How Much Shall I Give?
MOODY COFFMAN
(A PREFACE: Moody Coffman has gone to the Lord. He was an Elder of my church, my Sunday school teacher, My friend, a pew companion of many years. How best to convey his spirit then to tell you on the first meeting of each new Physics class (he was a teacher of physics) at the college where he taught, Dr Coffman always gave out his personal home phone for any student to use if in need of questions of physics.)
It takes courage to ask the question of yourself --How much shall I give? -- and it takes time and energy to take the Bible in hand to find the Will of God. Then it takes the spirit of Christ to submit to the findings.
In worship, the Christian sings; and he hears the voice of Christ saying; " I gave, I gave my life for thee. What hast thou giv'n for me? " Having heard the question, the Christian must seek the answer. Thus, he turns to the Bible to find the Will of God in the matter of giving.
GIVING MONEY
There are simple ru1es, which are easy to find, that govern the act of giving. The gift must be according to the purposes in the heart of the giver. It must he given cheerfully and of the free will of the giver. It must not be given grudgingly. It must not be given of necessity, because of social, economic or family pressure. It must be given because the giver loves God. It must not be given to be seen of men nor so the giver may be honored among men (II Corinthians 9:6,7; Matthew 6:1-4). The magnitude of the gift is not the important thing (Mark 12:42, 43). The Lord requires the size of the gift to be only as the giver has prospered (I Corinthians 16:2) ; and the Christian is responsible only for that over which he exercises control. (II Corinthians 8:12). Therefore, the amount the Christian is to give depends upon his resources, his purposes and his attitude of heart.
To summarize, the Christian can ask himself two questions when he hears of an opportunity to give. The first question is "How much can I give?" The second question is "How much will I give?" When the answers to these two questions are identical, the Christian is giving enough.
WHAT IF I TITHE?
Now there is a temptation to look for some formula such as tithing. The aim is to obtain relief from the responsibility to decide how much should be given or perhaps to avoid an expected criticism of others. Under the old law, the rules were explicit (Leviticus 27:30-33) ; but under the law of liberty (II Corinthians 3:17), the Christian who presents only one-tenth as the Lord's may be asked the question that the Lord asked the cleansed leper (Luke 17:17). "Where are the nine'?"
GIVE SELF
Reflection yields the words sung in the worship service; "All to Jesus I surrender. All to Him I freely give." How can one give all and keep some for self? The answer must be that self must be given also. Then giving to self is giving to the Lord. This conclusion does not come easy, but the thoughts that led to it will be set forth now.
GIVE OTHER THAN MONEY
To begin, there are many things to be given besides money. There is the giving of love, the giving of time, the giving of honor, the giving of thanks, the giving of glory and the giving of evidence for our faith, among other things. Once it is realized that other things may be given as well as (or even better than) money, it becomes easier to have the Christian attitude toward giving and it becomes harder to love money for itself.
Jesus taught that money was to be used. His teaching is implied in the second parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14 ff) and in His own free use of money to obtain His needs. He taught more directly concerning its use when He instructed His disciples to use money to make friends who would receive them into eternal life (Luke 16:9). The Good Samaritan (Luke 10:33) exemplifies its use, and t-he practice of pure and undefiled religion (James 1:27) can scarcely be done without the use of money. Certainly, the Christian is to show hospitality, and as Christ pictures it (Luke 14:12-14), there will be expenses to be met. How can money spent upon hospitality be considered as given to the Lord? Jesus said "Truly, I say unto you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brethren, you did it to me" (Matthew 25:31 ff ). That the elder or bishop must be hospitable and no lover of money (1Timothy 2:2) is consistent with this view.
One of the songs the Christian sings is "Take Time To Be Holy," and a brief quote from it admonishes the Christian to "make friends of God's children. Help those who are weak." There may be an occasional expense involved, but surely this money is not lost to the Lord.
GIVE HELP WITH LOVE
"We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves; let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to edify him" (Romans 15:1, 2). In obedience to this, the Christian may be obliged to spend some time, effort and money. Again, Paul admonishes that "As we have opportunity, let us do good to all men and especially to those who are of the household of faith" (Galatians 6:10).
Giving love and understanding to one who is weak. in such a way that it does him good and upholds him to the glory of God may require expenditure of money and energy; but even the air we breath is a natural resource which God gave us that we might use it.
GIVE THANKS
Giving thanks should be done willingly, cheerfully, and according to the purposes in the heart also (Ephesians 520). Giving thanks to one another may take an outward expression, and to show love and appreciation to one another by the use of material resources is not offensive to God. For Jesus said if we do these things to His brethren, we do it to Him (Matthew 25:40); and the attitude that material gifts are too valuable for use in showing love He discouraged (Mark 14:3-9).
Giving time to useful activities may interact with giving money to the church. If all is given into the treasury of the church, then the elders may be held responsible for what is done. But we are individually responsible to God for doing good. Is it enough to make a contribution to the treasury of the church? Resources should be used as support for individual activities which glorify God. Then there will be more interest in the work the church is to do through its treasury. It appears that to make the gospel known to neighbors in this age may require time and other resources. The individual should make effective use of his time if expenses are needed (Ephesians 5:16). God will supply enough that all His work can be done. Therefore, the work of the Lord should have the support of all the resources which Christians control. That part given to the treasury of the church is not enough. The problem Christians face is not that of gaining resources, but making, certain that all the resource they control are directed to doing the will of God (Ecclesiastes 9:10).
A large home which is selfishly used, is not as good an influence for the Lord as a small home which shows the Christian attribute or hospitality. Therefore, quantity is not the main question;, rather, it is a question of the quality of Christian activity. Each Christian is to use his time, abilities, and resources to fulfill his responsibilities to God.
GIVE HONOR
Giving of honor is done by those who practice humility and are free from envy and jealousy. Much more effort should go into the giving of honor. "Honor your father and your mother" is the first commandment with a promise attached (Ephesians 6:2). Then Paul states that Christians ought to outdo one another in the giving of honor (Romans 12:10).
A Christian should seek honor and glory which is obtained through duty (Romans 2:7), but a man is to think of himself no more highly than he ought to think (Romans 12:7). This obligates one to be honest and sober in his appraisal of himself but humility and obscurity are not the same thing. When one remembers that an honor bestowed upon a Christian is an honor to God, it becomes easier to, seek out opportunities to bestow such honor as may be due some brother in Christ. And the Christian brother who is thus honored can accept such honor to the glory of God; for he knows the honor is justly deserved and is not given as flattery. Such honor may be accepted without suspicion, and the honored one must not feel an obligation to return the compliment. The teachings of Jesus (Luke 12:14) imply that such things as honor must be given without thought of repayment.
In the church, much work is done which deserves notice (I Corinthians 16:16) ; and of course, double honor is due the elders who rule well (I Corinthians 5:17).
Finally, the Christian must give his influence to overcoming the world for Christ. God has given each one resources to perform deeds of righteousness to the glory of the Lord. John was privileged to preview the end result-"then I heard what seemed to be the voice of a great multitude, like the sound of many waters and like the sound of mighty thunderpeals crying Hallelujah! For the Lord our God the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and exalt and give him the glory. for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and the Bride has made herself ready; it was granted her to be clothed with fine linen, bright and pure for the fine linen is the righteous deeds of the saints" (Revelation 19:6-8).
END NOTE
( I did not print the referenced Biblical texts on purpose but gave the book, chapter and verse so that the serious reader might, for himself, look it up and read from the Word of God ).