Where do You Give?

Where do you give? The most obviously correct answer would be, “Where the Lord tells me to give.” I hope that is true, for me and for you. However, we all have our own personalities and problems. Here is a little bit about mine. I have analyzed my giving. Clearly some patterns have emerged and those of you who know me will not be surprised to discover I like to know where my money is going and how it is being spent.

Obviously the first place I give is to my local church. If you don’t want to give to your church, you should probably find another church. This is a real problem in some denominations. I have heard from an extremely reliable source that in one major American denomination the only increase in expenditures planned at the national level is more money to prosecute lawsuits against its member congregations. Right now about the only thing holding this denomination together is property law. The national organization owns the buildings, not the individual congregations. Many in the local churches view the church hierarchy as apostate. They want to affiliate with other member churches in their tradition that can still recite the Apostles’ Creed and mean it. If they leave the denomination they will be sued and will probably loose their church property. I am an American Protestant. I would say “Wherefore Come ye out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, And touch no unclean thing,” but it isn’t that easy if you and your family have been a part of something beautiful for many years.

I am very happy with the administrative efficiency of my leadership. They might make a well intentioned investment that doesn’t turn out to be a winner, but these men would never knowingly waste one penny of the Lord’s money. I read the budget documents, understand where my money is going, and in almost every instance, I approve of what the leadership is doing with the Lord’s money.

For close to 20 years, I have supported an individual who works for a major national ministry. He is responsible for his own funding as well as the Lord’s work. I never liked that arrangement. I always thought it would be better if fund raising and the work of the ministry were separate. However, if that were the case, I would not be supporting this particular ministry. I am supporting the man, not his employer. He is one of the most mature and Godly Christians I have ever had the pleasure to meet. If anything, I am afraid he might damage his health by working too hard. I might add that this ministry is getting two for the price of one. His wife works just about as hard as he does. The Lord is getting a real bang for the buck with these two. I expect the payoff from his ministry will effect not only the current generation but generations to come and on into eternity. I also feel like the little bit that I have added over the years is important to his overall financial picture. I feel like my presence in his life has made a difference.

I support a friend I have known for over 30 years. His story is a little different. All his life he wanted to serve the Lord, but since he was not cut out to be a pastor, he was not exactly sure how to proceed. Also, like all of us, he needed to provide for his family and so he worked at jobs that paid the bills but did not satisfy the cries of his heart. When he was over 50 he suffered a heart attack. Shortly thereafter, his employer went out of business. At this crisis point in his life he decided to preach when and where anyone would listen. In fact, I think he would preach the Word of God into a hole in the ground filled with the bones of dead men, if that is what God told him to do. I encouraged him to start a ministry on a part time basis. However, my friend is not a part time kind of guy. He is an all or nothing at all kind of guy. So with no money or resources he began a preaching and teaching ministry. In the subsequent 8 or so years, his ministry has prospered up and down the I-77 corridor between Charlotte, NC and Columbia, SC. He has blessed many congregations and small groups with his knowledge and his faith. Again, I know exactly what he is doing with the Lord’s money. In fact he sends out an email prayer request to his supporters before every meeting and then reports on the results when the meeting is over. He is a man who fears the Lord; more than that he is a man who seeks after the Lord’s heart. I am confident he is not wasting the Lord’s money.

One more thought. As far as I can remember the Bible never indicates that Jesus said anything about giving to ministries. He did, however, preach often about giving to the poor and making financial restitution for economic wrongdoing. A few times in my life I felt a very clear leading from the Lord that in some particular situation, I was called to divert or increase the flow of His money from ministries to individuals. All of the above ministries are properly registered with the IRS and I claim the deductions on my taxes. However, there have been times when I believe the Lord told me to give to an individual without 501-C status. In some of these instances, time has proven that my actions helped to reap real benefits both in this world and world to come. We American Christians are not wired to think in this manner. It is dangerous. I have seen manipulative people con God’s faithful with a good story and a fake testimony. But still, I think we would do well to give the Lord’s money into worthy situations more often than is our normal practice.

Ecclesiastes Chapter 11 (NIV)
1. Cast your bread upon the waters, for after many days you will find it again.
2. Give portions to seven, yes to eight, for you do not know what disaster may come upon the land.
3. If clouds are full of water, they pour rain upon the earth. Whether a tree falls to the south or to the north, in the place where it falls, there will it lie.
4. Whoever watches the wind will not plant; whoever looks at the clouds will not reap.
5. As you do not know the path of the wind, or how the body is formed in a mother's womb, so you cannot understand the work of God, the Maker of all things.
6. Sow your seed in the morning, and at evening let not your hands be idle, for you do not know which will succeed, whether this or that, or whether both will do equally well.