Kingdom of God – Giving

10/12 mins to read

So, after a summer break and some blogs on creation, I am back to the ‘Kingdom of God’ series and picking up at G for Giving!

Jesus spoke about money more than almost any other subject (including prayer and heaven). 12 out of his 38 parables are about money or possessions. Yet, many of us struggle when it comes to trusting God with our money. Make no mistake, this is a discipleship issue. Will you trust God to “supply all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ” (Philippians 4.19)? John Wesley said, “The last part of a man to be converted is his wallet.”

1. IS MONEY GOOD OR BAD?

Money is necessary. You can’t barter for a pair of jeans in Europe these days with a chicken or a pig! Among other things, money can help us acquire the essentials for living such as food, clothing and shelter. 

Money is neutral. The Bible says, “The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil.” (1 Timothy 6.10). While money is not evil, being in love with it can lead to evil deeds. Nothing can destroy people like the passion to possess. So, our attitude to money will determine whether we use it for good or for bad.

People buy things they don’t need with money they don’t have, to impress people they don’t like.

In Matthew 19, the rich young man who came to see Jesus had a lot of money. Jesus told him to go away, sell everything he had and follow Him. Why? Not because Jesus thought it was always wrong to be wealthy but because Jesus saw that it was the ‘god’ in this man’s life and there is only room for one God.

“No one can serve two masters. For you will hate one and love the other; you will be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and be enslaved to money” (Matthew 6.24).

After the rich man left Him, Jesus said it was harder for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven. The more wealth you have, the harder it is to keep an eternal perspective and to store up treasure in heaven.

The disciples exclaimed “Who then can be saved?” because they believed that the young man’s wealth was a sign of God’s special favour upon Him. Yet Jesus made it clear that wealth itself was no guarantee of God’s blessing and that in the economy of God the poor, the bruised and the broken were special targets of His blessing and concern (see Matthew 5:1-12).

Friendless indeed is the man who has friends only because he has money.

In the parable of the rich fool (see Luke 12:16-21), the rich man was foolish because he was greedy – he lived to make as much money for himself as possible before retiring to the good life. When he suddenly lost his life, he found he had nothing left.

It is not necessarily wrong to have lots of money! Plenty of people in the Bible were very wealthy, eg Job, king David & king Solomon. Today, there are very wealthy christians. Laing the builders (in the UK) are a christian family. The business is worth many millions but they plough millions of pounds each year into christian work. They have lots of money but they are not in love with it. They use it to the glory of God and the larger public good.

2. WHOSE MONEY IS IT? 

In 1 Chronicles 29:14 it says, “Everything comes from [God]…“.  We are stewards and not owners of everything we have – money, possessions, abilities, etc. As christians, we should view everything we have (including our money) as belonging to God, to be used in ways that please and honour Him. 

3. WHAT ARE THE DANGERS OF LOVING MONEY?

• It can fuel unhealthy, possibly harmful ambition (see 1 Timothy 6:9).
• It can make us greedy and covetous. In Ecclesiastes 5:10 it says, “Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income“. ‘Need’ can be replaced by ‘want’. 
• It can distort our priorities and reduce our spiritual values. In Proverbs 30:9 it says, “I may have too much and disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’” In Matthew 6:19-21 Jesus warns against laying up treasures here on earth (insecure investment) instead of laying up treasures in heaven.
• It can increase – rather than decrease – our worries. In Ecclesiastes 5:12 it says, “…the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep“. Someone once said: “Our economy is based on us wanting more; our happiness is based on us wanting less”.

Life is an eternal struggle to keep money coming in and to keep teeth, hair and vital organs from coming out.

4. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF HOLDING MONEY LIGHTLY?

• It keeps us more focused on Him as we trust God to provide for our needs.
• We can worry less about how much we do or don’t have, as we trust that God will meet our needs.
• We can be more generous with it.

5. WHY SHOULD I GIVE MONEY AWAY?

• God tells us to.  In 1 Timothy 6:17,18 it says, “Command those who are rich in this present world to be generous and willing to share”. See also Luke 21:1-4 and Matthew 5:42.

• We are following God’s own example. In 2 Corinthians 9:15 it says, “Thanks be to God for His indescribable gift”. God is the first giver, selflessly giving us His Son. Our giving is out of gratitude for this gift, which is beyond description.

• It’s a way of recognising that all that we have belongs to God and comes from Him and it’s also a way of saying ‘thank you’ to God for all that He has given us.

A person is a failure if they go through life earning nothing but money.

6. SHOULD I TITHE?

Tithing is frequently mentioned in the Old Testament. Some dismiss tithing today saying it is an old covenant requirement, part of the law given through Moses (see Leviticus 27.30), and that it no longer applies under the new covenant.

But tithing is pre-covenantal. Abraham gave a tithe to Melchizedek king of Salem (Genesis 14.20). Tithing was ratified under the Mosaic law and also by Jesus.

There are three types of people: the ‘have’s, the ‘have not’s and the ‘haven’t paid for what they have’s.

There is only one occasion in the Bible where God encourages His people to test Him and it is in the area of their giving:

“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. “But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ “In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse—your whole nation—because you are robbing me. Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. 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 there will not be room enough to store it. I will prevent pests from devouring your crops, and the vines in your fields will not drop their fruit before it is ripe,” says the Lord Almighty. “Then all the nations will call you blessed, for yours will be a delightful land,” says the Lord Almighty” (Malachi 3.8-12).

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K (2017) says, “My wife and I recently reviewed our finances after a busy (and expensive!) 12 months, including purchasing and renovating our first home, and getting married. Part of this included reviewing the amount we give to the church and to charity – we continued to give during this particularly expensive period, but we scaled back as the budget got squeezed. Having grown up without a Christian faith, the concept of tithing has required quite a significant mindset change for me. I constantly find myself needing a reminder that everything I have is thanks to God’s blessing, and when we give we are merely giving back to God what is His. 

Reading Malachi 3:10 one morning was the prod for us to review our giving: “Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. 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 there will not be room enough to store it.”

At the end of June, we increased the amount of our standing order to our church, and also added a few more charities to our regular giving schedule. Being a newlywed couple in a house which still requires some renovation, increasing our commitment to give required some faith that God would help us make ends meet. Less than one week later and completely out of the blue, I unexpectedly received £1,350 work related expenses incurred in 2016. Incredible! God is good!”

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In Luke 11:42 Jesus says “What sorrow awaits you Pharisees! For you are careful to tithe even the tiniest income from your herb gardens, but you ignore justice and the love of God. You should tithe, yes, but do not neglect the more important things” (NLT). There is a similar reference in Matthew 23:23.

The Greek puts this in strong terms, indicating necessity. It could be translated as follows: “You must do these things, and you must not neglect those things.” So, Jesus affirms the principle of tithing whilst at the same time telling them to give urgent attention to justice and walking in God’s love.

7. HOW MUCH SHOULD I GIVE?

In the New Testament, the principle of tithing is not done away with but built upon. The new covenant of grace (founded by Jesus) is superior in every way to the Old covenant of law. You would therefore expect giving to be more generous under the new covenant. Perhaps we should be asking ‘How much should I keep?’, not ‘How much should I give?’ 

When I have any money, I get rid of it as quickly as possible, lest it find a way into my heart. 

John Wesley

The Apostle Paul says that ‘each person should give what he has decided in his heart to give’ (see 2 Corinthians 9:7). Principles of giving are discussed, not percentages. See 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 9:6-11 and 1 Timothy 6:17-19. So, God says we should give:

• SACRIFICIALLY. See 2 Corinthians 8:3. The widow at the temple in Luke 21:1-4 gave all that she had to live on.

• GENEROUSLY.  See 2 Corinthians 8.2 & 9.6. We should give as much as we can.

• JOYFULLY. Out of gratitude for all that God has given us.  “…God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). 

• PRIVATELY. In Matthew 6:3 Jesus says, “Do not let your left hand know what the right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret”.  We should not give publicly, for all to see.

You should not view the giving of money in isolation. You should look at your overall giving of time and talents as well as your treasure (see 1 Chronicles 29).

8. TO WHO SHOULD I GIVE?

There are no hard and fast rules. Certainly, it is good to give a large proportion to your home church. However, you might wish to direct some of your giving to people (eg mission partners) or organisations (Compassion child sponsorship, TEAR Fund or World Vision) in which/whom you have a particular interest or concern.

9. WHAT ARE THE BENEFITS OF GIVING?

Paul sets out some of them in 2 Corinthians 9:6-15:

• It is the best investment we can make. In verse 6 it says, “Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will reap generously”. As the church leader Nicky Gumbel says, “Giving is planting seed. It is investing for the future. Whatever we give to the Lord He multiplies…”.  See also Luke 6:38.

• We will know God’s love. Verse 7 says, “…God loves a cheerful giver”.

• It can help us not to depend too heavily on our money. Verse 8 makes it clear that when we give, God will still provide for our needs. It’s worth remembering verse 6 again here. You will never outgive God. 

There was man, they called him mad; the more he gave, the more he had.

John Bunyon

• It can transform our character. In 2 Corinthians 9:10 it says, “He…will enlarge the harvest of your righteousness”. In other words, giving helps free us from the grip of materialism and, in character, makes us more like God.

• It results in others giving thanks to God (see 2 Corinthians 9:11-13). Others thank God for His provision through you.

• It helps those who are physically and spiritually hungry. Gifts to your local church help bring God’s love to those in the surrounding community. Gifts to organisations like Tear Fund help fund projects to help farmers in third world countries grow food, to help villagers to dig wells to provide their community with fresh water, etc.

10. PRACTICAL ADVICE

• Get in touch with your feelings about money. Come to terms with your fear, insecurity and guilt about money. You might be afraid that you have too little or too much. As the writer Richard Foster says, “It’s only as we come to terms with the…feelings that have shaped our understanding of money that we can act upon the Biblical call to faithfulness”.

• Admit you are wealthy. Compared to most in the world, we in the west are wealthy. We need not be embarrassed or ashamed of that, but we do need to acknowledge it and use it for God’s purposes.

If a person gets his attitude to money straight, it will help straighten out almost every other area of his life.

Billy Graham, Evangelist

• Have someone who you can discuss money matters with honestly and openly. It might be a spouse, parent or close friend. They are more likely to be able to offer an objective view on your money than you are. They can help you keep under review whether you control your money or whether it controls you. Is it making you greedy for more? Is it turning ‘needs’ into ‘wants’?

• Find ways to get in touch with the poor. In our affluent society, we can easily become distanced from the poor, so we no longer see their pain. We need to stop insulating ourselves from the pain and suffering of the vast majority of humanity.

• Thank God regularly for meeting your basic needs – food, clothing, shelter and education. We can take life’s necessities for granted and we shouldn’t. This is all part of cultivating a spirit of thankfulness which will also mean thanking God for good sleep, the sunshine, the rain, etc.

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L (2019) says, “Two years ago, I was listening to your talk on giving and I thought to myself, “I really must start giving regularly, but I’m scared to commit to a regular amount and don’t want to be embarrassed by giving such a small amount”. Until that point, I had always given whatever was left in my purse at the end of the week and sometimes it was £20 and often it was just a few coins. At the time, I was still off sick after complications with a broken right wrist and I was receiving benefits. I was just about to go back to work doing “permitted work” for 15 hours a week. My business was struggling and, in 2017, I had got out a loan for £16,000 so I could pay a practitioner who was looking after my patients whilst I was sick. That money was running out. I also still had about £10,000 worth of old debt from 10 years ago.

I prayed about what I should give to my church and prayed about how I could pay this old debt off. I calculated what was 10% of my benefits plus the £100 a week I was allowed to pay myself under the permitted work rules. I really didn’t know how I was going to pay this, but I was so inspired by K’s giving testimony (above). So, in faith I finally set up a standing order in April 2018. I think this was actually six months after the talk! I had to return to work full time as my benefits were stopped altogether. In October 2018, I also sensed God wanted me to advertise on Facebook for £1000 per month, which seemed crazy. It wasn’t easy! At one point, I had to stop my giving as I was my debt was increasing.

Last October, I not only resumed my normal standing order but I also reimbursed my church for the previous three months’ shortfall! By April 2019 (exactly one year after starting my regular giving), I have paid off the £10,000 old debt!

I now have three other practitioners working for me and we have full time reception cover. My business is unrecognisable – totally transformed, and we are looking for bigger premises. Today I am completely debt free for the first time in 40 years! I am so grateful for how God has blessed me and taught me to trust that He really will provide and provide very generously.”