We’ve just passed Giving Tuesday, the last of the pecuniary “triplets” of the Christmas season, following the Black Friday and Cyber Monday opportunities for eager shoppers. Giving Tuesday is probably the most important of the three, with so many charitable organizations dependent on the generosity of their supporters.
This issue of giving can be a bit perplexing for me. I’m not reluctant to give charitably, but so many causes deserve consideration. How do we respond to a seemingly unlimited number of possibilities with limited funds for giving?
My mailboxes – both email and snail mail – have been deluged by solicitations to support a wide range of needs, from hospitals to the homeless, from discipleship to diseases, from missions to Christian media. Unless you’re a millionaire – even a billionaire – you can’t support them all. How do you choose?
Searching the Scriptures won’t provide specifics, like ‘Support XYZ Ministry’ or ‘Give to That Foundation.’ But in His Word, God does provide clear principles on the how’s of giving, if not necessarily the what’s and the who’s. The Lord’s greatest concern, I’ve concluded, is not who benefits from our giving but the motives behind our giving.
Giving and generosity can be difficult to discuss, but something stirs when we hear heartwarming stories of generous, unselfish acts. The response to recent hurricanes is one example. While government agencies seemed to be spinning their wheels at times, debating what to do, individuals and Christian organizations like Samaritan’s Purse were quick to take action.
But we don’t have to wait for calamities to occur. Generosity can and should be a normal part of everyday life, like breathing and eating. While one doesn’t have to be a follower of Jesus Christ to be generous, giving becomes part of our “spiritual DNA” when we become “new creations in Christ” (2 Corinthians 5:17).
It was Jesus Christ who declared, “It is more blessed to give than to receive” (Acts 20:35). He also addressed this ‘reciprocal’ aspect of giving in another way: “Give, and it will be given to you. A good measure, pressed down, shaken together and running over, will be poured into your lap. For with the measure you use, it will be measured to you” (Luke 6:38).
It would seem, according to Jesus, that if we’re willing to share from the resources the Lord has provided, He’s quite able to replace what we’ve given with more – so we can continue to be involved in this divine cycle of generosity.
I’ve had the privilege of meeting and writing about numerous individuals whose commitment to giving was lavish by any standard. Industrialist R. G. LeTourneau practiced a “reverse tithe” – giving away 90% of his income and keeping 10% – rather than ‘give 10 and keep 90’ as it’s traditionally taught.
Entrepreneur Stanley Tam, who died in 2023 at the age of 107, explained in his book, God Owns My Business, how he arranged to legally give 100% ownership of his company to God, with all profits used to support charitable causes and mission work. When I interviewed him, Tam quipped, without boasting, “I shovel out, and God’s shovels in. And God’s got a bigger shovel.” Wise counsel indeed from someone who practiced what he preached.
Most of us, of course, aren’t in a position to take such bold steps. We may not have the spiritual gift of giving, which those men definitely had. But this doesn’t excuse us from being generous whenever God sets opportunities in front of us. Which brings us back to the conundrum: With so many worthy causes, how do we decide which to support personally?
Most would agree we each should start with our own churches, where we’re ministered to through worship services and other programs, and want to support their work. But I don’t believe they should be the only recipients of our charitable gifts.
There’s no exact formula for singling out other beneficiaries. But we can rely on God’s leading through His Spirit, as well as recognizing which causes we feel particularly passionate about.
Over the years I’ve found two Bible passages especially instructive. One of them is 2 Corinthians 9:6-8 which says, “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver. And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work.”
The word “cheerful” could literally be translated as “hilarious.” I think of the closing scenes of Charles Dickens’ A Christmas Carol, in which transformed Ebenezer Scrooge begins bestowing his wealth on others rather than hoarding it for himself. Having abandoned his miserly ways, Scrooge becomes giddy upon realizing how generosity can enhance the lives of others.
If we’re giving grudgingly or feeling compelled to do so, that doesn’t please the Lord. He wants us to give freely – and excitedly.
One other verse also is helpful in reminding us that giving is not a seasonal activity. In 1 John 3:17 we’re told, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” This doesn’t mean having to respond to every panhandler we encounter, but the Lord can give us the wisdom and discernment in how best to steward the resources He has entrusted to our care.
If God loved us so much that He gave His own Son for our salvation and redemption, how can we refuse to give as He guides?
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