A Word about Healthy Giving

Today I want to share a word about Healthy Giving as I comment on 1 Corinthians 16:1-4:

One of my favorite church stories that I heard long ago was about a pastor who was convinced that the members of his church were not good stewards of their money, and so he decided to preach about stewardship. This church was a very demonstrative church and they often interacted with the pastor during the sermon.

The pastor began by proclaiming, “If this church is going to move forward it’s got to crawl!” “Let it crawl,” replied the congregation in unison.

The pastor continued, saying, “If this church is going to move forward it’s got to walk!” “Let it walk,” replied the congregation in unison. 

The pastor went on, “If this church is going to move forward it’s got to trot!” “Let it trot,” replied the congregation in unison.

The pastor next stated, “If this church is going to move forward it’s got to run!” "Let it run,” replied the congregation in unison.

Finally, the pastor stood tall and proclaimed, “If this church is going to move forward it's got to have more money!” “Let it crawl, preacher, let it crawl,” was the response of the congregation.

We are in the middle of a series about Healthy Churches as taught to new churches on the mission field by the International Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention. As we rebuild our ministries here in North America it might be good for us to consider this model of healthy churches. One area we need to consider is healthy giving. 

Money is a subject full of trouble. It is a major cause of trouble in marriages, in businesses and in churches. Paul's instructions about a missions offering in 1 Corinthians 16:1-4 gives us a lesson on how to think about this potentially troublesome subject:

Now concerning the collection for the saints: as I directed the churches of Galatia, so you also are to do. On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come. And when I arrive, I will send those whom you accredit by letter to carry your gift to Jerusalem. If it seems advisable that I should go also, they will accompany me.

Paul had called upon the churches on the mission field to give sacrificially to support and bless the church in Jerusalem which was undergoing severe persecution at this time. These instructions were given so that the church at Corinth would know how to collect this offering “decently and in order.”

Healthy Giving is Done Out of Grateful Obedience:

First, I think it is instructive that Paul used a term translated as “directed” in this passage. While this may mean he is directing the process by which the offering is to be collected, and he certainly was, we also need to remember the source of all that we have and ever will have on this earth. In Psalm 50:10-11, God reminds us that:

For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds of the hills, and all that moves in the field is mine. 

God owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the hills, the gold under the hills, and the oil under the gold under the hills. Everything we will ever have comes from Him!

God owns everything but He has but He has given people stewardship over His creation from the very beginning of time. In Genesis 1:28, God made humans the stewards over the world:

And God blessed them. And God said to them, “Be fruitful and multiply and fill the earth and subdue it, and have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over every living thing that moves on the earth.”

As the stewards of God’s world, we are to be fruitful and return to Him a profit, just as Jesus taught in the Parable of the Talents. 

To begin understanding healthy giving we need to know that God simply expects us to give. It is understood that as the owner of everything He expects and deserves our offerings to Him. The main offering that He wants is our hearts, and when He has our hearts, all the other issues of life will follow, including money.

Healthy Giving is Done to Bless Others:

Next, it is important to note that our giving is done to bless others.

As we just saw, when we give we bless God, and honor Him, but we also bless other people as well. This particular offering was designed to go to Jerusalem to help the saints there. The believers were under severe persecution and those who could help were asked to help. This kind of offering goes to people who are already saved or to people who simply have unmet human needs.

Other offerings, such as offerings for missions in the modern world, go to help the lost come to know the Lord. These offerings are used to send missionaries or to do evangelistic outreach from local churches. People are blessed through these offerings because they come to know the Lord as their Savior, and they receive the blessing of being in His flock and eventually in His presence in heaven.

Either way offerings bless God's people: those who are already saved and who are in the church as well as those who will be saved and brought into the church. The money given to churches goes to touch lives! 

When we give to God’s church it blesses Him and it blesses His people!

Healthy Giving is Done by Everyone:

Next, it is important to note that Paul is very specific that everyone in the church was expected to participate in this offering. Like Jesus referring to the Widow’s Mite, it did not matter if one was rich, or poor, or in between, but everyone was expected to participate.

Paul clearly recognized the differences in financial circumstances among people. Few people in our churches are rich, but most have more than they need. Paul wanted people to give as God had prospered them and not as they thought God prospered them. Likewise, they should not give as others thought that God had prospered them. They should simply give as God has given to then.

In truth, people in the United States are blessed! Even our poorest people would be well off in some countries around the world. Few people are so destitute that they can give nothing to the ministry of the Gospel.

Sadly, it is a commonly held belief that 20% of the people in the church do 80% of the ministry. Likewise, it is also commonly believed that 20% of the people give 80% of the offerings. Frankly, both of these figures are in opposition to the concept of Biblical stewardship. We need to offer our lives as well as our money to the service of the Lord.

Everyone needs to support the Gospel ministry, in word and deed, and in serving and giving!

Healthy Giving is Done at Church:

One thing Paul leaves no doubt about is how the giving should be done. Each week everyone should set aside an offering and it should be given regularly at church. And, again, this offering should be based on how God blessed each individual person.

The Bible clearly teaches that the church is the center of religious giving. Malachi 3:10 instructs, “Bring you all the ties into the storehouse,” And Jesus Himself paid the temple tax by way of a miracle. In Acts we see believers selling their property and bringing the proceeds to the apostles for use in the church.

Besides being the Biblical pattern, this has much to commend itself to us as well in practical terms also. The burden is shared amongst everyone and there is good accountability for what is given. This is a better opportunity for good stewardship than giving to other organizations.

One might assert that in the 1st Century there were no other options for giving except through the church. Charities and nondenominational, independent ministries did not exist then. This may be true, but with the Roman roads and the Roman postal system, if someone wanted to send money to the Jerusalem church it certainly was possible. Paul however insisted That giving be done through the local church. By this he has set the Biblical example for us today as well.

A popular quotation about giving is, “Do your giving while you're living so you're knowing where it's going.”  When we do our giving at church it's easy for us to know where it is going and what God is doing with it!

Healthy Giving is Done Wisely:

Finally, the idea that we should give our offerings through the local church is a good segue to the next principle we need to discuss and that is our giving needs to be done wisely. As we deal with money, we need to heed Christ’s advice, we should “be as wise as serpents and as innocent as doves.” God has given us the ability to think, and we should use it, especially in the area of stewardship and accountability. 

There is no question that money should be handled carefully. I remember being told a story of a church which was located across the street from the city firehouse.  On quiet Sunday mornings, the firefighters made a habit of sitting out front of the firehouse. Every Sunday an unaccompanied man would walk out of the front door of the church with the offering plates and carry them around to the church office where they would be counted later. As soon as he exited the church, he would reach into the offering plate and take several bills and put them in his pocket on the way to the church office. This was done in full view of the firefighters, and it went on for years. Needless to say, none of the firefighters ever became members of that church.

Money must be handled wisely to protect those who gave it, to protect those who handle it, and to protect those who would be blessed by it. Notice that a delegation was going to be sent from the mission field to Jerusalem with the offering. Even in the church, or maybe especially in the church, checks and balances must be in place for the protection of all.

How a church handles money will greatly affect its reputation and its ability to bless others.

Conclusion:

It is a well-known fact that Jesus spent more time talking about money than He did just about any other topic of daily life. He knew that if you want to know what an organization or a person cares about all you have to do is see where they spend their money. 

Our giving must be healthy if we are to have a healthy church. In 1 Corinthians 16, Paul has given us al good lesson about healthy giving. We should heed him, and we should follow his instructions in our churchmanship today!

Every blessing,

Dr. Otis Corbitt