Motives and Methods of Giving

Transcription

1 Motives and Methods of Giving Introduction: Cf. The Story of Luis Luis was a father of six children with a wife who can t work because of her eye problem since childhood. Life was rough and tough 60+ yrs. Ago, esp. after IIWW; he worked here and there as a clerk until he got a steady job, hired by Luthansa, the German airline, as a sales person with meager income. But Luis eventually worked his way up to be one of the company s top sales rep. and was highly respected by his peers and clients. By the time his youngest child left home to study overseas, he s making the equivalent of Can$ /yr. at the time, but it cost $800/yr. for each of the four sons he was still supporting. He worked more hours and was freelancing on the side in order to make ends meet. Yet, he had the regular practice of making sure his wife wouldn t have to cook in the weekends and taking the family out for meals before and after Sunday church service. See, in Luis church, they have the weekly practice of publishing the name and the amount of every donor every week. Luis was one of the highest donors; even with his modest income and financial commitment in paying for his children s education overseas. He often took opportunities to treat people lunch every Sunday after church service (pastors, guest speakers, less fortunate friends, etc.). Everyone in the church thought he s raking in big bucks as an executive. After 25 yrs. of working with Luthansa, Luis decided to start his own traveling agency; God blessed his business and it grew very fast, until his own employees made a series of mistakes and incurred the lost of thousands and thousands of dollars. His business never recovered from its former growth and glory. Yet, in spite of the many difficult and testing circumstances throughout his life, his tithing to God remained consistent. He never saved up for retirement, for he put everything into his business and supporting his family. But he managed to sell his business and left the small amount of money for his wife before he passed away. On his death bed Luis told me that he was at peace and ready to see his Heavenly Father face to face. He asked his family to remember these words: Trust and obey, grace overflowing, life so blessed. Luis was my father, and I know what I just told you actually happened. I read about how much he tithed, how he served in our church at home, how kind he always treated people in need, and how considerate he was to my mom. I believe that my father was a man of faith, someone who remained faithful in his tithing to God and was giving to those around him. Luis W.T. Lau remains to be my example to this day. There is a tug of war between the Mighty $ and the Mighty God! A lot of people are willing to give God the credit, but not too many are willing to give Him the cash.

2 (Anonymous, cf. George Barna, How to Increase Giving in Your Church, p. 89.) I am sure you know what I am talking about: what possesses us is more revealing than what we possess. And what possesses us is revealed in how we handle money, esp. in relation to the issue of tithing and stewardship. To participate in the mission of God involves personal sacrifices, including finance; resource stewardship is an integral part of fulfilling God s mission. It s not so much about fundraising but faith-raising; not giving to charity but fulfilling commitment; it s about discipleship. Attitude is Everything! Our attitude in giving is more revealing than the amount we give. service to the saints. 5 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. Then Paul continues to encourage the Corinthian Christians to follow the Macedonians example by reminding them of Jesus own example in 2C8:9, 9:7, 12: 2Cor. 8: 9 For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich. 2C9:7 Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. 2Cor. 9:12 This service that you perform is not only supplying the needs of God's people but is also overflowing in many expressions of thanks to God. As an encouragement and challenge to the church at Corinth, Paul commended the Macedonian believers in 2C8:3-5: 2Cor. 8:3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this When we weave Paul s words together, we get the following message: Our giving expresses our gratitude towards God s multiple blessing in our life; it s an integral part of our worship.

3 At this moment it might be appropriate for all of us to count and consider all the valuable/lasting gifts or blessing we received from God. If we were to give each item a price tag, what would be the total value of all the blessings and how much does it cost God? Let s go back to what Paul writes in the beginning verses: 2Cor. 8:3 For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own, 4 they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints. 5 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. Look at the description again: they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability sharing in this service [charitable giving or offering] gave first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God s will. How would you describe these folks? The Macedonians were not flippant in the way the used their resource; they were God-loving, other-first, responsible, smart spenders and wise stewards. We can draw from this passage that, An audit of our spending habit is more revealing than our participation in religious activities. The combination of smart spending and participation in religious activities reminds me of what Paul writes to Timothy and the church leadership in Ephesus: 1T6: 6 But godliness with contentment is great gain 9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction. It is instructive to underline that the intended audience here in this passage is not pagans or people who care less about God, but church leaders and Christ-followers. Essentially what Paul is saying is this: Be content and live in accordance with your faith commitment. Keep your heart at the right place. Beware of the dark side of money. But let me say this, it is extremely challenging when we have more. We wouldn t sweat giving to God at all a penny when we have a dime, or a dime when we have a loonie; we give more thought putting a $10 bill in the offering bag when we have a $100; we would think really, really hard before slapping down $1,000, even when we have $10,000; and we would probably cringe from giving $100,000 when we have a million. There s no problem getting some loose

4 change from the jar to give; there d be much struggle when ask to put less in rsp and give proper tithing. "The person with the discontented heart has the attitude that everything he does for God is too much, and everything God does for him is too little." (Emphasis ours.) Don Kistler Bible teacher and expositor Whole Food. Here we are not against acquiring good quality materials but being wise consumers. Yet another consideration is to make a list of all the cultural expectations or peer pressure which might have influenced our spending; evaluate each item according to biblical values or God s eternal purposes. The distribution of our financial resource must be intentionally executed. Coupled with what Paul teaches in 2C8-9 we again get the same relationship between our financial stewardship and faith commitment: Our giving should be aligned with our faith commitment with God. One of the most practical exercises in faith-based resource management is to monitor our expenses for one month and check how our discretionary funds were spent, i.e., the amount left after all the basic necessities are taken care of. Another might be checking all the brand-purchasing we do within the month, e.g. No Fills vs. Garden Basket or Regarding the collection at Corinth for the needy Christians in Jerusalem, Paul suggested in 1C16.1-3: 1C16:1 Now about the collection for God's people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do. 2 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. Once a commitment or a faith promise is made, regular, consistent, and thoughtful steps are recommended to be taken at Corinth. Here we are instructed to develop intentional planning and execution of financial giving toward kingdom purposes.

5 2C8:10-11 Last year you were the first not only to give but also have the desire to do so. Now finish the work, so that your eager willingness to do it may be matched by your completion of it, according to your means. Here are the catchwords: Intentional & Prudent Faith-filled & Consistent In the midst of trying times and difficult circumstances, it requires much faith and loyalty to keep up the practice and discipline of tithing. Our common experience is that when there are bills to pay, or when our expenses increase but our income remains constant, the first thing to suffer is charitable donations. The need to give back to God seems more remote and less pressing than the necessities of food, clothing, shelter, education, and the like. But the challenge to most of us here is even greater, for our basic life necessities are met; most of us are not struggling to survive but lusting for more. When yesterday s luxury becomes today s necessity and tomorrow s burden. Having faith believing and acting accordingly in obedience - in God s timely provision for what we need, instead of preoccupying ourselves to arrange our excess. Cf. Automatic Electronic Transfers The point is not just giving regularly, but giving regularly and responsibly in faith and by faith. What pleases God most is a faith-filled and faithful giver!! Faith without works is dead; it s faith of convenience! These passages challenge us to conduct a reality check w.r.t. our present faith expression in terms of tithing: It is critical to recognize this faith-subversive reality (Erosion of Faithful Stewardship):

6 After comparing our present faith expression with the use of our discretionary funds [i.e., the amount left after all the basic necessities are taken care of], we might have to adjust our spending habits so that our giving will be aligned with our faith commitment. There are no Sale signs for faithfulness or Discount coupons for obedience. Tom Sine describes a common mindset which we either had received from our parents or are passing on to our children: Agenda one is getting ahead in your job, getting ahead in the suburbs, getting your upscale lifestyle started; then, with whatever you have left, follow Jesus. (Tom Sine, international consultant in futures research; emphasis ours) Thank God for the million we receive (if we do have a million); thank God for the million we never get. And whatever we have received from God, give back to Him first and give ourselves the spare! At this point I would like to remind you about the minimum God expects from His people, His children to whom He pours out daily blessing and remains faithful in meeting their needs: Deut. 14:22 Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year. Take the bold step of faith to test God: Mal. 3:10 Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse... Test me in this," says the LORD Almighty, "and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it. Cf. The 3-Month Tithing Challenge: would you be willing to test drive in the next three months this challenge, to give back to God first the 10% (of your gross pay)? When God wants to do something broader through you than he s currently doing, your radical step of faith will often take you into a deeper experience with him. (Emphasis ours) Chip Ingram Every faith-filled giving transforms our otherwise ordinary relationship with God into an extraordinary adventure. Every act of obedience enlarges our capacity to experience more of God s life-changing power.

7 Faith is the step between promise and assurance... Every miracle begins with an act of obedience. (Application Bible) Every God s timely provision celebrates His trustworthiness and amplifies our faith confession. Conclusion: The legacy my dad passed on to us is this: Trust and Obey, Grace Overflowing, Life so Blessed. Grace, generosity, and giving are the characteristics I see in my dad s life; and I hope I can pass on the same legacy to my children. When I look at the bible he used since 1969 until he s taken to be with the Lord shortly after he celebrated his 60 th birthday on March 18, I notice that most of the passages we look at this morning are well marked in red.