Grace to you and
peace from God our Father and our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. Amen
“Give therefore to the emperor the things
that are the emperor’s, and to God the things that are God’s.”
Jake was the
husband of the matriarch of my congregation in Thompson Falls.
Though Elsie
never missed something at church, Jake never darkened the door of the Church.
He did, however,
like pastors. He would take us
fishing. He would enjoy having us out to
the place along the Clark Fork River for dinner.
In short, Jake
was a good guy, just not a church goer.
But Jake taught
me something about generosity that I’ll
never forget.
“Pastor,” Jake
said, “Pastor, there’s one thing I’ll never understand about people. They’re constantly complaining about having
to pay taxes. I just don’t understand
it.”
“You know, one
year I had to pay $25,000 in taxes.
Imagine that, just me and my Cat building roads in the forest, and I had
to pay $25,000 in taxes.”
“There were other
years that I didn’t have to pay any taxes at all.”
“Pastor, the
years I had to pay a lot in taxes were a whole lot better years than when I
didn’t. People should be grateful to pay
taxes, because it means they had a good year.
They shouldn’t complain.”
Gratitude.
That’s what Jake’s
comments were all about.
Gratitude.
Whether it’s
paying taxes, or making our offerings, we should do so with a grateful heart.
What a blessing
it is to have received enough to be taxed, or to be able to make an offering.
Gratitude.
One more word
about taxes.
One theologian
remarked once that if we consider all that is God’s, there is little left for
the Emporer.
How much should
we give as an offering to God?
That’s the
question for today.
And why should we
give?
That’s another
good question.
Giving has an
interesting history, and the Church has done a variety of things throughout the
ages to meet its financial obligations.
In the Old
Testament times, God’s people were expected to bring their tithes, the first
fruits of the harvest and offer them in gratitude to God. It was straight forward. 10% up front.
Since then, many
Christians have adopted this as a mandate for their own giving.
My mother and
father-in-law told their story from when they were first married. They were going to Church one Sunday morning,
and between them they had only $1. Could
they give anything?
They prayed about
it, and came to the conclusion that they’d give a dime. 10%.
And that they did throughout the rest of their lives.
Many Christians
have found this to be a rich discipline, and have reported many blessings from
doing so.
One of the best
pieces of advice I’ve ever heard, and
one that unfortunately I’ve not been able to adopt, was to give 10%, save 10%,
and live off the rest. If I had my life
to live over, I’d like to do that.
At any rate, many
Christians have answered those two questions of how much we should give and
why, by saying that we are to give 10% of all we have received, and do so both
out of gratitude and obedience.
One of the
problems with these answers is that they can become a legalistic burden. Sometimes, 10% is too much, and at other
times 10% is far too little.
Pastor Herb
Knutson, whom I knew in Montana, was deeply concerned about viewing our giving
from such a legalistic point of view.
His father
experienced all sorts of guilt because he didn’t feel he was able to give as
much as he was required to give.
Herb studied the
scripture in depth, and realized that the Old Testament tithe, actually funded
BOTH the Church and the State.
It was a flat
rate that covered everything, both giving and taxation. Actually, when you think about it, submitting
to a flat tax of 10% that supported the entire government and the Church would
be quite desirable to many in our age.
Wouldn’t it.
But before we go
there, there is another part of the Biblical witness to bear in mind.
In the New
Testament, specifically in Acts, the early Christians were expect to give, not
10%, but 100% to the Lord.
In Acts 2.44
& 45 it is written:
“All who believed were together and had all
things in common; they would sell their
possessions and goods and distribute the proceeds to all, as any had need.”
And again in
Chapter 4 it is written:
Now the whole group of those who believed
were of one heart and soul, and no one claimed private ownership of any
possessions, but everything they owned was held in common.
This was a
radical concept.
It was radical in
its day, and especially radical for us today as our entire culture is built
around private ownership of things, from the land we live on to the money we
have in the bank.
Many will say, “Well,
that’s communism, and it’s been proven it just doesn’t work. It didn’t work for the early Christians, and
it won’t work now.”
Maybe so, but
there is a truth that this points to, and that is this.
Our whole lives
are lived as Stewards, caretakers of all that God has given to us.
What we do with
our lives, and with all that we have, determines whether we are good stewards
or bad.
Yes, it is our
responsibility to provide for ourselves and our families, food and clothing, home
and shelter, transportation, health care, and all that is part of living today.
But support for
the mission of the Church is also part of that responsibility that we as
Christians have.
And, to put it
bluntly, if one owns a $500,000 dollar home, two $50,000 cars, an RV or two,
and countless other things, yet only gives as much to the Church as they might
as a tip to a waiter following a fine meal out—well, that says something.
This brings up
another point, about why we give and how much we should give.
Our giving is a
witness to what we believe in, and who or what is truly our God.
Giving is an act
of worship, with it we are acknowledging that the Lord is our God, and the Lord
alone.
There’s a good
news, bad news, joke about this.
The good news is
that Jesus has returned to the earth.
The bad news is
that he’s mad and has brought his accountants.
The point being,
that there is probably no truer indicator of what we value in life, than our
checkbooks. And if our giving is merely
an afterthought, well, that says something about us and what we believe.
Having said all
that, I go back to Jake and Herb.
Jake’s
observation is that we should be delighted to be able to pay taxes, and give
generously, because it indicates that we have been blessed with a very good
year. Wise Words.
But Herb’s point
is also well taken, it is wrong to approach giving legalistically. The truth is that there are times in our
lives when we will be able to give a lot, and at other times, only a little.
Paul writes in 2
Corinthians:
“Each of you must give as you have made up
your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.
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.”
That last line,
is another point about why we give.
“That you may share abundantly in every good
work.”
When we give, we
participate in the mission of the Church.
It’s an act of Christian service.
And our gifts
make ministry possible.
The Church wasn’t
always dependent on free will offerings.
During the Middle
Ages the Church owned massive amounts of land and profited off of it,
supporting itself.
In Europe, even
to this day, taxation supports the Church.
And I remember
reading about the first Pastor of one of the congregations my Dad served.
His compensation
was $200 annually, plus two offerings of his choice, and, we might add, all of
his living expenses were basically covered.
If a farmer butchered an animal, part of it went to the pastor. Pastors were given free medical care by
doctors. This even continued into my Dad’s
ministry. He paid a total of $35 to have
six children, and that only because the obstetrician for one of the kids was
Jewish, not Christian.
Today, though,
our ministry is dependent on our charitable giving. Buildings need to be heated. Pastors need to be paid a salary. And the wider mission of the Church is
dependent on our giving.
The bottom line
is that it is through the generosity of our members that our congregation is
able to continue its ministry. That’s
simply a fact.
Why do we give?
Because Jesus
said “Go therefore and make disciples of
all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the
Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.”
In order to do
that in today’s world, and today’s economy, the Church needs cash.
One final story.
There was a
wealthy man who had a sense of calling to the ministry. He was capable of making a lot of money, but
felt the need to be a pastor, instead.
As he evaluated
his gifts for ministry, though, he realized that what he really was gifted at
was making money. He wasn’t particularly
suited for the ministry at all.
After much prayer
and consideration he decided that the best thing he could do, was to make as
much money as he could, and then give generously to support the ministry of
those who were truly gifted as pastors and evangelists.
He decided he
would live on just a small portion of his annual income, and give the rest to
support the ministry of the Church.
It was a
wonderful and faithful response.
We give, in order
to support those who have the gift of ministry.
“Why do you give?”
and “How much will you give?”
These are two
questions each of us must answer for ourselves.
And however you
answer those questions, just remember this:
That whether we
are able to give a lot, or a little, we
are always simply giving back to God what he has first given us.
That’s what the
hymn we will sing next makes clear.
We give thee but
thine own, whate’er the gift may be.
All that we have
is thine alone, a trust, O Lord, from Thee.
Amen
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