Dr. Richard Leaky, the renowned anthropologist, was asked "what separates
man from apes?", his reply was, "our capacity for generosity!" Dr. Leaky does not
seem to have any spiritual understanding of how genuine givingness is the
expression of the giving God in His people, but it is still an interesting
observation of the distinctive of mankind. We were created as vessels for the
expression of God's givingness, God's Grace, God's generosity. And when we allow
that to take place, we are fulfilled, satisfied, cheerful. We are distinctively
mankind as God intended man to be.
God provides the means to give as well as the incentive to give, and we are
the conduit, the channel, the vessel deriving the givingness from the character of
God. Thus we fulfill His intent for mankind as He created us.
The amount of what is given does not produce the attitude of satisfaction and
cheerfulness. The attitude comes as we are properly used of God, even if the
amount is but a "widow's mite." Jesus pointed out the attitude of the widow as
recorded in Mark 12:41-44:
"And He sat down opposite the treasury, and began observing how the multitude were
putting money into the treasury, and many rich people were putting in large sums.
And a poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which amount to a cent.
And calling His disciples to Him, He said to them, 'Truly I say to you, this poor
widow put in more than all the contributors to the treasury; for they all put in
out of their surplus, but she, out of her poverty, put in all she owned, all she
had to live on."
The widow gave what she had, beyond her "comfort zone," and surely experienced
the satisfaction of being a cheerful giver.
The privilege of Christian giving is not just a tax write-off with the
Internal Revenue Service. That is really rather irrelevant for the Christian. In
fact, there might be more genuine Christian giving if there were no tax deductions
for charitable giving! The privilege of Christian giving is the privilege of being
properly used of God, both individually and collectively in the Church.
The Ministry of Christian Giving
As God gives through us, God is loving and serving and ministering to others
through us. The Church was intended to function by the "ministry of all
believers." In II Cor. 8:4 Paul writes of "the grace of participation in the
ministry unto the saints." Later in the same chapter, II Cor. 8:19, he he refers
to "this grace which is being ministered by us for the glory of the Lord." He
continues then in II Cor. 9:1 to say, "it is superfluous for me to write to you
about this ministry to the saints." Every Christian is to be involved in the
ministry of Christian giving.
Some have questioned the equity of His distribution, because we have the rich
and the poor, the haves and the have-nots, those who have surplus and those who
are starving. There are extreme economic variances. Is God to be blamed for that?
He has provided enough for everyone! He has also given to man the freedom of
choice which can be (and often is) selfishly exercised.
There are those who have set out to remedy what they see as the inequity among
men. They act to politically and economically create an equality of wealth; equal
wages, equal goods and possessions, equal opportunity, etc. But socialistic
communism does not work! It does not take into account the fallen condition of
mankind in sin, and the selfishness and greed that always works against equality
in selfish mankind.
From the beginning Christianity began to introduce the "equalizing-factor" of
Christian giving.
"...all those who had believed were together, and had all things in common; and
they began selling their property and possessions, and were sharing them with all,
as anyone might have need." (Acts 2:44,45)
"And the congregation of those who believed were of one heart and soul; and not
one of them claimed that anything belonging to him was his own; but all things
were common property to them. ...abundant grace was upon them all. For there was
not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land and houses would
sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales, and lay them at the apostle's feet;
and they would be distributed to each, as any had need." (Acts 4:32-35)
When the grace of God is flowing through Christians in Christian giving, the
provision of God given to some can flow towards the needs of others. Supply can be
directed toward demand. That does not mean that there will ever be absolute
equality in the distribution of wealth in this sinful world in which we live. "The
poor you always have with you" (John 12:8) But Christians, prompted by the giving
God within, will recognize that God does not "play favorites." He is not a
"respecter of persons" (Acts 10:34). God does not intend for us to stockpile
material "treasures upon earth, where moth and rust destroy, and thieves break in
and steal" (Matt. 6:19). God intends for His provision to flow towards other's
needs! The haves are to share with the have-nots. Supply is to be brought together
with demand.
To the Corinthians Paul writes in II Cor. 9:6, "he who sows sparingly shall
also reap sparingly; and he who sows bountifully shall also reap bountifully."
Paul uses the horticultural imagery of "sowing and reaping," planting and harvest,
in reference to Christian giving. He seems to be saying there is a "return" on
Christian giving. What kind of return? Before we answer that question let us
consider several other Scriptures that seem to indicate a "return" on our giving:
"You shall generously give to (your poor brother), and your heart shall not be
grieved when you give to him, because for this thing the Lord your God will bless
you in all your work and in all your undertakings." (Deuteronomy 15:10)
"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."
(Proverbs 3:9,10)
"There is one who scatters, yet increases all the more, and there is one who
withholds what is justly due, but it results only in want. The generous man (lit.
"soul of blessing") will be prosperous, and he who waters will himself be watered.
...He who trusts in his riches will fall, but the righteous will flourish like the
green leaf." (Proverbs 11:24,25,28)
"He who sows iniquity will reap vanity,...He who is generous will be blessed, for
he gives some of his food to the poor." (Proverbs 22:8,9)
"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse...test Me now in this, says the Lord of
hosts, if I will not open for you the windows of heaven, and pour out for you a
blessing until there is no more need." (Malachi 3:10)
"When you give alms...your Father who sees in secret will repay you." (Matthew
6:4)
"Give, and it will be given to you; good measure, pressed down, shaken together,
running over, they will pour into your lap. For whatever measure you deal out to
others it will be dealt to you in return." (Luke 6:38)
"If I give to the poor, and do not have love, it profits me nothing." (I
Corinthians 13:3)
As you might expect, there are those who take these verses which seem to
indicate a "return" on our giving, and they encourage others to "give in order to
get." They often encourage such by saying, "You can't outgive God!" or "God's
shovel is always bigger than your shovel," etc. Sometimes they indicate that if
you give to them, God promises to give back ten or a hundred times as much.
One fellow received an appeal letter from a religious organization which read,
"If you will just give us $100, God will give you back ten times as much, $1000."
The man responded by writing to the organization: "If you really believe what you
say, then you send me the $100, and you can keep the $1000." What a way to expose
the fraudulence of such a fund-raising scheme!
There is no way that we can "prime the pump" and bribe God into giving us more
"things" or everything we might want. Such a self-indulgent, "gimme" religion that
promises health, wealth and success is foreign to the Christian gospel!
When Jesus was telling the parable of the sower and the soils recorded in Mark
4:3-20, He did speak of the seed which grew up and increased thirty, sixty and a
hundred-fold. But He explained that the reason the seed does not increase in
harvest is due to "the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things"
(Mark 4:19). The "seed" He was referring to was not "seed-money," but the gospel
of Jesus Christ!
The Bible never says that God wants us rich materially or that wealth is some
sort of slide-rule for measuring spirituality and God's blessing on our lives. On
the contrary, God warns us about the "deceitfulness of riches" (Mark 14:8). Jesus
said that you cannot serve two masters; you cannot serve God and mammon (riches)"
(Luke 16:13). On another occasion Jesus said, "It is easier for a camel to go
through the eye of a needle, than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God"
(Luke 18:25). Paul advised Timothy that
"those who want to get rich fall into temptation and a snare and many foolish and
harmful desires which plunge men into ruin and destruction. For the love of money
is a root of all sorts of evil, and some by longing for it have wandered away from
the faith, and pierced themselves with many a pang. Flee from these things, you
man of God; and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and
gentleness." (I Timothy 6:9-11)
The only riches God wants us to aspire for are the "true riches" (Luke 16:11),
the "treasures of heaven" (Matthew 6:20), the "unfathomable riches of Christ"
(Ephesians 3:8), the "riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7), the "riches of His
glory" (Romans 9:23; Ephesians 3:16; Philippians 4:19; Colossians 1:27). When Paul
writes that "we become rich" (II Corinthians 8:9), he is referring to the richness
of the fullness of the character of God in the Christian. When he says "you will
be enriched" (II Cor. 9:11), he is referring to "the harvest of righteousness"
mentioned previously, the continued conformity to the image and character
expression of Jesus Christ in the Christian. So the "sowing and reaping" imagery
that Paul employs is not a "giving in order to get" or giving in order to get
rich.
To "sow" in Biblical times was to take some seed in one's hand and to "let it
go" and thus scatter it in the places where it might grow. To "sow" is to "let it
go," give it up, and it appears that it is lost forever. The growing of that seed
and the harvesting of that seed is not our business; that is the business of God's
grace. We simply choose to "let go" of that which we know is God's already.
As noted, the principle of "sowing and reaping" and the idea of getting a
"return" on our giving is so easily perverted by those who think with merely a
temporal perspective, those who think only in terms of tangible things and dollars
and cents. The Scriptures do not indicate that our giving will elicit from God a
re-compensation, a re-payment or a replenishing in direct proportion, or in
greater measure, than that which we have given. The Scriptures do indicate that
the spiritual derivation of our sowing will determine the spiritual derivation of
our reaping. If we plant, sow, give in accord with His character, then we will
reap, harvest and be supplied in accord with His character. If our giving is an
expression of God's character of grace and love, and expression of His "good
blessing," then the return will be likewise, the "good blessings" of His character
of righteousness and holiness and godliness.
In the initial points of this study we noted that God is the Creator, Owner,
Giver of all things, and that we can only give out of the means of His gracious
supply. Paul writes in II Corinthians 9:10, "Now He who supplies seed to the sower
and bread for food, will supply and multiply your seed for sowing and increase the
harvest of your righteousness."
God provides a continuous supply for Christian giving. When God has a
Christian vessel who is available and willing and faithful to be a channel, an
open faucet, of the free-flow of His grace without trying to siphon off or create
a reservoir for oneself, then God freely provides a continuous supply for giving.
God gives to us so we can give to others, and thus participate in the expression
of His character of givingness.
The provision, the supply, the sufficiency is constantly given by God. The
amount of the gift is not the issue, only our availability to be the conduit of
His abundant grace. The "widow's mite" is as abundant as is the "wealthy man's
million," because God can take little and make much.
God is glorified only when His all-glorious character is expressed within His
creation. God is both the subject and the object of His glory! Man fulfills the
purpose of his being when he allows God to be the subject and the object of His
glory in the man, deriving all from God unto the glory of God.
The purpose of Christian giving is not the glory of man. Many religious
contributions are given, so that it will be properly inscribed on a bronze plaque:
"Given by......., In Memory of........." Much of the hardware within the church
houses across our nation are thus inscribed as contributions unto the glory of
man! Across the door of such edifices might be written, "ICHABOD" -- the glory of
the Lord has departed (I Samuel 4:21).
We all know that such integrity has not always been preserved in our day.
Religious leaders have been incarcerated in federal prisons for financial fraud.
Many religious organizations and personages have fraudulently mishandled and
misappropriated funds given by Christians, failing to use designated funds for the
purpose for which they were designated.
FOOTNOTES