Giving is more than turning over ownership of an asset. Let's consider three situations, which may all be termed "gifts." They may not vary by the amount, but they vary greatly by the motive, effect, and reward:
1. The gift. The purest is the anonymous gift. The gift becomes known but not the giver—or at least the giver does not let it be advertised to his glory. The widow's mite was known but not because she rang the bell with the gift. She quietly demonstrated her faith with her sacrifice not knowing anyone would notice. For us, it may be easy to be an anonymous small giver but far more difficult to be an anonymous large giver. Maxey Jarman told me a funny story of a New York fund-raising dinner with people standing up identifying themselves and making pledges to the charitable cause. One man rose, gave his name, his wife's name, his business, its location and merchandise, and then loudly announced that they wanted to give $5,000 anonymously!
Many people use the cover of anonymity only to protect their identification as a giver and to give them relief from endless fundraising efforts. That defeats much of the value of truly giving anonymously. Maybe it is difficult to truly give anonymously because in our heart of hearts we do not yet believe we are giving to God and that he sees and is pleased and will reward us as he sees fit.
2. A purchase posing as a gift. Here the giver buys a reward, which is generally recognition or social position. One of the most effective fund-raisers in Dallas is a wonderful lady who has a club, and in order to belong you must give at least $10,000 each year. It is well publicized. Your "gift" purchases you a reputation. It would be more accurate to classify this "giving" as an expense. It is the price of admission. When we give for any reason other than as a gift to God, we receive our reward here. As Scripture says of the Pharisees, "They have their reward." It does not say the reward is wrong or inappropriate, it simply says when you give for human reasons you get human rewards. If you want the reward here you get it here ... but there's no reward in heaven. You can enjoy the reputation as a great philanthropist, but you cannot earn sainthood. We all know we can purchase a position in an organization with the right-sized gift. Sometimes, we are purchasing power.
I have a wealthy friend who is very generous, yet he admits that he is involved in the spending of the money to the point of total control of the ministry. The control is the benefit he buys with the money. Yet Scripture warns repeatedly not to treat the rich any better (or worse) than the poor. I've seen people who have discovered the power of being a potential major donor and receive all the benefits and privileges of those who give without actually giving themselves. The ministry does not want to discourage their implied future gifts.
Another friend promised a ministry $20 million in stock but kept the stock in order to retain the voting power it gave him with the corporation. He believed he knew what was best for the ministry. In the end, the value of the stock went from above $50 per share to $1.
3. Giving as investment. Giving as investment is particularly attractive to those who are acquisitive and concerned more with leverage and return than with gratitude and love. They believe they are protecting God from others' misuse of money. I once asked a friend with this profile to give to a struggling minister doing an excellent (but small) work in the inner city. He quickly informed me that he did not give to small things. He gave only to those who had the capacity to change the whole system.
An example of another type of investment giving is the young man who was a significant contributor to hospitals. His friends told me he gave in order to get preferential treatment should he ever need it. Investors give for returns and, ideally for them, the return will be greater than the gift. A highly successful Christian entrepreneur recently sold his business for an enormous sum. In the paper he reported, "I am going to give a lot of it away. My parents told us we could not out-give God and that whatever we gave away would come back multiplied."
That is not giving but investing. It is not just a reward but a return on investment that is expected. It is less gratitude than greed.
Giving is complex. Stewardship is an interplay of ability,
