"If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. Rather be openhanded and freely lend him whatever he needs.... Give generously to him and do so without a grudging heart; then because of this the LORD your God will bless you in all your work and in everything you put your hand to. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land." (Deuteronomy 15:7-15 NIV)
" ... But just as you excel in everything—in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us—see that you also excel in this grace of giving ... " 2 Corinthians 8:7, 13-14 (NIV)
Surviving these hard economic times is what most of us are concerned about these days. Hanging on to our jobs, learning to adjust to salary cuts and unpaid leave, holding on to enough of our resources so we can pay our bills has become our obsession.
In many ways these are good times for America and much of the industrialized world, because all of us are rethinking excessive life-styles we have lived for so long. Excess and self-indulgence was considered normal everyday life in America. Two of everything, more of that, lavish vacations, personal spending, pursuit of things and stuff... was the everyday expectation for most Americans.
Times have changed and with change comes an opportunity to recalibrate our minds and hearts. Now we see the simple things growing in value. Time for each other, personal reflection, family and friends, and it seems everyone is spending less by necessity and saving more. These are good things for everyone.
What about those in need? The needy of our world are still with us... there needs today are as real and urgent as they were one or two years ago in our time of abundance.
None of us need to be told that we're living in tough economic times. And if these are hard times for us, it’s even harder for those who depend upon charitable giving to survive. Christian missions are fueled by contributions from western nations like America. For decades we have been supporting the Great Commission through our giving and we’ve seen remarkable results created for God’s Kingdom out of our dollars.
Christians are called on by command of our Lord... to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, visit the sick, set free the oppressed to care for widows and orphans and support the missionaries who we have sent around the globe to preach the gospel.
People on the margins face empty shelves at food pantries and the feeding kitchens in hard hit regions across America and around the globe are trying to make do with sharply decreased donations. In difficult times as we are experiencing, we tend to horde our resources driven by fear and the uncertainty of our own financial well-being.
Hoarding what we can give to hedge against an uncertain future won’t help those in need. Without the fuel of money in the form of our contributions, missions efforts around the world will grind to a halt. How does our faith speak to this dilemma? How can our faith help us?
Rethink the way we give in support of missions. It’s really a one-part solution. Start and end by trusting God. God actually challenges us to give in times like this. In Malachi chapter 3 God says, "You are robbing me . . . with your tithes and offerings! . . . Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in my house, and thus put me to the test, . . . see if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down an overflowing blessing."
Imagine putting God to the test by giving even more, especially in these hard economic times. God's promises that we will receive an overflowing of blessing. How hard it is to give with only the promise of a blessing. And what kind of a blessing will it be? I know... this is where fear enters our minds in the form of “reality” and helps us build the excuses and justifications for why we can’t give anymore or any at all, until the economy improves.
One to Many? God is the “one” who can cause blessings to pour forth upon his faithful followers. He expects us to try and find sustainable ways to help those in need. He knows our burdens and understands our fears in uncertain times. For us, we need to accept that His blessings may not accrue to us in the form we hope for. Blessings might be something as simple, and yet spiritually powerful, as knowing that you and everyone else found a way to meet the needs of those in need. Participation motivated from a cheerful heart is pleasing to God. We might not see it as the blessing we desired, but as God continues to mold and transform us –– sacrificial giving is cornerstone of building character and a rich blessing.
Many to One? It is very challenging for a small number of givers to carry the burdens of mission giving. Sometimes, giving to missions is shouldered by as few as two or three families in a congregation. Local charitable outreach, whether through money or volunteering of time is also supported by very few. We Christians are many. A congregation of 100, 200 or 300 members is far more powerful in potential giving than one, two or three people. Let me illustrate what I mean.
Let’s say that a missionary your congregation supports needs $3,000.00 immediately for repairs to an essential vehicle. If a few contribute to this need in a congregation of 200, the burden might be several hundred or thousands of dollars from the small group of giving families. In a tight economy that is likely a financial burden. However, if the congregation is presented the need with encouragement for every family to share in the “mission of God”, then the burden can be distributed across more families. A per family share might be $50 or less based on the number of member families who can give. I know this may sound unrealistic based on your prior experience with such initiatives, but have you really used the Bible to teach the principles God has given us to share in the support of His Great Commission? You probably have. Well don’t give up teaching the principles. The Great Commission is our prime directive from Christ... the local and global mission of the gospel belongs to Him. Keep admonishing the body of believers to accept responsibility for their share of this urgent Kingdom work. In time, with prayer and the urging by the Holy Spirit people will open up and give to meet the needs of God’s work. Many to one, everyone participating in caring for the needs of the needy is a rich blessing from God.
Trust will conquer our Fear
The typical response to giving from many Christians today is anchored in our fear of the unknown. It really is trust in God... who knows what we can’t see and don’t know... our fear of those future events and circumstances yet to happen in our lives.
Make giving a spiritual exercise. I know that’s hard to do because by nature we are cowards. We normally give out of our abundance - the leftovers, after all the bills and "wants and needs" are paid and satisfied. Statistics validate that we rarely put church or charitable giving first in our family budgets. Why? Because we don't trust God.
Giving in hard times is not something we have had to face very often. Abundance has been our shelter. We have personal expectations about our needs and wants and they rarely match God’s. We don’t have the faith that God will provide enough to satisfy what we want. He has promised to meet our needs. But there is a big difference between what we perceive as our needs and what we want. So we mitigate our fear by hanging on to what we think will be the difference, hoarding our money so what God provides... short of our expectations, will be made up by our hoarded cash.
That attitude is a perfect foundation for putting God to the test. Remember, God’s blessing might not be what you expect. Money is not going to mysterious appear in your bank account... you won’t be finding envelopes full of cash on the sidewalk.
But... if you trust God, if you participate with your brothers in providing for the needs of others, God can change your attitudes about what you think is important to you. In fact, rather quickly in your “test of God” you will begin to see how those treasured desires, hobbies, vacations or whatever passion you pursue, is not all that important anymore. Your passion shifts to the “things of God”. You will be more curious about finding ways to help others advance the gospel and meet the needs of the less fortunate. Surprisingly, your money goes further than you ever though it could! That’s because you trusted God to reorient your priorities and recalibrate your values and now you see clearly through eyes of trust and faith in God’s promises. This might be the one time you can truly say... I have may cake and can eat it too!
Trust God. Test His promise. You will soon discover that the boat you thought you had to have, or the cabin by the lake, or the hordes of cash to cushion you through the economic hard times are not all that important anymore.
Don’t be afraid to give to the Mission of God. He will richly bless you and your life will never be the same.
Until next time.
