"Honor the Lord from your wealth and from the first of all your produce; so your barns will be filled with plenty and your vats will overflow with new wine." Proverbs 3:9-10
The Word of God equates honoring God with a spirit of giving. God honoring giving elevates His name, not yours. Donors who put their name on a brick, a building or benevolent act may gain credit in the eyes of man, but it doesn't always give glory to God.
"It's a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World" is one of my favorite movies. It depicts a collection of fools racing to find treasure buried at the base of "The Big W." I won't ruin it for you. The plot is filled with laughs, but it also has a moral to the story. Chasing after "The Big W" reveals a streak of greed hidden the hearts of people from all walks of life. This never ends well.
In a consumer culture wealth becomes "The Big W." American Christians racing for more wealth find out it is a speed trap. The need for speed leads to greed, and those who win the rat race end up feeling like a rat, hoarding everything they get and rummaging around for more.
When I was in seminary, circa 1978, Dr. Oscar Thompson quoted from a survey conducted by a national news magazine. After interviewing the economic ambitions of American citizens with annual incomes ranging from $15,000 to $150,000, they discovered a common denominator. The interviewer asked, "How much more do you need to be satisfied?" The responses varied, but the average amount came close to 10%. In other words, no matter how much they made, everyone needed just a little bit more.
My wife and I have been tithers our entire married life. This means we set a base of 10% of our weekly income to give to the local church we attend. Any gifts to other ministry groups or missionaries have always been given over and above that 10%.
Some believe tithing is an Old Testament law and no longer holds any meaning for those who live under grace. Jesus affirmed three signs of righteousness in The Sermon on The Mount, giving, praying and fasting. Apparently He thought giving was worth mentioning.
For us, the tithe has been proven over and over again, as a sign of God's faithfulness to us, not our generosity to Him. We have learned we can't out give God. We shovel out.He shovels in, and His shovel is bigger than ours.
I have been a part of discussions on giving for half a century. Some things never change. People are always looking for ways to lower the bar of their giving rather than to raise it to the next level. Dr. McGorman, my New Testament professor, settled the issue for me when he said, "Jesus did not die by fractions on the cross." Since that day, when it comes to giving I have always rounded the amount up, not down.
In 1978 Dana and I were audited by the IRS. Our gross annual income was $17,500. We were terrified. We had just moved to Oklahoma to begin a new ministry, and had no idea what the impact of this audit would be on our future. It turned out that our giving to our church raised a red flag. The IRS wanted proof. We showed the agent in the Tulsa office the cancelled checks, and he was satisfied. We spent the rest of the session talking to him about Jesus, and why giving was our way of honoring Him for all He had done for us. The audit was God's way of placing us before someone who was seeking to know His Son, not trying to harm us. Good to know.
NOTE TO SELF: "Honor the Lord from your wealth." Take a look at your checkbook. Does it show how much you honor God? No matter how much you sing or serve in the local church, your giving is one of the vital signs of a healthy Christian and it provides the support necessary for a healthy church. When you count the cost of giving, don't put a pencil to it. Put your heart into it. Jesus also said, "Where your treasure is there will your heart be also." When you face a new level of giving, throw your wallet over the bar. Trust me. Your heart will follow.
TALK LESS! PRAY MORE!