The Giving Grid, Part 1: Duty Giving
Now that Christmas has past, a lot of folks will be looking at their finances, making last minute end-of-year donations and thinking about 2016. Its made me think a bit about my family’s giving . . . about where we’ve come from and to over my lifetime.
Growing up, every Sunday, my dad would faithfully take out his pre-printed envelope from the church, put in his exact tithe (in cash), lick it, put it in his coat pocket and place it in the offering plate.
When my dad gave, as best I know, it was from duty . . . as the Geico commercial says, “It’s what you do.” So to me, as a Christian, you were supposed to tithe. Period. Some people talked about it . . . bragged even, especially as their wages went up and the amount got bigger. But I never heard my dad express pride about his tithe and I never heard him say he expected anything back from God in return. But I also never saw any joy or fulfillment either. He simply did his duty. But merely doing your duty often leads to pride . . . and self-righteousness. “I’m doing my part . . . I’m doing right by God . . . so should everyone else!”
But God’s plan for giving starts with humility not duty . . . as we recognize everything we have comes from Him. From what He’s given us, we give back a portion . . . out of gratitude, not duty.
But when it comes to giving out of gratitude, I struggle with the idea that a tithe is ‘it’ . . . that giving a tithe is enough. Yes, there are a couple of Old Testament references to the tithe and “bringing the tithe into the storehouse.” But the two verses I can’t get out of my head are James 1:17 and Luke 6:38 . . .
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17)
Give, and you will receive. Your gift will return to you in full – pressed down, shaken together to make room for more, running over, and poured into your lap. The amount you give will determine the amount you get back. (Luke 6:38)
A tithe feels like a scarcity thing . . . like “give back to Caesar what is Caesar’s.” It feels like duty. “If I give God His part, I can do whatever I want with my part.” But realizing it’s all from God raises the bar. How can any of us be prideful about how much we have (and give) when it comes from God, not just from our sweat or brilliance? It’s a humbling thought. But giving from a humble, grateful heart is what God is after.
In your quiet moments over the next few days, ask God to show you your motive for every person, ministry and organization you give to. Is it duty? Loyalty? A personal relationship? A habit? Obedience?
In our next post, we’ll talk about how we find God’s calling in our giving.
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Responses (13)
Thanks for posting this, Regi.
I agree that the idea of the tithe comes out of a sense of duty. It is an Old Testament principle, that if actually properly followed (and tallied) equates to far more than the 10% it is touted to be.
Coming into the era that our Lord Jesus ushered in, having fulfilled the righteous requirements of the Law, our giving is to take on a new perspective as well. We have been bought with a price, therefore, we are to glorify God with our body (1 Cor. 6:20). 1 Cor 7 also elaborates on this, concluding that we were bought with a price, and that we are now the Lord’s slaves. As such, all we have is His. We are no longer giving a portion of what is ours – we are to seek Him for how to best use what is His, in humility and gratitude that we can be partakers in the advancing of His eternal kingdom.
Our giving is no longer in order to be found pleasing to God (Old Testament mentality), but because of who we now are in Christ Jesus.
Well said. Check out my response to Rick’s comment? Tell me what you think about my absurd hypothetical question…
Regi
p.s. thanks for reading and commenting
I love getting your blogs. One comment I think is a little off. The amount I give doesn`t` mean I get back more money, I get back a blessing of giving, that warm feeling of obeying, it also could be money but to imply that is not correct and I hope you can see this. Yes, we should give, Romans 14 and 16 says we should give according to our ability, so its really 100%, so we give all of our life to Christ, Thanks for listening, Bob Lau
You’re right Bob. I didn’t mean to imply giving was about getting back. Not at all. But I do think the idea of ‘how you measure’ is important. When we grasp God’s generosity toward us, we respond with generosity toward others. When we see His abundant love, we’re more prone to give love abundantly. And yes, money is only one of His currencies….probably his least favorite. Thanks for reading and commenting.
Same “messaging” from my dad — envelopes, but always a check for deduction. Little joy, at least outwardly. But later in life, after I found my “adult Jesus” — and became a joyful giver — I give thanks to dad who was faithful. Sure wish he could have had the joy. Hope and pray I can and have been able to teach that to my sons and mentor guys!
I’m with you Carl. So much my dad missed…and unfortunately, so much being missed by the ‘duty-filled’ church folks today. Jesus is alive! He’s real. He’s a living friend and companion and guide. How can people keep missing this?
Thanks for an inspiring message as usual, Regi. I could see myself in a lot of what you said. I guess I see a little bit of myself in all four “quadrants of the graph”. Some more than others, gratefully! I am a “duty” giver in some respects, there is no doubt about that. But to me that’s not all bad. I take very seriously what is says in the Bible about anything at all, and if the Bible tells me to tithe, I’m going to tithe, no matter what, no matter how hard or easy it is, no matter, period. However I also get great joy from giving above my tithe, when I can, to special programs my church has going on, to kids organizations, etc. Although I’m not ready to be a mentor yet, I strongly believe in what you and your organization do, and I just got enormous joy from giving a small year end gift on your website. Be blessed, my friend, have an awesome 2016, and keep up the wonderful work you do and the inspiring messages you put out. They are some of the highlights of my week.
Thanks for you comment Alan. I’m down with the regular opportunity to give and the tithe is a consistent reminder of the calling. But I worry about the weight we give the tithe (from only 5 verses in the entire Bible, all Old Testament verses) vs. the “it’s all His” and “give as it’s been given to you” from the New Testament. I’ve got a blog post about this . . . probably lose half our readers!
Great blog. “But God’s plan for giving starts with humility, not duty . . . as we recognize everything we have comes from Him. From what He’s given us, we give back a portion . . . out of gratitude, not duty.” It should also be a way we return worship, to God.
Totally agree Rick. The only thing that sustains selfless behavior (like giving money away) is gratitude. I wonder if Jesus somehow re-revealed the idea of stewardship and renounced the tithe, what would happen to giving? If there was no ‘duty’ . . . if there was no ‘keeping God on my side by tithing’ . . . if everyone had to truly search their hearts and their motives, if giving would go up or down. What do you think?
Regi – you mentioned you have a blog post about tithing above in your response to my comment. Do you happen to know when it was? I’d really like to read it, but I don’t see anyway to search your blog posts for a word, etc. Thanks, and Happy New Year’s!
Alan Salls
It’s in my head, not posted yet. It’ll be quite controversial. The current title is “the stumbling block of the tithe”. You can imagine!!!!! It’s about the point of legalism and of the illusion of the tithe being enough. Also about the thin scriptural basis of the tithe when put into today’s culture and context.
Sorry, I didn’t realize – I thought you meant it was an old one – ha-ha! It sounds like an awesome topic to me. Something I need someone else’s opinion to think about on. Please write it!! 🙂
Alan Salls