Being Practical: The 'M' Word

Are You Ready? Part 8

In the last instalment we began to consider the whole subject of our wealth and finances. In the Parable of the Talents that we looked at (Matt 25:14-30), Jesus is clearly outlining that we are not only responsible for what He has given us, but also accountable to Him for what we do with the things we have temporary stewardship of.

This perspective emphasises how much we each carry a serious responsibility to put to work all that we have and all that we are (naturally, physically and spiritually) in a way that honours God and fulfils His plans and purposes, not just for ourselves and our families, but for His kingdom today. In the Hebraic mindset, it is not sufficient to have learned how to listen to the promptings of the Holy Spirit; we need to actively implement and obey His instructions.

The God who Gives

“For God so loved the world that he gave…” (John 3:16).

Giving – and especially giving freely without counting the cost – is in the very nature of the godhead. He is always giving of Himself, endlessly, selflessly, generously and lavishly, even though it cost Him everything to give His Son. The never-ending flow of His love pouring earthwards is a picture of His constant giving. If we are to release His love to others, we must reasonably expect it will involve giving something away: it might be something of ourselves (a hug, a smile or being patient when it is not easy) or it might be some money or a piece of property we are stewarding. 

When our heart attitudes, thought life, gifts and possessions are surrendered to God, our daily life will definitely be different.

When our heart attitudes, thought life, gifts and possessions are surrendered to God, our daily life will definitely be different. We will relate to God as Father, have a greater appreciation of Jesus and know the daily presence and leading of the Holy Spirit. But there will be other changes too:

“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing… This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples” (John 15: 5 and 8).

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law”  (Galatians 5:22-23).

When we are continually being filled and led by the Spirit of God, we will be givers rather than takers. These qualities, which are the nature and characteristics of Jesus, are the fruit or result of the Holy Spirit’s make-over in our lives and are the very things we are asked to give away.

Society has trained us to think of money and possessions separately to our selves; we often put personal qualities or feelings (like the fruit of the Spirit) in another ‘box’ labelled ‘private’. We are no longer fragmented people but healed, restored and whole, therefore this is no longer how things should be. 

Giving lavishly

“See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!”  (1John 3:1)

The example God has given us is to be lavish in our giving: to give, give, give and even when we think there is nothing more, to keep on giving. He poured Himself out for us when He sacrificed His only Son so that we might know and experience the Father’s love for ourselves. We would have been denied this if He had put Jesus in a ‘box’ labelled ‘Just for Me to enjoy’ or even ‘For the Jews only’! 

When we are continually being filled and led by the Spirit of God, we will be givers rather than takers.

“But who am I, and who are my people, that we should be able to give as generously as this? Everything comes from you, and we have given you only what comes from your hand” (1Chronicles 29:14).

“For everything God created is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving” (1Timothy 4:4).

Every gift, spiritual quality or blessing comes from Him and is to be received gratefully. But when we acknowledge God as the owner (the Greek word translated ‘lord’, kurios, means ‘owner’) we cannot selfishly keep very much of it to ourselves. We are not only stewards responsible to God for what He has poured into us; we are also channels for that blessing to flow out to bless others. As much as it is Father’s heart to give, so we too should be givers.

In Mark’s account of the healing of the woman with the issue of blood (Mark 5:25-34), Jesus identified the very moment the woman’s healing was given because He knew that power had been released; He had given something away. We will too; it might be a touch of comfort or empathy on someone’s shoulder; it might be sacrificing an evening of ‘me time’ to sit and talk to someone who is lonely; it might mean taking someone to the hospital, cooking extra portions of food or sharing our home, even our income, for a period of time. In each of these examples one or more fruit or evidence of the Spirit in us is being given away. 

Cheerful giving

“Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2Corinthians 9:7).

The Greek word ‘hilaron’ (translated here as ‘cheerful’) is the root from which our word ‘hilarious’ derives. It can also be translated as side-splitting, riotous, uproarious, and hysterical! It is not mandatory to have long faces and be serious when we are giving something away for the kingdom. It is Father’s great delight, joy and pleasure to give to us, His children and bride. It is also His heart for us to know the real joy that comes from seeing someone else receive a blessing when it is given with no strings, just unconditional cheerful generosity. 

“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need” (Acts 2:44-45).

There was no compulsion, coercion or manipulation at work; they were open to following the Spirit’s leading.

It is clear the early believers practised this cheerful giving. They not only felt a strong sense of responsibility before God for what they did with their possessions, but they held things so lightly that when the Holy Spirit prompted them to sell something to meet someone’s need, they did so. There was no compulsion, coercion or manipulation at work; they were open to following the Spirit’s leading. Father’s heart of love was seen amongst them, and His kingdom grew as they allowed Him to be the owner (Lord) of all their property, not just a small percentage. This is what it really means to live by faith; not just trusting Father God for our income but for our expenditure as well

What was the tithe?

We are called to be givers in God’s kingdom and that also means our money!

“‘Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,’ says the LORD Almighty, ‘and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have room enough for it’”  (Malachi 3:10).

This Scripture is probably the most quoted text in relation to the giving of our money into the kingdom. It promises tremendous blessings when we bring the whole tithe into the storehouse. But giving to Father God is not an investment, something we do in the hope of getting a return; we give to please our Father and to express His heart of love to others.

Tithing began in the Hebrew story with Abraham and Jacob. Yet Abraham and Jacob’s tithes cannot be compared to the tithe under Torah. They are completely different entities. The storehouse did not exist before the Law and was simply a foodbank from which the priests, the poor and the needy took their food. Torah was fulfilled in Messiah’s coming and in AD 70 the Temple was destroyed anyway; the Levites’ job and the storehouse both disappeared. Other than when Jesus rebuked the Pharisees, there is only one explicit mention of the tithe in the whole New Testament and that relates back to Abraham’s offering to Melchizedek which, of course, predated the Law by some 400 years.

“This Melchizedek was king of Salem and priest of God Most High. He met Abraham returning from the defeat of the kings and blessed him, and Abraham gave him a tenth of everything. First, the name Melchizedek means ‘king of righteousness’; then also, ‘king of Salem’ means ‘king of peace’. Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, resembling the Son of God, he remains a priest for ever” (Hebrews 7:1-3).

But giving to Father God is not an investment, something we do in the hope of getting a return; we give to please our Father and to express His heart of love to others.

The writer to the Hebrews implies that Melchizedek (who seems to have appeared out of nowhere, with no traceable history or background) may have been a pre-incarnation appearance of Jesus in the Old Testament; everything about Melchizedek, his names, his roles and the bread and wine he gave to Abraham appear to bear this out. It is written explicitly in Hebrews 5:10 and 6:20 that Jesus is our High Priest from Melchizedek’s order, and Peter teaches that as believers, we too are priests of that same order – not the Levitical order.

Yet, it is this very passage that is usually seized on, in conjunction with Malachi 3:10, to justify the giving of Levitical-type tithes today. The argument is made that this particular local church is the equivalent of the storehouse because it is where God’s people are fed spiritually.

Therefore, members should give their whole tithe into that particular house of God. In some cases, God’s people are definitely fed in their local believing family unit, but in many cases this is not true. Messiah’s Body today is full of malnourished believers starving for lack of spiritual food who have not been taught how to feed themselves and who may eventually starve to death for want of calories to grow!

Tithing today? 

If we are going to continue the practice of tithing today, we should make an attempt to unravel the confusion of Scripture and separate out the two strands so that we can see the clear differences between the two. We may practise either (or both) of these:

1.    Abraham’s tithe: i.e., follow the Spirit’s prompting to freely give once, directly to the one who blessed and/or fed us, without any on-going obligation. 
2.    Follow the Torah tithe wholeheartedly: i.e., give into a foodbank or storehouse from where those unable to support themselves any other way (the priests) or the poor and needy can come to make withdrawals.

The typical church community is often short of money but at the same time money-dependent to make the whole ‘wheel’ keep turning.

The typical church community is often short of money but at the same time money-dependent to make the whole ‘wheel’ keep turning. Therefore, it is completely understandable why the teaching on the local church being the equivalent of the storehouse is perpetuated. But it is not biblical.

“Will a mere mortal rob God? Yet you rob me. But you ask, ‘How are we robbing you?’ In tithes and offerings. You are under a curse – your whole nation – because you are robbing me”  (Malachi 3:8-9).

Think: Could there possibly be a link between these verses and the statement made that the church is often short of money? If so, what might be the way forward? 

If you tithe to a local church, how does that church make use of the tithes it receives? What proportion is distributed biblically? (You may need to go and ask someone for the answers. You may feel awkward about asking but the fact that you ask makes the leaders accountable for what they do with the money given.) 

If you do not tithe, then how and what do you give to God? How do you decide what, when and where to give your money, time, possessions, abilities, and home?

In the next instalment, we will consider New Testament giving, and how it applies to us, particularly as world finances become more precarious. 


^{Image by Christopher Bill on unsplash.com}