October 19, 2008

Comments (7)

  • I was going to say no and reference II Corinthians 8, but then I saw you included it in the "other passages" link. So I'll not reference II Cor. 8 and still say no. Although, what one can "afford" can be defined in multiple ways, depending upon the individual's generosity.

  • I think it redefines what "one's means" are... the point was that the widow gave everything, not that the pharisees should have given all their money, or even that they should have been poor. They gave something that mattered little to them, seemingly for the primary reason of appearing spiritual.

    I think that we should give all we have to God, or rather, stop trying to claim that we own ANYTHING. If he calls one of us to give everything we own to someone, so be it. But the point, I think, is that he has made us steward over these resources, including but not limited to money. As a good steward, we should not let a desire merely to maintain a large stewardship inhibit our decision to give, but we should be responsible. If we give all that we are steward of -- or "beyond our means" -- likely someone else will then have to support us. Which isn't necessarily bad, but I think God calls us to generally take responsibility for ourselves, and not be an undue burden.

  • I agree with mulletrooster.

    I always liked what CSLewis said - that we should give enough to make us feel rather uncomfortable - there should be some element of sacrifice in our giving. I think he also said or implied that we should not be a burden (think of Paul working to support himself).

    The part that has been most confusing to me lately has been what if I can't afford to tithe (give 10% to my church)? Should I do it anyway? Then I started to wonder if tithing is really a NT principal anyway? Did the church always tithe? Is God withholding his blessing from my finances because I am not trusting him enough? (ie Am I not doing as well as I think I should be because I am not tithing?) On what basis do most churches teach tithing? Was it practiced by NT gentiles? If so, then did they tithe according to the OT? If so, then should we? If yes, then was it really just 10%? (I have heard that it would really have been about 27% or so.)

    That is all very tangential to your question, but your question brought it immediately to mind.

  • I think 1 Tim 5:8 is directly relevant. And I should have said 22% but that seems to be a debated point anyway.

  • i don't believe in "tithing"... but I do try to allocate a particular percentage to give, with the option to raise, so to speak. =) I'm a big proponent of regular, budgeted sums, such as Paul advocates when he tells people to set aside once a week. But also leaving the possibility of exceptional or unexpected gifts.

    Again, since it's all God's, I view myself as the manager he has appointed to make the best use of these assets, so a dogmatically fixed % to give away doesn't really make sense to me. (although, as I said, I do give consistently at a target %)

    What is interesting me right now is my transition to being a support-based mission worker; how might this, if at all, change my pattern of giving?

  • @mulletrooster - 

    There are a couple of takes on that question. However, from the short-term missions I've done, and from asking my cousin and some other full-time missionaries, I'd say that a person's giving should not change (i.e. decrease) just because s/he'd be giving on money that's already been given. We're not dealing with double-taxation here. God's economy is much more... exponential, I'd say. There are unexplainable blessings that come as a result of giving. That's not why we give, of course.

    I really appreciate your perspective on giving already - that we are to acknowledge temporary stewardship of God's money/everything else in our lives. We give like we love... because He first did.

    One more thought that God has used to challenge me and my supporters: We can't out-give Him. No matter what the circumstances we face, obedience brings blessing - in many different forms.

  • I'm supposing you're talking about money here, but I think it can apply to other things as well. In any case, I think giving a baseline amount no matter what shows faith in God's provision and teaches us to be disciplined. It's definitely more for us than anything else. An interesting quote from a book I've been reading "The Divine Mentor" - "the cost of discipline is far less than the cost of regret". I think that disciplining ourselves in any area, but especially in finances, may be painful, but in the long run is going to cost far less than the pain of regret.

    As far as giving above our means, I think God often calls us to give beyond what we think is possible or what we are capable of doing (this applies to many areas - time, money, etc...) It just requires a dependence on Him, the ability to hear his voice and the willingness to obey. Often hard to do, and we fail many many times, but always worth it :)

Comments are closed.

Post a Comment

tim223

(I use 'tags' and 'categories' almost interchangeably... see below)

Recent Comments