Picture yourself at the last church service you attended. Whether it was a modern or more traditional setting, chances are that giving a financial gift was mentioned or expected at some point in the service. Perhaps an offering was taken with traditional golden or wooden plates, or perhaps like the Methodist church I grew up in, it was blue velvet bags with wooden handles. In more modern settings, it might be a plate at the back of the chapel, a plastic bucket or the trendy QR code on the screen. 

No matter the method of giving, how does this part of the service make you feel? Are you anxious and worried as the plate passes, unable or perhaps unwilling to put something in? Maybe you have your check or cash ready (or a “cartridge envelope” as we call them in The Salvation Army) and putting it in the plate is another check off the never-ending spiritual to-do list. Perhaps you struggle with online giving, and they never keep the QR code up there long enough. Or maybe you are excited and energized by giving, smiling as you give your gift or you give your offering to a child, so they get to experience giving back what God has first given to us. 

The words tithing and stewardship evoke in us many different reactions and emotions. Some feel shame and guilt; others joy, obedience and release. The Christian Church does not have one unified teaching when it comes to giving. Many will point to Genesis 14 and Abram’s (later known as Abraham) encounter with Melchizedek, king of Salem and priest of God Most High (v 18), in which Abram gives him “a tenth of everything” (v 20 NIV) as the foundation of the spiritual principle of tithing. Indeed, the word tithe comes from an Old English word meaning “a tenth.” 

I once heard a pastor say, “If you want to get people’s attention, talk about their pocketbook.” Income and expense can create stress in a marriage and challenges between parents and children, and can even be the reason people leave church or feel distant from God.

Our financial giving is something that we should give much thought and prayer.  It should come as an overflow of the spiritual practice of generosity. 

The book of 2 Corinthians is a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the church in the city of Corinth, but  we can learn from it as well. This letter comes after a series of previous letters and visits in which Paul had to tackle some issues within this church. Chapter 8 focuses on a financial gift that the Corinthian church had promised to the distressed believers in Jerusalem but had not yet provided. This chapter teaches about generosity and how we should model Christ. 

Paul points the Corinthians to the example of the Macedonian churches, located in Philippi, Thessalonica and Berea. Their generosity is not presented as a comparison because the intention of our giving should never be to outgive or prove we are better than someone else. Paul seeks to inspire his readers by sharing the testimony of the Macedonian churches, who — even in the middle of a hard situation (v 2) — “gave themselves first of all to the Lord, and then by the will of God also to us” (v 5b NIV).  Paul also notes the Macedonian churches “urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the Lord’s people” (v. 4 NIV). Giving of ourselves to the Lord must be the foundation of our generosity.

When we think of generosity as a broader concept, some of the most valuable things we can give are our time, our effort, our grit. My father was a local business owner who was known around our church and circle of friends for having two things: a generous heart and a white van. 

I grew up in the United Kingdom, where having a friend with a van is like having a friend with a truck in the United States. Weekly, amidst the busyness of work and helping raise four children, my father would help friends move or haul things to be recycled or disposed of, never asking for anything in return. His primary motivation was a spirit of generosity. Even without a van, we can do many things to help others with our grit. Start small — checking in on a neighbor, calling a friend, writing a card or donating to your local thrift store, and then think bigger — helping at a food pantry or offering to watch someone’s children or pets when they need help. 

In 2 Corinthians 8:9 (NIV) Paul says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich.” This is the greatest incentive for Christian generosity: It is impossible to outgive God. Christ emptied Himself of His divine riches to become human like us, so we may enter a relationship with Him. Our inability to outgive God translates into our financial giving. While we can never outgive God, Paul encourages us to give sacrificially, modeling Jesus who gave for the sake of others above Himself.

Over the years I have heard, and can share, many stories of God providing for people’s needs, even as they gave out of their financial poverty. Within The Salvation Army, we are encouraged to know that each location, from California to Cambodia, contributes to our world services (international missions fund), and I encourage you to always give first to the Lord, followed by your other financial obligations.

God has called us all to give our gold and our grit, but He has also individually given us gifts, talents or abilities that match a local need. In verse 12 (NIV) Paul writes, “the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have.” Most of us could write a card if we had to, but there are some people that love to write cards. It is their passion, their ministry, their gift. The same goes for many other areas, from children’s ministry to using technology. The intersection of your passion and a need is a gift area that can be used greatly by God and His Kingdom.            

Whether you continue to faithfully give 10% of your income to your place of worship, or if you have yet to find how your grit can be used by God, my prayer is that you will prayerfully consider how the spirit of generosity can work in all areas of your life to give back to God what He has given to you in abundance.

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