WHY SHOULD WE BE GIVING CHRSITIANS?

Introduction

Giving to others or being generous is a virtue practiced and valued by Christians and non-Christians alike. Non-Christians readily give to charities and volunteer their time to help the disadvantaged/needy; as Christians we also give what we have in the spiritual domain, contributing to the Lord’s church financially as part of worship, helping in church works, being especially attentive to the needs of brethren (Gal 6:10).

However as Christians, practiced giving goes beyond imparting excess/spare time, energy or resources. Biblical giving emphasises beyond the willingness to give what one has to spare; it emphasises the readiness, without reserve, to give/put away even what is extremely valued and hence very difficult to part with. In the Old Testament, the Israelites were forbidden to eat fat (Lev 3:17), a calorie-rich resource and useful food ingredient in harsher ancient times. We also read of Abraham preparing to sacrifice on the altar - the only son born to him in old age (Gen 22), a passage whose demand and response shocks us even today. The New Testament records a similar spirit of forsaking one’s possessions – whether financial/material good, as in the bottle of costly perfume which Mary broke to anoint Jesus (Mk 14:3-5) and the early Christians who ‘sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men’ (Acts 2:45), or one’s very life, as in Levi who ‘left all’ when called to follow Jesus (Lk 5:27). That simple little word ‘all’ expresses a staggering absoluteness – not ‘some’, not ‘half’, not ‘going to Jesus on those days when he was teaching’. Reflecting upon that little yet great word, one is struck by the strength of Levi’s resolve, so great and powerful that it overcame all odds, all the niggling perceived difficulties and challenges of changing a life he was used to, to lead a brand-new life in the Lord.

The mindset evinced by the widow with the mite, which was all she had, runs counter-intuitive to everything we know living in this world, to be practical or sensible, to consider returns and worthwhileness. The world knows and delights in giving generously from time to time, but who would put their very last cent into a donation box? If called to give away or give up something they hold dear, most would naturally feel reluctant, frustrated, even indignant and angry. Besides, it is even harder to part with something you feel you have worked hard to attain, and most of us work pretty hard indeed.

This article aims to suggest a few aspects to the giving mentality and some valuable lessons God could be teaching us by instructing the act of giving.

Firstly, practiced Christian giving can prevent us from becoming greedy and overly attached to the things in this life, which opens the door to sin. God in His wisdom has seen the pitfalls we get into when we are too preoccupied with what we have. In the world today, many are fixated on acquiring the latest things and keeping up with trends, lured by the advertising promises of how it would make better people out of them. A mindset which pursues money and material goods above all is a gateway to further opportunities for sin, for example, committing fraud when no one seems to be looking, or in recent times, virtual prostitution (users uploading explicit photos of themselves online for money) which the world justifies or even applauds as an easy side-hustle. When things go well, we tend to forget God’s role and presence and start giving ourselves too much credit. The rich man (Lk 12:16-19) had a self-congratulatory eye on his investments and plans, and took his eyes off God and the state of his soul. The reality is one cannot multi-task when it comes to ultimate goals (Mat 6:24), and sooner or later we may privilege our self-importance over that of God’s. If we hold on too tightly to our possessions, like the rich noble’s son (Mat 19:16-22) whose heart Jesus had seen so accurately, we may become unable to choose God. Having to readily and consciously set aside what we have – whether financially to the church and her work, or expending time and effort in God’s work and brethren – can keep us away from being in a self-centred, earthly comfort zone as we put God and His Providence and the needs of others at the front of our minds.

Secondly, giving can also be a reminder that we are custodians of God’s goodness and do not indefinitely own what we have. Since God created this world and everything in it, all things have always belonged to him from the beginning. This acknowledgment is reflected in Mosaic law by the rule that the firstfruits and firstlings belonged to God, and the people were required to redeem/buy them from Him with a sacrifice (Exo 13:12-13). To add to this, since a human comes into the world naked, and he will leave it likewise (Job 1:21), what seems to belong to us in this brief slice of time while we are alive belongs to us only briefly. Ergo, we are like the stewards in the parable of the talents (Mat 25:14-30), entrusted with God’s property for the time being. If called to give away or give up something they hold dear, most would feel reluctant because giving away costs them. But does it really cost us, when it was not truly ours to own? Seen in this light, we are essentially not giving what we have away. Rather it becomes our duty to take care of what God owns and trusts us with and put it to good use. As we practice giving, we can be conscious of this fundamental, temporary relationship with God’s things in this world. We should not be held back by a selfish desire to hold onto them, rather should endeavour to pay greater attention to how we exercise our temporary custodianship wisely.

Understanding our thoughts and feelings, God also acknowledges that giving requires sacrifice, but He promises that we will be rewarded for it. In Mal 3:10 God issues something close to a challenge to the people, and maybe also through time to us, to test his promises and prove him right - that if they furnish the Lord’s house, God will bless them so abundantly that they will not have any room to receive any more. This is echoed in 2 Cor 9:6 - ‘he which soweth bountifully shall reap also bountifully’. This promise could be misinterpreted as a bargain, and such is common in pagan religions where worshippers trade with a pagan god in return for having their earthly wishes granted. Our God does not indulge in such terms of engagement; since all things belong to him, He does not need what we may think we can give Him (Acts 7:48-50). It is also inconsistent with God’s attributes to reduce our perfect Shepherd, who knows us and knows what is best for us, to a mere wish-granter. As we know from experience, humans are capricious (what we want today, we might not want tomorrow), also what we desire so badly may actually be harmful to us. What then are those blessings promised to us? We may not know for certain what form these will take, or when they will come, but we can know and trust that they come from a God who is constant, who knows all, and who is personally interested in our welfare (1 Pet 5:7), as He promised and revealed Himself to us. One might suggest part of that blessing is peace and contentment that comes with just not worrying. The cheerful giver in 2 Cor 9:8, who gives ‘not grudgingly, or of necessity, is someone to be admired and to aspire to. He is cheerful because he does not worry about what he needs for the future, or feels he is bound/obligated to give because he has chosen to lead the Christian life; these considerations are far, far away from him. He knows with all his heart and mind the ultimate reward of heaven.

Finally, practiced giving can also reorientate our perspective so we see through spiritual eyes at who we are, who God is, and what we are expected to be and do. While it is in principle difficult to give something important up, there is surely someone in your life that you would not hesitate to sacrifice for, it could be your child, parent, spouse or good friend. Your willingness to readily give up what you have for their happiness/well-being really depends on how important we think the receiving party is. To put Christian giving into perspective, God is more than that. God fully deserves our best and everything we have because of His absolute power, that He is holiness, goodness, justice and mercy itself (1 Sam 2:2, Psa 145:7, Ps 89:4), and His greatest sacrificial act of sending his blameless Son to die for us. Our giving should acknowledge what He is and His place in our hearts. We are also told to lay up eternal treasures in heaven (Mat 6:19-21), to hold in our sights the ultimate promise. Paul sets the practical high bar for us when he talks about what he gave up – everything. Social status, education, community, matters which today we value, but all of which he called ‘dung’ (Php 3:4-8), in exchange for a life of uncertainty, persecution, great personal risk, and ultimate reward in Christ. Let us be encouraged by Paul’s example to look past the ‘great’ things of this world and see what is truly real and valuable. In giving continually, we can remind ourselves what is truly important and where our ultimate goals are, and recognise that what we possess and value are really not so precious compared to the rewards of the faithful in Christ.

Conclusion

The Christian life calls us to be ready to not just forsake a little, but to be ready to forsake all. God wants no less than first place in our lives, and hence, how we give reflects how important God and His commands are compared to everything in this life. This is a hard lesson to learn, and even harder to practice. To start off, perhaps you could think of your weekly contribution and what it means to you. Then, more widely, consider your resources and how you can use them to God’s glory. There is after all much to do in the Lord. May we be by our actions exceptional examples in this world, and in so doing draw the world to us and His life-changing gospel (cf Mat 5:14-16).