To Give More Than We Can Spare

We have all heard this verse...

"Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.  But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy and where thieves do not break in and steal.  For where your treasure is, there your heart will be  also." (Matthew 6:19-21)

and...

"If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven.  Then come, follow me."  (Matthew 19:21)

So as Christians, what do our personal finances look like?  How much of our income do we give away?  Is it 10%?  Is it more?  One friend I know once told me he did a reverse tithe...he gave 90% of his income for a summer to the Church.  That is pretty intense!!  So what are we called to give?

I would like to share with you a few things that I have heard or read on the subject of Christian giving recently.

A few weeks ago I attended a service at Oxford Bible Fellowship here in Oxford, OH with my wife, my parents and brother.  The pastor was speaking that day on giving (the dreaded sermon by all pastors and congregants alike).  He had some pretty interesting things to say.  He gave us many statistics on Christian Giving, our relative place in the world according to our income (see "Poor or Less Rich" below), and what Americans are spending their money on.

Pastor Jeremy Carr asked us if we had thought about how much to give to the Church this year.  He proposed that the real tragedy is that most of us probably hadn't even thought about how much money we were going to put in the offering plate that morning until it came down our aisle.  We just looked around to see what others were giving so we wouldn't look too cheap, or maybe just crumpled up a dollar bill or two so it might look like a $5 or a $10 bill.  Sadly, he was totally right.

C.S. Lewis said in his book Mere Christianity this...

"I'm afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare.  In other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc., is up to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are probably giving away too little.  If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper us, I should say they are too small.  There ought to be things we should like to do and cannot do because our charities expenditure excludes them."

How much money do you make right now?  Do you know someone that makes a similar annual income?  What does their lifestyle look like?  Is yours equal to theirs?  I don't believe that this means we should give to the point where we are living in poverty.  Maybe this means that if we make $50,000/yr we live as though we make $40,000 - $45,000.  Or if we make $1,000,000/yr we live as though we make $800,000 - $900,000.  

Most of us can still give far beyond the standard 10% (although if you look at a church's list of annual giving it probably only adds up to 2-3% of what the congregation actually made that year).  We will not have to live a life of poverty to give a little more than we are comfortable with.

My challenge to you would be to take the time to think about what you are going to give to the Church and worthy charities this year, or even this month.  If you have an income, budget some giving into it.  Even if you are in high school or middle school and only make $50 every now and them when you mow a few lawns.  Think about what you can give to the Church and God's people.  My wife and I are doing the same.

Poor or Less Rich?

In the midst of writing my next intended post on "suffering," I have been interrupted by a strong urge to talk about the financial struggles of our nation. Now, if you are anything like me, you are sick and tired of hearing about the recession. I will never sit here and say that it isn't a problem, or that our nation and world doesn't need to address our financial "system." That is beside the point I want to make. I am sick and tired of hearing about how bad everybody has it. I am sick and tired of hearing about how hard of times these are. I am sick and tired of hearing about how poor we are. Even if the recession keeps digging deeper, America remains richer than 99% of the world.

Last year America spent 8 billion (with a B, not M), 8 BILLION dollars on elective cosmetic surgery.* America spent over 15 billion (again with a B) dollars on pet food in 2008.* You know all of that tasty ice cream we buy in the heat of the summer to quench our sweet tooth? Yeah, America spent about 20 billion dollars on ice cream last year.

So what's with all of these random facts about how we spend billions of dollars? World Vision estimates that 7 billion dollars a year could essentially answer all known issues of hunger, clean water, and shelter for the world. Think about that.

Just $1 a day can provide food, water, and basic needs for 1 hungry person. Clean water might not seem like a big issue, but do you know that clean water in Africa can help prevent some diseases exacerbated by AIDS?

If someone told you that we could CURE HUNGER and that we could PROVIDE CLEAN WATER to the WHOLE WORLD, what would you say?
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"How?"

"Oh well, just give up about 1/4th of the amount you spend on ice cream, and we'll take that money and save the world of hunger every year."
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Maybe that might not seem amazing too you when you first hear it. Maybe you think hunger is just the person on the side of the interstate with a sign that reads "hungry, anything helps." Maybe you think hunger is just a show, put on by the people scamming you downtown, as they play their instruments after sporting events. Or maybe you don't know that 20 people have died from hunger and unsanitary water since you have begun reading this blog. Or maybe no one told you that the average age of a person suffering from lack of food and water is 9. Or that most of the world's hungry are children, who will be beating the odds if they live past the age of 5.

Yes, stats are not everything. Yes, I am so, so very sorry if you or someone you know has lost their job in the last year during this recession. Please know I am not making fun or you, nor am I not sympathetic. I'm simply saying let us put some perspective on this "crisis." Are we really going to complain about being poor? Are we really going to focus so much on how hard we have it?

Collectively this is a big problem. I want to provide for my family, I need a job, I understand; but take of your blindfold and look at the world! Look at how poor the world is. Look at what we have ignored. Look at how rich you really are. Look at how our crisis is nothing, yes NOTHING compared to the real poor in this world.

Might you think I have gone overboard? Maybe I've been minimizing the problem, exaggerating the situation, and miss-interpreting the stats. Ok. Some of us might really be struggling to make ends meet, to pay for our house, to make the loan payments, to pay the bills, to get food on the table. But, if you are reading this blog, you probably could fall in that "richer than 99% of the world" category. Food, water, and shelter are the most basic of needs; and somehow we will find a way to sacrifice our internet, computer, tv, car, phone, ect. Somehow many of us will know somebody who can, and will help lend a hand to get out of trouble. Most people in the world don't have our luxury.

I believe this is an issues of being more comfortable. For lack of a better phrase, we need to check our lifestyle. Look at America, we are not poor, we are just less comfortable than what we used to be. We cant afford to get that 42-inch HDTV anymore. We can't afford to buy 2 houses. We can't afford the new Mustang. Our cities can't afford billion dollar sporting venues (that's a post for another time). The point is we aren't Poor, we are just less Rich.

I will be praying for our country, and I know America will make it through another recession. But I pray that maybe this recession can help open the eyes of America to see how rich we really are. Perhaps we can compare our "crisis" with the crisis that has plagued the rest of the world forever. Perhaps we can put just as much time and energy into fixing the world's bigger crisis (the poor, starving, and dying), as we do trying to fix our financial crisis (stimulate the economy and put more Flat Screen TV's back on our walls).

I will also be praying for the American Church (and when I say American Church, I mean all the believers in America). I pray that God may lead us through Christ Jesus to respond to this crisis in the world. I won't hesitate to say that most American Christians (including myself) forget that Christ was broke PLUS homeless. Most of us forget that he more than likely had no possessions to his name. We try to leave out the parts in the gospel where he calls us to give up our possessions and wealth for the sake of the poor, hungry, thirsty, and oppressed.

Am I saying give up all you have, be a poor, be a nomad, and share Christ with the world? Maybe. Maybe Not. There's no way to cover this topic in one post. Matthew 25:31-46 is a good start. Don't let me stop you from hearing how God leads you to respond.