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The ‘P’s’ of GivingBy Tony Beckett

A cartoon featured the sign in front of a church. It boldly announced “Stewardship Sunday” and then meekly suggested, “Try us again next week.” That may refl ect our culture’s thinking about giving, but it should not refl ect ours.

Our giving is to be systematic, individual and consistent. On the fi rst day of the week, each of us is to bring our offering. This is to be the pattern of our life.

Additionally, what we give is to be proportionate. God does not set a price but a standard. He does not even stipulate a percentage. Rather, we are to give as He has prospered us and as we have purposed in our heart. When we consider what is an appropriate percentage, we fi nd that tithing (ten percent) is neither annulled nor endorsed in the New Testament, but it was the minimum for giving in the Old Testament. Setting aside ten percent is a good starting point, one that can be increased as God prospers us.

Furthermore, the money you put in the offering is a private matter between you and God. Paul did not want to pressure people to give, so he instructed that the collection be taken before he arrived. It should motivate you to consider that when you give, God is your witness!

Finally, our giving has a place. The Corinthians brought their offerings to the local church. That is to be the fi rst priority of our giving. Begin there.

In giving proportionately, privately and in the proper place, we show God our willingness to trust him for everything, especially our money.

From Greedy to WillingSource Unknown Zacchaeus was a tax collector, and he was very rich. He got that way, however, by taking advantage of people. So his list of friends was short, to say the least. After all, everyone hated tax collectors; everyone except Jesus.

One day, he got a chance to meet Jesus. Because he was short, he climbed a tree to get a look at Jesus as he passed along a crowded road one afternoon. Jesus stopped right beneath the branch Zacchaeus looked down from and said to him, “Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today.”

Zacchaeus could hardly believe it. “Jesus, come to my house?” he pondered. He was very happy to have Jesus as his guest. He was amazed that Jesus wanted to be his friend after having been a bad person for so long. When Zacchaeus came to know Jesus, something happened inside him, something really big – He became a new person through the forgiveness of Jesus! Now, instead of wanting to use people like he always had in the past, he wanted to stop doing that. He had a change of heart. That’s called repentance. No one made Zacchaeus give back all the money he had wrongfully taken from people. He wanted to. He willingly did the right thing. His changed heart was evident by his actions.

One of the words used in the New Testament for willing is cheerful. In fact, the Bible says that “God loves a cheerful giver.” That is what Zacchaeus had become since getting to know Jesus. Guess what? Jesus is inviting Himself to your house to be your friend today. When we truly experience the change Christ’s forgiveness brings, it transforms our thinking and our living. The selfi sh sinner becomes the cheerful giver. We become that willing giver who loves God and others from the heart.

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A Simple Stewardship Strategy for Parents From www.generousgiving.com

Want to teach your kids to give, but don’t know where to start? There are a few simple steps any parent can take. This “Simple Strategy for Parents” is a series of concrete, attainable steps that we have seen work well for other parents. Use it as a jumping-off point for your own ideas.

1. Give generously yourselves. If you want your kids to become givers, you have to give them an example to follow. And while you want to obey the biblical instruction to give without recognition, don’t keep your kids in the dark about your giving habits. That’s one of the best ways your kids we’ll learn – by watching you!

2. Use family devotions. When you teach your kids the Scriptures at home (i.e., family devotions or an equivalent), explain to them what the Bible says about giving. Use our list of key Scripture verses or offertory prayers. Or, for a more structured approach, use Randy Alcorn’s short book, The Treasure Principle or The Generous Church Toolkit for Children.

3. Expose your kids to ministry. Let your kids see for themselves the many opportunities that exist to give to the Lord. Make site visits to local ministries, or stop by the various ministries that take place on Sunday even within your own church.

4. Get your kids started. Give them a sum of money with the assignment to give it away to a ministry of their choice. Then let them move on to giving a percentage of their own money. Whatever you do, teach them to do more than give; encourage them to be generous givers.

Experiments in Giving by Kate Johnson

Throughout our ten-year marriage, my husband and I have intentionally worked to become givers. Having been raised in comfort (as have most middle class Americans) and having come of age during the “me fi rst” decade of the 1980’s, this has been a learning experience - often painful at times. We’ve certainly made many mistakes and haven’t taken as many opportunities to step out in faith as God might have liked. But He continues to pour blessings on us and we’ve become more willing to part with the money He’s entrusted to us – less clench-fi sted about the things that surround us.

We could tell miraculous stories of God replacing large sums of money after we’ve given sacrifi cially; but just as often we’ve had to fi nd a way to get by on less. Often, those to whom we’ve given don’t seem grateful – or at least not grateful enough. At other times they were very grateful, almost too much. Through situations like these, God has taught us to give because He tells us to and not to worry about acknowledgement. How ashamed I am to think of all the times I’ve given with wrong motives, expecting recognition.

Asking God for guidance in each situation is critical. One time, good friends needed money that we could easily have parted with, but God revealed to us that we were not to give. By giving to them frequently, we had enabled them to continue irresponsible spending. It was hard to decide not to give, but we wanted to help God’s purposes with our giving, not hinder them.

Learning to give joyfully has been a freeing experience for us. We no longer waste time worrying about squeezing every dime out of a possession we no longer need. We give it to someone who can fi nd joy in having it. We give with grateful hearts and God continues to bless us with the fi nancial means to live well and still give a lot away. If you’d like to make this mind shift, here are some things I’d recommend:

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1. Tithe fi rst. Give 10% of your gross income to your local church and adjust your lifestyle to accommodate this. It’s the least we can do to thank God for the bounty with which He’s blessed us.

2. Trust in God and ask Him to teach you how to give wisely. Some questions we ask are: Are we growing in our giving or are we complacent? Are our thoughts and feelings generous or are they selfi sh, hoarding our fi nances and things for ourselves? Are our spirits sensitive to needs and do we give immediately and obediently as we see a need?

3. When you’ve prayed and sense that God wants you to give, do so immediately before you can second guess or get distracted and miss out on the blessing of giving to God’s purpose. One caveat: If you’re married, please make sure that you and your spouse are in agreement about giving and the amount to give.

We’re not experts in giving by any means, but we’ve learned the joy and freedom that comes from not having to keep up with the Joneses (whoever they are!) and being more attached to the purposes of God than to the things of this world.