Taking steps of financial faith

Football season is well underway. We’ve even had a few mornings of cool temperatures. I can’t ignore the signs any longer, it’s Fall.

With Fall in the air, many pastors are sure to be giving sermons on stewardship. Why? So that we can get everyone in the church to promise more money for next year, because it’s time to start finalizing the church budget for 2003. With school in session, it’s hard for a preacher not to feel the call from God to preach about money.

Over time, we can also come to think of stewardship as the church word meaning, "how much money will you give the church this coming year?" A steward is, of course, someone who takes care of something for the owner. The biblical idea of stewardship flows out of the concept that we are stewards of God’s creation.

As most of the readers of this column do not attend King of Peace, where I am the pastor, then I can give you the low down on giving without any hopes of a bigger pay off.

Churches cannot avoid the topic of giving because so much of the Bible talks about stewardship. Jesus never shied away from talking about how the ways you spend your time, energy, and money show outwardly, what you believe inwardly. The word tithe occurs frequently enough. Tithe means to give a tenth portion of your income, usually in the Bible a tenth of your crops or herd. In fact, there are 45 references in the Bible to giving a tenth, a tithe. If you want to be convinced the Bible views tithing as important, read Malachi chapter 3.

My wife, Victoria and I began to tithe eight years ago. For those who wonder exactly what I mean by tithing, in our case we give ten percent of our pre-tax gross income to our church, we give some small amounts beyond that regularly to other worthy causes and we give a little beyond that as other needs come up. Your whole tithe does not have to go to your church. Other Godly causes may also receive a portion of your tithe.

We are able to tithe on our modest income by following the biblical principle of giving God our first fruits. We do not give to God from what is leftover after all other spending. Instead, we give to God first-right off the top-then we live on what is left. After we started tithing, we never found ourselves unable to make it through the month after having given to God first.

You do not have to jump from 0 to 60 mph in one stewardship season. If you are not yet tithing, I suggest this: calculate what proportion of your income you are currently giving and raise the proportion. For example, if you give $20 a week on a gross household income of $40,000, you are giving about 2.5 percent. If you give $20 each time you go to church, rather than weekly, your giving will likely be less. Convert to proportional giving by raising the percentage and then calculating what weekly offerings that would suggest.

Never raise your offering because the church needs money and do not lower your offering because you are unhappy with something the church is doing. Raise or lower your giving in response to God.

Do not give if you do so merely expecting something in return. The Bible simply does not teach that we give to God in order to get from God. That would be a Green Stamp God. Many of you are old enough to remember Green Stamps.

When you spent money at the grocery store, you would get Green Stamps in proportion to how much money you spent. You would then take the Green Stamps, lick them and stick them in little books, save up the books and then turn them in for stuff. Where did you get the stuff? You looked through a Green Stamp catalog and then found out how many books of stamps you needed to save to get a free toaster, or grill, or some other item from the catalog. You turned in the books of stamps at a Redemption Center.

That is not how giving works with God. We do not give in hopes of building up enough points to turn our lives in at the ultimate Redemption Center to receive eternal benefits. God will not keep you out of heaven for failing to put money in the offering plate at church. Neither can you buy your way in to God’s good graces with any amount of money. God’s love is free.

We give to God not in order to get, but in thanksgiving for what we have already received. As you are giving God what is first, rather than what is leftover, you are only giving back on what you have already received. More importantly, however, you are taking a step of faith. You give first, with no evidence that what is left will be enough. This is an important step of faith with your finances. It is an outward sign to yourself that you are trusting God with your whole life.

(The Rev. Frank Logue is pastor of King of Peace Episcopal Church in Kingsland.)

  previous         Return to Religion Column page         next