Author : Keith Sharp
Not long ago a dear friend of mine said that he and his wife had always tithed. I asked to study the subject with him. He was amazed to find that, whereas the Law of Moses demanded that Israel give a tithe to support the Levites (Leviticus 27:30-33; Numbers 18:21-24; Deuteronomy 14:22), the Law of Christ does not teach tithing. Rather, the New Testament teaches us to have the right attitudes in our giving, but it never specifies an amount or a percentage we must give.
First Corinthians 16:1-2 contains the pattern for how the church is to raise its funds – a first day of the week collection from its own members. Second Corinthians chapters eight and nine teach us the attitudes with which we should give toward that collection. What attitudes should govern our giving to the church?
Improper Attitudes
Improper attitudes will lead us to give sparingly, which in turn will cause us to reap sparingly (2 Corinthians 9:5-7). If a farmer holds back from sowing seed generously, his crop will be small. If we contribute sparingly to the church, the good work that can result will also be little. What attitudes should we avoid?
Our giving must not be done as a “grudging obligation” (2 Corinthians 9:5). The King James Version literally translates this “as of covetousness,” and the New American Standard Bible renders it “not affected by covetousness.” Vine explains that in this context the term denotes “a gift which betrays the giver’s unwillingness to bestow what is due” (1:253). Arndt and Gingrich define its usage here as “a gift that is grudgingly granted by avarice” (673). Did you ever have to buy a gift for a school party for your child and were instructed how much you should spend? Did you select a gift that was more expensive than the instructions specified? Probably, since you really didn’t want to spend the money anyway, you were very careful not to spend a penny too much. That’s OK for school parties, but don’t treat the Lord that way.
The apostle warns against giving “grudgingly” (2 Corinthians 9:7). This term literally means “grief, sorrow, pain of mind or spirit, affliction” (Arndt & Gingrich. 483). The English Standard Version translates it “reluctantly.” Did you hear about the fellow who started crying after he put money in the collection plate? In alarm, his wife asked him what was wrong. He explained, “I thought I was dropping in a dollar bill and noticed too late that I had put in a twenty!”
Our giving must not be “of necessity”(2 Corinthians 9:7). Both the NASB and the ESV translate this “under compulsion.” Denominations now often send members a bill for their contributions. Preachers sometimes do a “hard sell” on the collection by making an excessively emotional appeal or issuing dire threats of divine wrath or a “ministry” going under. We should not give because we feel pressured into it but because we desire to contribute.
Proper Attitudes
The churches of Macedonia “abounded in the riches of their liberality” despite “a great trial of affliction … and their deep poverty.” This was because of the “the abundance of their joy” (2 Corinthians 8:1-2). God has given us “richly all things to enjoy” (1 Timothy 6:17). But, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). My grandchildren enjoy presents my wife and I give them, but we have the greater joy of seeing their enjoyment. I am certainly not rich, but I am happy to give gifts to my grandchildren. Poverty and affliction will not prevent liberal giving, if we have joy in seeing the fruit of the contribution – a sinner saved or a poor saint helped.
We must be “freely willing” in our giving, for this will lead us to give even more than we would otherwise have thought we were able to contribute (2 Corinthians 8:3). “For if there is first a willing mind, it is accepted according to what one has, and not according to what he does not have” (verse 12). Moses commanded Israel that “Whoever is of a willing heart” should bring offerings for the tabernacle (Exodus 35:4-9). Finally Moses had to command the Israelites to quit bringing material, “for the material they had was sufficient for all the work to be done – indeed too much” (Exodus 36:7). This incident contains at least two lessons. Some religious leaders would never say, “Enough, we don’t need any more.” If we have a willing mind, we will give liberally.
The Macedonian brethren gave even more than Paul had hoped, because “they first gave themselves to the Lord, and then to us by the will of God” (2 Corinthians 8:5). The key to proper giving, indeed, to all acceptable service to God, is to first give ourselves (cf. Romans 12:1; Galatians 2:20). If I give myself to the Lord, I will have no problem with giving my money.
Our giving is a test of the “sincerity” of our “love” (2 Corinthians 8:8,24). Brother, if you love your wife, do you hate to buy her a present? If we love the Lord and His church, if we love the souls of the lost, if we love the poor saints, we will have no problem giving liberally.
We should give “as a matter of generosity” (2 Corinthians 9:5) and “bountifully”(verse 6). Both these English terms are from one Greek word which literally means “a blessing” (Arndt & Gingrich. 323). We should give because we desire to be a blessing to others, but God promises to bless us in return (verse 6). He promises to grant us the sufficiency to continue to give and to bless what we give so that it yields fruit to His glory and to the thanksgiving of His people (2 Corinthians 9:8-14). We thus follow the great example of the Father Himself and show our appreciation for the “indescribable gift” He gave us, the gift of His only begotten Son (verse 15).
We should purpose ahead how much we will give rather than giving haphazardly (2 Corinthians 9:7). Do you budget the spending of your income? Where is your contribution to the church in that budget? Is the Lord first?
Our giving should be done “cheerfully” (ibid). I once saw a sign which joked, “God loves a cheerful giver, but He’ll take money from an old grouch.” Wrong! The church will; we don’t know what the attitude of others is in giving. But God won’t. If your giving is grudging, you might as well not give, so far as any spiritual benefit to you.
Conclusion
The Lord hasn’t told us the amount or the percentage to give. He is more interested in how we give than in how much. Remember the poor widow whose contribution of “two mites” was more in the sight of the Lord than the large amounts the rich cast in? (Mark 12:41-44) But if we give with the right attitudes, we will give liberally. First, we must give ourselves to the Lord.
List of Works Cited
W.F. Arndt and F.W. Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament.
Bible,
– English Standard Version
– New American Standard Bible
– King James Version
Vine, W.E., An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words.
