– 10 min read
Introduction
Money is a touchy subject, especially in Evangelicalism. There are several reasons for this sensitivity. The prosperity gospel would be at the top of the list. It has wreaked havoc on the American church for decades, and its effects have been long-lasting. The pitch was that if you financially gave, even above your means, God would give you more money in return and even better health (a misinterpretation of passages like Luke 6:38). Another reason for the sensitivity is that churches have been financially irresponsible. Churches borrow too much money and end up being bailed out or merging with another church. Another form of poor stewardship can be seen in the megachurch movement, where we see celebrity pastors live luxurious lifestyles, and the production costs for a Sunday morning service rival a music festival. But one of the more subtle reasons for the church’s sensitivity to money is that we believe, deep down, that our money belongs to us, when in reality it belongs to God. In this article, however, let’s consider some other potential issues Christians may be facing. Let’s discuss some serious objections before we provide helpful exhortation.
Objection #1: “They have plenty”
One of the reasons why some may be tempted not to give is when the church has consecutive years of surplus. This issue may be the case more so for those who are not big givers in the church. For instance, take someone who works very hard and budgets very conservatively to give their $200 a month and remains below the poverty line. They have no savings, no assets, no retirement. At times, they get ahead, only to have their sole car break down and need repairs. One of their kids may be struggling with frequent and severe illnesses. This can very well be the case for most of the people in churches around the country. On top of this, they are shown in the church budget meeting that the church had a $10,000 or $40,000 or $80,000 surplus for the fourth or tenth year in a row. They may ask themselves, “Why do we need to give when the church is doing so well?” To them, it may seem that their “small” contribution to the church is meaningless, and the church really doesn’t need it, while they need it.
The church should be ready to provide comfort and encouragement for these people. For instance, immediately before the scene of the widow giving her last mite in the temple (Mark 12:41-44), Jesus warns to watch out for the teachers of the law, for they “devour widows’ houses” (Mark 12:40). Jesus never says anything positively about the widow’s actions; He merely observes. In fact, the context would imply the opposite of approval and actually show how He disapproved of what His Father’s house had become. This widow was being taken advantage of by a corrupt religious system, which Jesus condemned and referred to as a den of thieves (Mark 11:15-18), and prophesied soon after how it would all be destroyed in judgment (Mark 13:1-2). The church cannot look like or behave like the temple in Jesus’ day. Our first disposition should be that of care for these people who are financially struggling, and church leadership should give careful attention to regularly communicating that to the congregation.
For these types of members in a church, their concern is not necessarily wrong; it appears the church does have more than what they need, but this is not a bad thing. As we see in the primitive church, having more than enough was a good thing only because it allowed the church to take care of people in need. “For there was not a needy person among them, for all who were owners of land or houses would sell them and bring the proceeds of the sales and lay them at the apostles’ feet, and they would be distributed to each as any had need” (Acts 4:34-35). So, it is not an issue of the church having plenty, as much as it is an issue with why the church is doing nothing with it. This leads to our next objection.
Objection #2: “They have no plan”
This could be another deterrent for continuous giving. People may see that the church takes large amounts of money and stockpiles it over decades and never uses it for the kingdom of God. Instead of putting their talents to work and investing them in the kingdom, the church sticks them in the ground and puts them to no use (Matt. 25:14-30). Some members may have no savings for the future, yet they are giving to a church that has no real plans for the future; we should understand their concern if they have any. We should be tender to the sensitivity of some members who gave as described in Acts 4:34-35, and yet never see the church use the money for anything at all. Seeing the church bank account grow and grow, and yet no investment is being made in God’s kingdom, should be alarming. In Jesus’ Parable of the Talents, He doesn’t commend the option of letting the money just sit in the bank; in fact, it is merely a slightly better alternative to what the lazy slave did by burying it.
“But his master answered and said to him, ‘You wicked, lazy slave, you knew that I reap where I did not sow and gather where I scattered no seed. 27 Therefore, you ought to have put my money in the bank, and on my arrival I would have received my money back with interest. 28 Therefore take away the talent from him, and give it to the one who has the ten talents.’
– Matthew 25:26-28 (LSB)
For these types of members in the church, it is important to see the leaders of the church make strategic moves and advances in the mission for the gospel of Jesus Christ. Again, it is not a bad thing to desire direction; it is, in fact, a good desire to have. It is also a real expectation to place on leaders in God’s church. We all understand that things take time, even these troubled members. So, it is important for leadership to regularly inform the congregation on the progress the church is making and give a transparent vision of where they are heading.
Objection #3: “They are not prudent”
Though having plans for the future is not a bad thing, continually failing to execute them is. This objection is the opposite of the previous two; the church has no money due to poor planning. This could be one of the worst objections for church leadership to hear. The standard for leaders in the church is high for a reason. They are the ones who have been placed there to lead the church in wisdom. When their plans constantly end in disaster, the qualifications for those leaders come into question. The congregation may not only be reluctant to give their money but may also be reluctant to submit to the leadership at all. Deep down, the congregation may be asking themselves, “Do the leaders know what they are doing?” The concern of a member who is struggling to give because the leaders in the church are rash, unwise, and unstable in their decision-making is not illegitimate, but very legitimate. For these members, it is extremely beneficial to see the leaders in the church repent of their shortcomings and offenses. To restore confidence in the church, leaders would do well to acknowledge their failures and ask for the congregation’s forgiveness. Depending on the immediate and pending consequences of the negligence, some leaders may need to resign from their offices.
Response #1: “Because you are blessed”
Even if some of these objections may be the case, it does not mean that we as Christians should cease to be generous in our giving. The truth is, we are to give out of our blessedness. The Christian is not to give in order to be blessed; the Christian gives because he is blessed. Whatever it is that we possess, God is the one who portioned it out and gave it to us in the first place. Everything that we have and enjoy belongs to God because He is the one from whom we received it. This means that even if one has legitimate concerns and stops giving because of them, they are not so much proving a point, but missing the point. The reason why we give is that we love the Lord who loved us. The point of giving is not extinguished because the church is well-off, directionless, or has shortcomings. The truth is, all three of these things are going to be true of any church at some point in time, and that is because the church is comprised of imperfect people, and the leadership is not immune to having those people. As Christians, we can give despite those things because we give through faith in worship. We do not wish to be like the people Bartholomew Ashwood mentioned, “Most men are too tenacious of their interests to be dead to them. Close hands argue cleaving hearts to the world. Alas, with what reluctancy do men that have the abundance of this world’s goods lay them out again for God! How hard is it to draw any proportions of charity from them that have this world’s goods?“[1]
Response #2: “Because it will bless you”
We also give because it is good for us. This is not a selfish reason to give generously, but simply a reality. If a Christian desires to grow in prayer because they know it is good for them to pray and it will bless them, this does not make them selfish. If Christians receive benefits from obeying Jesus’ commands, it does not somehow make their obedience self-centered if they genuinely enjoy it. All that the believer is called to is for his ultimate good. And so, we are called to be a generous people because it is for our own good. The inverse is also true. It is spiritually unhealthy to be attached to money. The true Christian experience is to be free from the love of money. As John Trapp exhorts, “They are fools that fear to lose their wealth by giving, but fear not to lose themselves by keeping it.“[2] When we let go of our possessions, we are not losing ourselves but freeing ourselves from this world. So, we conclude that giving without expecting anything in return is good for the soul. It is good for us because it reflects the nature of God and His goodness. God does not give us things because He expects something in return. God is eternally happy and satisfied in and of Himself; He needs nothing! God simply gives out of the overflow of His goodness and love. When we follow the steps of our heavenly Father, it is so good for us. May we be called to give as He has given.
Response #3: “Because it will bless others”
Expanding upon what we observed above about God and His nature, we can further conclude that when we give, it blesses others. We are to be holy as our Father in heaven is holy (Mat. 5:48, 1 Peter 1:16). It is important to remember that part of giving is not just worship to God, but is doing goodwill towards our neighbor. It is vertical, yes, but also horizontal. We give because we have received much; because it is good to be generous, and because it is good for those around us. The world will never be a good place as long as everyone is greedy and selfish. Proper giving encompasses everyone: God, us, and others. Paul instructed the Corinthian church as a whole to be ready to give what they could to assist their Christian brothers and sisters in Jerusalem (1 Cor. 16:1-4). Giving blesses others who are outside of our local congregation, but it also blesses those inside the local congregation. The reality is, we can do more together than we can apart, and giving corporately allows our money to go further in a more organized and unifying way. As a body of believers, we are called to “think the same way, by maintaining the same love, being united in spirit, thinking on one purpose” (Phil. 2:2); this should certainly include how we give. We should desire to be “like-minded” in all that we do, including our giving (2 Cor. 13:11, 1 Peter 3:8). Therefore, giving together further unites us, which is for our good as the body of Christ. It may be helpful to remind ourselves of these dimensions of giving when we prepare ourselves to give. When we meditate on and pray over our gift, let us think of God’s glory, the health of our soul, the health of our church, and the health of others.
Conclusion
Christians are to be the model of generosity to the world because our Lord and Savior is the perfect model of generosity to us. Jesus gave up His place to become a slave (Phil. 2:5-8), and Jesus gave up His life for our salvation (Rom. 6:23). Whether, then, we eat or drink or whatever we do, we do all to the glory of God (1 Cor. 10:31), which includes giving. We give because He first gave. We also give, because it is good for us to be generous with the things God has given to us. Lastly, when we are generous together, it unifies the body of Christ and blesses our neighbors.
The master praised the unrighteous manager because he had acted shrewdly. For the children of this age are more shrewd than the children of light in dealing with their own people. 9 And I tell you, make friends for yourselves by means of worldly wealth so that when it fails, they may welcome you into eternal dwellings.
– Luke 16:8-9 (CSB)
Works Cited
[1] Ashwood, Batholomew. The Heavenly Trade, or The Best Merchandizing: The Only Way to Live Well in Impoverishing Times (London: printed for Samuel Lee, 1679), 81.
[2] John Trapp in Horn, H. J., comp. The Puritan Remembrancer. (London: Stanley Martin, 1928), 127. republished in The Puritans Day by Day (Edinburgh: Banner of Truth, 2016).