Scripture and generosity
People ask me this more than any other question about money, and it deserves a straight answer from Scripture, not from a fundraising letter. Here is what the Bible says, in its own words, and what I take from it.
Because none of it was ours to begin with. When King David watched his people bring their offerings for the temple, he prayed, “But who am I, and what is my people, that we should be able to make this freewill offering? For all things come from you, and of your own have we given you.” (1 Chronicles 29:14, NRSVue) Giving is not God asking for a cut. It is a person handing back a portion of what was already His, and finding that the act changes them.
No. It is about where your heart lives. Jesus said, “Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” (Matthew 6:19-21, NRSVue) Notice the order. He did not say your treasure follows your heart. He said your heart follows your treasure. Put something into the work of God and watch your heart move toward it.
Everything. Paul wrote, “For you know the generous act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich.” (2 Corinthians 8:9, NRSVue) We give because He gave first. That is the whole foundation. Nobody at UAMEZ Church gives to earn anything from God. We give because we have already received.
The Bible answers in three layers. The first is the heart: give as you have made up your mind, not under compulsion. The second is the order: “Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine.” (Proverbs 3:9-10, NRSVue) First fruits means God gets the first portion, not what is left over on the thirty first. The third is the measure, the tithe. If you are new, start with the first layer. If you call this church home, grow into the third.
Jesus said, “give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together, running over, will be put into your lap, for the measure you give will be the measure you get back.” (Luke 6:38, NRSVue) And Paul: “The point is this: the one who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and the one who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully.” (2 Corinthians 9:6, NRSVue) I will not promise you a bigger bank account, because Scripture does not. It promises something better: “And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work.” (2 Corinthians 9:8, NRSVue) Enough for you, and enough to keep giving. And Jesus himself said, “It is more blessed to give than to receive.” (Acts 20:35, NRSVue)
Then you are in good company. Jesus “sat down opposite the treasury and watched the crowd putting money into the treasury. Many rich people put in large sums. A poor widow came and put in two small copper coins, which are worth a penny. Then he called his disciples and said to them, ‘Truly I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all those who are contributing to the treasury. For all of them have contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty has put in everything she had, all she had to live on.’” (Mark 12:41-44, NRSVue) God does not measure a gift by its size. He measures it by what it cost you. A small gift given faithfully in a hard season counts for more in heaven than a large one given without thought. Give what you can, and let God do the math.
