This is a guest post by Rob Kuban, author of the book on Christians & Money, Dollars And Doctrine: What Does The Bible Actually Say About Money?.
Why do Christians give? It is a simple question, yet the answer provided to many Christians is often vague at best. Many Christians hear a variety of reasons for giving such as: “God has been generous to you so you should be generous in return,” “It belongs to God and you are just redistributing it,” “There is joy in giving,” “It will teach you many spiritual lessons,” or “It is a good thing to help out your fellow man”.
These reasons are all truthful, but I fear they miss the point. I have trouble separating or seeing the difference between these explanations and “Philanthropy.” What separates the Christian’s call to give from a mere desire to improve the welfare of our “fellow man”? Is there any difference between the two?
Our Giving Must Point Back To Christ
My pastor, a great Bible teacher, often quotes an old theologian who said something to the effect of: “If it is not about Jesus, it is not Christianity.” I will do my best to answer the question of giving in this context:
Our giving must point back to Christ.
In the flesh, in sin, we are TAKERS. Since the Garden of Eden, we are out to get whatever we can for ourselves. Even our very acts of giving can be corrupted by self-serving motives. Christ’s life in us reverses this trend. We become GIVERS when in close communion with His Spirit. Not just givers of money, but everything: time, energy, love, talents, emotions, and on and on. We live to bless others. In the flesh, we are like a sponge, soaking up all we can for ourselves. Even when every possible avenue is saturated, perhaps even drowning, we still seek to absorb more.
Christians give because Christ is in them. Simple as that.
In Christ, we begin see the water start running in the opposite direction, away from ourselves. We actually begin to see our heart and soul believe: “It is better to give than to receive ” (Acts 20:35). Instead of a sponge: “He who believes in Me…From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.” (John 7:38) As Christ gains the victory in the hearts of men, their desire for generosity, to bless others before themselves cannot be contained. Christ said: “where your treasure is there your heart will be also.” (Matt. 6:21) When He, whose life, death, and resurrection lived out His saying: “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends.” (Jn. 15:13) consumes our hearts we cannot help but to follow His example. To live to give and bless others becomes a sacred joy when Christ has His proper abode in our heart.
If I am honest, I don’t know if I have ever met a godly man that was stingy. (Notice, I did not say “rich”. I have met many godly men that were rich also.) The more I study the life of Christ and inspirational men and women of faith, the more I see that the spirit stirred with the love of God cannot help but to live a life of Generosity. Those in keeping with the fountain of Living Water feel suffocated by selfishness. They are compelled to live and give as Christ. They are transformed by His Spirit and the act becomes as natural as breathing.
In conclusion, Christians give because Christ is in them. Simple as that.
Our Savior is the essence of generosity. He is alive in us and the desire to bless others is only a natural expression of His power in our hearts. Certainly, our giving respects God’s ownership, brings us joy, teaches us things, and helps those less fortunate than us, but these are only branches not the Vine. Christ, the very author of “It is better to give than to receive” is continuing His work and manifesting Himself and His power through His people. This, dear believer, is Christianity not philanthropy.
{ 10 comments… read them below or add one }
I don’t buy it.
I’ve met more than a few Stingy Christians, and more than a few generous, giving, charitable non-Christians. Like me! My wife and I give quite a fair bit to charity, and we’re agnostic. And we’re not the only ones. I have an atheist friend who would give you the shirt off his back.
We also know many very giving Christians; but we’ve encountered a few who wouldn’t give you a penny if Jesus himself came down and told them to smarten up and give you a penny.
Some give, some don’t. You’ll never convince me that it has anything to do with ones’ religious inclinations, because I’ve seen so much evidence to the contrary.
I don’t think the article said that non-Christians can’t be giving, or that people only give if they’re religious? I agree with you that Non-Christians can be very giving – and I think that’s great!
To me the article is saying that the motivations behind the giving of Christians and non-Christians are different. While I can’t completely speak to the motives of the non-Christian, the Christian is motivated by his relationship with Christ, and his desire to live like He did.
I agree with you that there are Christians who aren’t very giving, and aren’t living out their faith, but that is more than likely because they don’t have a close walk with Christ, and because they’re human. We all fail from time to time, and sin. I know I at times can let me relationship with Christ start becoming less important, and at those times I end up becoming a more selfish person. That’s part of the human condition, and why we need Christ – and his example!
@ Kev I think a Christian who doesn’t at least strive to be giving (or loving or thankful, etc) isn’t really trying to live a Christian life. They’re Christian in name only. As for the giving habits of nonreligious people or people of other religions, is not that they can’t be just as giving – they just have a different motivation than a Christian. A Muslim person might give because it’s one of the pillars of faith. A Buddhist might give because money is illusion anyway. An agnostic might give because they feel it’s the right thing to do. And I think they’re all good reasons.
Agreed – our motivation for giving is different, or should be anyway. All the reasons given on why we give are merely the positive byproduct of the fundamental reason for giving – to emulate and pass along Christ’s example.
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Kev,
I agree with you more than you think. I am willing to bet I know more stingy Christians than you do!! Haha. That is why I do what I do at dollarsanddoctrine.com I think Peter put it best. The post is only designed to show a difference in motivation. The post is designed to show that a Christian, more and more consumed with Christ, will begin to become more generous. It is simply the source of generosity, living through and out of us. That is why Christians who take their faith seriously will find themselves giving more and more. I know many non-believers that give, but yours/their motivation to give is different. Christ gives through me. I know that might sound strange, but its what I believe. As to why so many Christians are so stingy (actually, evangelical Christians are statisically the highest giving subgroup in America…I will have to consult my “archives” to quote the article), but I tend to agree that many American Christians are in fact stingy. This is because most American Christians make much of the riches of this world, and little of the riches of Christ. That is why dollars and doctrine exists.
As a life-long Christian, I agree that we are called to give. It’s easy to forget but our money isn’t really our money. I truly believe that God rewards those who give even when they themselves are struggling. It’s an act of faith. That said, I have been guilty of not giving as much as I should sometimes because I feel I need to make sure I provide for my family when in fact God is the one who provides. I am still a “work in progress” Christian and I believe so are those that go to church and don’t give at all.
I do have to agree with Kev on a few things. Non-Christians can be much more giving than Christians at times. I recently found out at my church (evangelical), only about 15% of the members tithe consistently! Wow.
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I too think it is great that Kev can be very generous.
I used to be an agnostic and I wasn’t like Kev; all I ever thought about was myself. Only after Christ came to live in me and started changing me did I start to become generous. I still have a long way to go, but Rob’s summary statement, “Christians give because Christ is in them. It is that simple” certainly applies to me. I give because of Christ, not because of any nobility in myself.
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I have instilled in me a belief that I should give because I have the ability to do so. How much I give and who I give to are tempered by other outside factors, but I don’t know that I would have that belief in me were I not raised to be a Christian
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I’d be curious to know where other Christians stand on tithing? I’ve recently read that the stat for American Christians tithing is around 2-3%, versus 10% or more. Anyone?
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What is sad is that less than 3% of Christians tithe. That is pathetic. Financial bondage truly has it’s grip on many Christians. God does not need our money. He had plenty. Tithing is a trust issue. It would seem that many Christians do not trust God with their finances.