Supracultural Principle 47 - Systematic and Proportional Giving

BIBLICAL BASIS

On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made. -1 Corinthians 16:2

After addressing a number of serious issues in the Corinthian church, in the closing section of his letter, Paul reminded the Corinthians of another spiritual failure. He was speaking here of a collection of money that he was taking for the needy Christians in Jerusalem.

Sometime earlier he had shared this special need. The Corinthians' initial response was positive and even enthusiastic (2 Corinthians 8:10-11). But they had not followed through on their commitment.

Paul tried to help them resolve this issue with a specific plan. He exhorted every family unit in Corinth to "set aside a sum of money" for a special offering each week when they met to wor­ship. He didn't specify the amount, only that all were to partici­pate and that what they gave was to be determined by their income (1 Corinthians 16:2).

Though Paul didn't mention a percentage, he spoke in terms of percentages. Not to do so is a pragmatic impossibility. The believers were to determine a certain amount in light of how God had pros­pered each of them. Furthermore, that percentage was to be predeter­mined. They were not to simply give from what they had left over or what they felt like giving from week to week. It's clear from this pas­sage that this was to be a carefully designed program of stewardship.

Supracultural Principle 47

SYSTEMATIC AND PROPORTIONAL GIVING

Set aside a percentage of your income on just as regular a basis as you are paid so you can give systematically to God's work.

The Word of God, from beginning to end, teaches that our giving to his work should be systematic and regular. Just as physical needs are ongoing among all people, causing us to have to work and earn a living from day to day, so the needs for carrying on God's work are consistent and regular. Christian leaders who earn their living serving Christ and the body of Christ have regular material needs just as those who earn a living in other vocations.

This leads to an important question. What percentage should Christians set aside on a consistent basis from their regular income? The children of Israel were to give 10 percent of their resources to support their spiritual leaders (Leviticus 27:30-34). They were to set aside another 10 percent to be able to worship God as a family-to make a trip to Jerusalem (Deuteronomy14:22-27). And every third year, they were to set aside another 10 percent to meet the needs of others (Deuteronomy 26:12; 14:28-29).' Yet the Holy Spirit did not lead New Testament writ­ers to specify certain amounts and percentages.

Old Testament Influence on the Early Church

Those who first came to Christ in Jerusalem were God-fearing Jews-many men and women who would have been faithful in giving at least three tithes. They were committed to keeping the Old Testament laws. Without doubt, this three-tithe pattern in Israel became an influential factor in helping Jewish Christians determine their giving patterns in the church of Jesus Christ. If this was what God expected under law, they would tend to at least use this as a basis for evaluating how much they should give in view of God's saving grace. In fact, at times, these New Testament Christians gave more than designated in the three-tithe system­ particularly in the early days of the church as it functioned in Jerusalem. Some sold properties, like Barnabas, and gave the entire proceeds to the church.

Does this mean Christians are obligated to follow the three­ tithe system? The answer is no, since God does not reiterate this system as an absolute form or method for Christians. Furthermore, the annual trip to Jerusalem to worship in the temple became an impossibility. Believing Jews were no longer welcome. Nevertheless, what the Israelites practiced at God's command provides us with a strong model for evaluating our own giving patterns.

First, if we're going to give systematically and regularly, we must predetermine a percentage or amount.

Second, if we're going to give according to our ability (as the Christians in Antioch did), and if we're going to give proportion­ately (as Paul exhorted the Corinthians to do), we must carefully and honestly determine how much we can give, even beyond a tithe (10 percent).

Third, if we're going to make sure God's work gets done in God's way, we must also look at why God gave us specific giving measurements.

In other words, why did God designate certain amounts to carry on his work in the Old Testament? Is there something spe­cial about 10 percent as it relates to supporting those who carry out the Great Commission on a full-time basis? Is there some­thing important about 10 percent to make sure family members worship God and learn his will as they should? Is there something unique about the 10 percent specified to help meet the needs of others who are not as fortunate as we are?

These are questions we must carefully consider when deter­mining how much we should give on a regular and systematic basis. From a pragmatic point of view, one thing is clear: if all Christians simply gave one tithe on a regular basis, every church would be able to generously support Christian leaders in the ministry.

I grew up in a family where no form of regular systematic giving was modeled or taught. In fact, I never considered making it a part of my Christian lifestyle until I graduated from college and married Elaine. Her family experience was just the opposite. Though her parents were small-time farmers who basically lived from hand to mouth, they still gave 10 percent of what they had and taught their children to do the same. Consequently, when I married their youngest daughter, I married a tither.

Before we were married, we decided Elaine would handle the family finances---depositing checks, paying bills, keeping records, etc. Well, you can guess what happened when I brought home my first paycheck. Elaine immediately set aside 10 percent from my gross monthly salary so we could give it to our church.

Frankly, I was concerned-even somewhat irritated. I couldn't see how we were going to make ends meet. Prior to the wedding, I had saved $750 and promptly spent it on a car-something we desperately needed. So we began our married life together with a rented apartment, a car, and a few hand towels Elaine brought, along with our wedding gifts.

But we began to tithe regularly. All of our financial decisions from that point on were made accordingly. God received our first fruits, and after that we planned our other expenditures.

In those early years as our family grew to include three chil­dren, we had virtually nothing left over at the end of each month, and the living room in our home had very little furniture (it made a great gymnasium for the kids). But there was never a day that went by that we didn't have what we needed-food on our table, clothes on our backs, and a car to drive. And when our children were old enough to receive an allowance, we showed them how to tithe. I remember laying out ten pennies and showing them how to set aside one for Jesus and his work in the world. I then took ten dimes and did the same-and then ten dollars, etc. Our chil­dren grew up understanding and practicing this concept of regu­lar, systematic giving, and it's a part of their lives today.

I believe this is one reason God designed the tithe system. It's easy to understand in every culture of the world, and it's easy to teach our children. The facts are, if we don't model and teach giving, our kids will grow up (as most do in our material­istic culture today) giving next to nothing from their resources. In many cases, Christians have become just as materialistic as their secular counterparts.

That's why it has become imperative for church leaders to teach the principles of giving-even to adults who have grown up in Christian homes. It's quite possible they never learned it from their parents.

As I reflect back on my experience as a new husband and father, I'm deeply grateful to Elaine's parents for what they taught her-and that she taught me about this important part of Christian life. Though I began tithing reluctantly, fearful we wouldn't have enough to meet our daily needs, God was never unfaithful in rewarding our obedience.

Over the years, God has honored that obedience and has enabled us to give beyond a tithe. Our goal now is proportional giving-trusting God to enable us to use any excess beyond our tithe in creative ways to help build his kingdom. To us, giving is a joyful worship experience-one that began years ago with obedience.

Proportional Giving

If all Christians gave proportionately-which God says we should-many Christians in our affluent society would be giving much more than a single tithe. There are believers in America who could easily set aside 50 percent or more of their income for God's work and still have more than enough to meet their own needs. Thankfully, some believers are this generous.

A Christian friend of mine inherited a successful business. If you're a reader, you may be familiar with his book Halftime. Being an astute and highly motivated businessman, he made his inheritance even more successful-in fact, very lucrative. At age thirty-one, Bob Buford became president of his company and immediately set some lofty goals. His chief ambition was to grow his company and himself. He soon had all the money he needed-and much more!

Then, about ten years later, something dramatic happened. Bob felt convicted about his "slavish devotion to the art of the deal and thrill of the kill. How much was enough?"

This question led Bob to what he calls his halftime experience-and to ask himself some penetrating questions: Where should I invest my talents, time, and treasures? What are the values that give purpose to my life? What is the over­arching vision that shapes me? Who am I? Where am I? Where am I going? How do I get there?

Strange as it may seem, the Lord used an atheist-a strategic planning consultant-to change Bob's focus. After hearing Bob tell of his jumbled dreams and desires, the consultant asked a pointed question: "What's in the box?" He told Bob he would have to make a choice between money and Jesus Christ as his priority-a rather startling statement coming from an unbeliever. "If you can't tell me which it is," the consultant continued, "you are going to vacillate between these two values as I've seen you do for years and be confused."

Since Bob is a Christian, he knew in his heart the answer to that question. Jesus Christ had to become his primary loyalty ­but "not my exclusive loyalty," Bob explained in his book. He still had his loyalties to his wife, his work, his friends, and to various projects. But he put Christ at the center of all these things in order to have balance and wholeness in his life. He established his priority in terms of his wealth.

Bob eventually began devoting 75 percent of his time, talent, and treasures to "serving those who serve others, helping them to be more effective in their work." Bob made a decision to take Christ's words seriously-to "seek first his kingdom and his right­eousness" (Matthew 6:33). He has become one of a growing num­ber of Christians who have determined not to allow financial suc­cess to control their lives.

Today Bob encourages other men and women of means to think about the second half of their lives and how they can use their resources to build the kingdom of God. When they do, they become great encouragers-a significant "Barnabas team" within the body of Christ (Acts 4:34-37).

Extracted from Dr Gene Getz’s Rich in Every Way