Circuit Rider magazine reports that Dwight L. Moody once said that standing just beside the ministry martyrs in heaven will be the church fundraisers. As a pastor I can testify to the challenge of preaching about giving. Someone has said that the most sensitive nerve in the body is the one going from the heart to the wallet!
It’s easy to understand why we tiptoe around the subject of stewardship. Money is still a god to many people, and some newcomers are skeptical of the church’s motives. Certain spiritual con-men have fleeced their congregations and given preachers a bad name, and we don’t want to be identified with them.
But it’s that connection — where our treasure is, there our heart will be — that makes the matter of giving so pivotal in our own spiritual growth. Every time we take a significant step in stewardship, we mark a significant spiritual victory. We refuse to buy into the world’s deception that our self-worth is determined by our net worth. Jesus certainly aids us in the task. Sixteen of the thirty-eight parables were concerned with how to handle money and possessions. In the gospels, an amazing one out of ten verses (288 in all) deal directly with the subject of money. The Bible offers 500 verses on prayer, less than 500 on faith, but more than 2,000 verses on money and possessions.
I’ve learned not to apologize for preaching about money. We are ambassadors of Christ, not negotiators. I have the confidence that preaching about money is God’s will and will strengthen people’s relationship with Christ. I have come to believe that people want to give. But people aren’t motivated to give their best only in order to meet a church budget. We give when we recognize the difference our giving makes in the lives of people. We give when it brings glory to God and edifies, builds up, God’s realm in our community.
I have discovered over the years that most people want to be generous. In the Old Testament, God commanded his people to tithe — 10 percent of their crops and flocks were returned to God. In our era God has given us Jesus Christ, the indwelling Holy Spirit, the fellowship of the church, the privilege of living in the most affluent nation in the world, plus so many personal blessings. Yet when we ask how much we should give, God just says, “Give as much as you have been prospered.” You decide whether that should be more or less than a tithe.
Jesus made it clear there’s a close tie between people’s pocketbooks and their hearts. He didn’t say, “If a person’s heart is right, he or she will give.” He said, “When you invest your money in something, your heart will follow.” When the church provides you an opportunity to give, we’re helping you put your heart in the right place. Our emphasis is not about fund-raising. It’s about a better stewardship of life.
