Money, money, money

I used to attend a church where the pastor loved to emphasize giving to the church activities, to him, or to his family. He would use the example of the widow at Zarepath and the prophet Elijah found in 1 Kings 17. He would say that as long as we gave to the 'man of God' first, God would be sure to take care of our own needs. The word of God was not presented in a way that was rightly divided of course, so whatever truth is in that statement was twisted to take advantage of the young members who were themselves trying to finish school, looking for jobs, mostly working class with very little material assets of their own and many were downright struggling to make ends meet. Meanwhile, he lived in an upscale neighborhood, he bragged about the brand names that he wore (and warned everyone not to buy him 'cheap' gifts), and had recently re-furnished an already nice home with luxurious trappings just for the extra 'look.'' I write as a matter of personal knowledge and not hearsay.

There were more shocking things that occurred where money was concerned and one of the very worst took place on the last day I ever attended: the pastor told the congregation to 'sow into the anointing' that was present towards whatever they needed - job, own business, education etc....not to miss out...that if they didn't come with enough money, they could go to the ATM after the service ended that afternoon, make a cash withdrawal and then drop the money off for him...yes, that there was still enough time in the day.

This vile behavior must make God indignant and I'm thankful that He opened my eyes and rescued me out of there with a lot of first-hand lessons of what NOT to do, tolerate and be deceived by in the future. The bible has a lot to say about money. Everything we could ever need to know in fact. Here is a just a sampler of guidelines for our giving from a few verses in 2 Corinthians:

2 Corinthians 8:12-15 (ESV) 12 For if the readiness is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have. 13 For I do not mean that others should be eased and you burdened, but that as a matter of fairness 14 your abundance at the present time should supply their need, so that their abundance may supply your need, that there may be fairness. 15 As it is written, "Whoever gathered much had nothing left over, and whoever gathered little had no lack."

We all ought to let that verse soak in. Take it apart slowly and consider each line. Much of what is being touted from church pulpits is different. We are told that God loves a cheerful giver, and that we will reap according to how we sow. That's true.  But we are not told that in God's eyes, 'how much' is not so much a matter of quantity, rather it is a matter of quantity relative to our ability. That's why the widow who Jesus observed putting in her mite was regarded as putting in more than all the wealthy persons who gave their large offerings.

Giving generously and cheerfully will bring great pleasure to God. Here's some things that God loves about our giving from 2 Corinthians 9:

• Giving supplies the needs of the saints
• Giving causes thanksgiving to overflow towards a deserving God
• Giving glorifies God because of the evidence of our submission to what we profess
• Giving stirs up prayer among the saints for one another and healthy care and affection

I encourage you to do a personal examination of your heart as well as the teachings you believe where giving is concerned. It's not good enough to simply give 'for the glory of the Lord' where the receptacle is not in fact going to glorify God with what you've given!