Saturday September 14, 2013

Read 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Even though we’ve talked a lot about the satisfaction of work we have to also talk about giving or tithing because this too is a part of our worship of God.

 

The Old Testament in a sense commanded that a tithe or a tenth of all produce and offspring (what we could term income) be set apart to the Lord. On top of this, the Old Testament believer had various ceremonies and opportunities in which to give “free will” offerings to the Lord. It appears that a tithe was simply the starting point.

 

In the New Testament a tithe or tenth is not stipulated. We are told, however, that the believer should give to the Lord what he is happy to give so that the giving is done with a joyous heart. God loves a cheerful giver.

 

We must never see this as an opportunity to hold back from God and to keep more for ourselves. It is not an excuse to give less. The 2 Corinthians passage is encouraging generosity not frugality or penny-pinching towards God. It would be advantageous to start with a tithe or a tenth of your income as your weekly giving. Prayerfully ask God how much more He would have you give and then give joyfully to the Lord’s work. In practice this could mean setting aside your tithe for the Lord’s work in general as determined by your local church and giving that to the church in the general collection. Prayerfully consider how much extra God would have you give for mission work, for special needs and for unplanned needs that the church comes across.

 

Even though we should always be cautious when using statistics, they can give us a guide to reality. The average annual Australian income is roughly $73,000 per working person, including overtime and bonuses. If every working person in the congregation tithed then each 10 people should be able to support a full time Christian worker. That of course, would overload our churches but that extra funding could be used to support Christian workers overseas or even locally in churches that can’t afford a full time minster, youth worker, children’s worker etc.

 

While it is very hard to find consistent figures for giving in Australia, estimates range from a few dollars per person to around $13.00 per person per week. After much research, I could not find any site that suggested that the average giving per person was in line with a tenth of the annual income per person. Based on the above average income figures weekly giving averages out to about 0.2% to 0.9% of annual income. Statistically we are not even giving 1% (which is 1 tenth of a tithe) of our annual income to the Lord.

 

Rather than seeing giving to God as a chore or a negative thing to avoid at all costs, we need to re-evaluate our stance. The Teacher encourages us to find satisfaction in our work. That satisfaction should include our giving because when we give back to God with a grateful heart, it becomes a fragrant offering acceptable to the Lord. Giving generously will only add to our work satisfaction, not detract from it.

 

Prayer:

Write down at least one prayer point in each category based on the following verse.

We were not idle when we were with you, nor did we eat anyone’s food without paying for it.. On the contrary, we worked night and day, labouring and toiling so that we would not be a burden to any of you.

2 Thessalonians 3:7b-8

Adoration:

 

Confession:

 

Thanks:

 

Supplication:

¥ Pray that your church would be a generous church where believers give generously to the work of the Lord. Pray that each believer would give to the Lord’s work with a cheerful heart. Pray that as we sow generously, we would also reap generously.

Pray that your church would be able to continue to financially support the missionaries and agencies it has pledged to support. Ask God to richly bless those in your congregation who are generous in their giving.

 

Discussion Questions For Families and Groups

1. Should a church talk about, teach or preach on giving and tithing? Why or why not?

2. What role does giving play in our walk with God?

3.  How does withholding one’s giving affect one’s walk with God?

4. How does being exceedingly generous in giving affect one’s walk with God?