Giving: an act of grace

The chapter I will be discussing in Sunday School this week is on giving and how this discipline affects our Christian walk. In Christian Living Beyond Belief by Cliff McManis, our attention is drawn to this topic and many assumptions that Christians have had about giving are challenged. I especially appreciated the generous treatment given the Macedonians as shown in 2 Corinthians 8:1-15 and the rebuttal to the frequent misuse of Malachi 3:8-10. There was no mention of the Jesus/Melchizedek connection, which I have heard as a reason to have tithing in the new covenant, but there’s only so much an author can do with a single chapter, and this topic was well covered as I have come to expect.

This is not a book review, or even a chapter review, but rather an introduction to a pondering I have had. It has always been true that God owns everything and has no lack of financial resources. Why then are we commanded to give an offering to the church? Naturally, this is a rhetorical question, but as I go down this train of thought it is a question that my mind conjures up. Yes, there are bills to pay in most church settings. There is a facility that is paid for and maintained, even if the church is renting a gymnasium. Of course, I speak in generalizations here. It is also generally assumed that there will be at least one pastor who will earn their living in the church.

None of this is commanded in scripture, and the earliest example in Acts portrays a group of people meeting in an upper room and I can’t think of any mention of expenses that the church had for it’s own continuance. There is mention of people selling their property and bringing in the money to the church so it can be distributed to any who had need, but that doesn’t tie in to my examples I mentioned. A church that meets in an upper room will have very few expenses if any, allowing the entire offering to go to the needs of those within her as well as those who the church decides to support financially.

Don’t take this as an idealistic view that there should be no structure for a church to meet within. I’m just saying that this is not a biblical requirement, and in some cases it can actually hinder the work of the church by taking a lion’s share of the financial resources when this same money could be spent reaching the lost and being a blessing to those who have needs.

A weekly collection is not and never was intended to be a form of fund raising so that the church could have a physical presence. I believe the command to give of your firstfruits to the church is more of a blessing to those who give than anything else. While it is not a sacrament, it could be placed under the umbrella of the means of grace.

2 Corinthians 8:1-7
We want you to know, brothers, about the grace of God that has been given among the churches of Macedonia, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their part. For they gave according to their means, as I can testify, and beyond their means, of their own free will, begging us earnestly for the favor of taking part in the relief of the saints— and this, not as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then by the will of God to us. Accordingly, we urged Titus that as he had started, so he should complete among you this act of grace. But as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in all earnestness, and in our love for you—see that you excel in this act of grace also.

As we can see in this passage, the churches of Macedonia were not at all wealthy. It says that they were under a severe test of affliction. I am not a wealthy man by any standard, but I cannot say that I am being severely tested. I have no fear of where I will sleep tonight or where my next meal is coming from. My needs are continually met. This could be why the combination of extreme poverty and an abundance of joy seems to be so contradictory. In the mindset of a suburban American, there should be no joy among poverty! There should be concern and even fear. But there is no mention of such angst among these Macedonians. Most people find it hard to be generous when their own funds are limited, but these men actually were begging for the favor of giving even more than they had already offered.

This verse is a great example of how far removed I am from the renewal of the mind that happens as one is absorbed in the scriptures. These Macedonians weren’t “super Christians” but were better givers than most. This is true now and was true then, as their example was worthy of special mention. How did they hold to such joy? I believe the answer to this can be found in the book of Acts.

Acts 20:35
In all things I have shown you that by working hard in this way we must help the weak and remember the words of the Lord Jesus, how he himself said, ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”

While the rich man from Matthew 19:16-22 was unwilling to give up his possessions, these people were eager to store up blessings that do not rust and are not eaten by moths. You may notice the word “remember” in the verse above. That is one of those words that makes my ears prick up as I read the Bible. It tells me that a major point is about to be given in the text. We are told to remember that it is more blessed to give than to receive. We are told this because it is not a conclusion our fallen minds will come to without such statements. We may find self-serving reasons to give of what we have, but this is usually not put into terms of blessing. The Macedonians understood this and found great joy in the blessing.

It was not a blessing of promised wealth if only they would give to the church, but a blessing of the reward that they looked to. They had repented of their love of money and believed that God would see to their needs, freeing them to give generously from their poverty in this life. Likewise, they trusted in the provision of Christ for the next life and they believed His command to store up treasures in Heaven rather than in this condemned world. Here we can catch a taste of the blessing. It is the rest in Christ that they found as they trusted in His provision and not the work of their own hands. This is only possible by the grace of God. We are granted the blessing of looking upon God as Jehovah-jireh, our provider.

Matthew 6:31-33
Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.