Principles of Giving

A little girl was given a dollar bill and a quarter with the instructions to put whichever one she wanted to in the offering at church. When the family got home, her mother asked her which one she had given. "Mamma, I was going to give the dollar, but the preacher said that the Lord loves a cheerful giver, and giving the quarter would make me more cheerful. So I gave the quarter."

1 Corinthians 16's first few verses provide some powerful principles of giving.

1. Giving is God's program. God Himself is the Giver. He is the source of every good and every perfect gift. He gave the very best, when He gave His only begotten Son to die for your sins and for mine. He has ordained that His children should also be givers. Offerings to care for the needs of widows, to care for the needs of preachers, and to assist struggling congregations can be discovered in the book of Acts and the Epistles. Before we begin the next bake-sale or garage sale, let's first ask ourselves, "Am I doing my part in God's program?"

2. Giving is a Priority. These believers were told that they should give on the first day of the week, as an act of worship. Throughout the Bible giving and worship are tied together. We really do not worship unless we are giving something to God. Romans 12:1-2 show us that our reasonable service, our act of true worship, is to present ourselves to God totally. This includes our wealth. Abraham returned from the battle with the kings and presented tithes to the King of Salem in an act of worship. The OT Law called for sacrfices, bulls, goats, sheep, turtledoves, and meal so that people could come to God in worship. The first day of the week became the Christian sabbath as believers began to gather and worship in celebration of the resurrection. It was on this day of the week that Paul instructed the Corinthians to bring their offerings in worship.

3. Give Personally. "Every one of you." Nobody can beg to be excused from this one. Young and old, rich and poor, new convert and ripened saints are all included. "Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also." Every heart should unite in worship of our Lord, and our giving indicates our heart-focus.

4. Give Proportionally. This passage says, "as God hath prospered". Financially, God has prospered some more than others. With this blessing, God also adds the responsibility of giving more. One Biblical truth to be mentioned in this idea of proportional giving is the tithe: or tenth. This principle is first observed in the life of Abraham and the other patriarchs. Worship, submission, protection, and blessing are all related to this truth. Malachi 3 clarifies some of these truths regarding the tithe. Jesus sat by the temple one day and watched the people give their offerings, and he made a startling statement concerning one poor widow woman. He declared that she had given more than all of the others, though she only gave two mites. . .a very small amount. Reason? She gave ALL.

5. God protects the gifts. Instructions are given here to select faithful individuals to safe-guard the offering while it is intransit. This speaks of good stewardship and accountability. God watches over His own. He expects us to also take care of the offerings being given. By the way, God not only protects the offerings that are given, He also protects the church from those who would give with deceitful hearts and motives. Ananias and Sapphira show this to be true!

We live in times of financial crisis. Even in these times, God expects us to be faithful in our giving. Remember, He is our Source. I thought of a widow woman picking up sticks so that she could feed her son one last time and then sit down and die of starvation. While she was picking up the sticks, a preacher gave her instructions to cook him a little cake first. She told him her story, but obeyed anyway. God took care of her and her son throughout the time of drouth. We serve the same God today. One preacher said. "He owns the cattle on a thousand hills, the hills, and the taters under those hills!" Amen! Let us trust and obey Him.