Over the years I have often been asked about the role of money in the life of a Christian. Questions about giving are particularly abundant. I could attempt to give you a scholarly dissertation on the subject, but really all I know about giving I can put into three points:
(1) I never enjoyed giving until I started giving more than the tithe.
Recently I have been involved with a dear friend with a drinking problem. It has gotten so severe that at one point he spent $50,000 in one clinic alone. He is a man of substance and international reputation. He has shared the material that he has on the subject of alcoholism with me. One of the things which intrigues me is that they have found that those who reach abstinence can go for 20 years and still go back to drinking, but those who have reached the joy of sobriety rarely ever go back. Likewise, those who strain to give a tithe never really enjoy it. Those who give out of love are thoroughly "in joy" and are not worried about defining the tithe as net or gross, or the difference between tithes and offerings. Debating the details is often an excuse to avoid giving. The joy of giving gives us the freedom to revel in the experience of being a conduit for God's money.
(2) Giving is the only drain plug I know for our greed.
If we want to drain the greed out of our soul, then we can only do it by giving. Since I came from the poor, I know both sides of the coin. I have found that the sin of the poor is envy and the sin of the rich is greed. I am sure you poor people want me to take a kick at the rich, but let me tell you: if you have to choose between greed and envy, always take greed, because greed causes you to make money and envy doesn't produce anything except ulcers. Therefore, measured by productivity, greed is better than envy. However, greed should not be characteristic of a Christian and giving is the way to drain it out of the soul.
(c) Giving is a measure of maturity
Maxey Jarman expressed the Christian's realization of the temporariness of money when he hit a period of severe financial difficulty. I asked him if he ever thought about the millions he had given away to Christian work. He replied, "Of course I have, but do you realize that I never lost a dime of what I gave away — I only lost what I kept." A lot of people are waiting to give money who ought to be giving it right now. God may not be needed to help you make money but He sure can help when you are up against the tough decision to give it.
I do not believe that God is basically interested in your money but in your maturity. If you will show me your calendar and your checkbook, I can write your biography. I will know what you spend your time on, where you spend your money and that is where your treasure is. Some people try to substitute service for giving, and others try to substitute giving for service. Neither can be done; both are required for Christian maturity. When you try to substitute you are really being dishonest. For God the process is just as sacred as the product. He never uses dishonest means to reach an honest end. We need to know this when we are thinking about using manipulative methods in God's work. Our spiritual growth and maturity will not come through dishonest means.
The subject of Christian stewardship is more than money but it certainly does includes M-0-N-E-Y. "Now think about that," as Steve Brown would say.
