Is it Giving?

In this culture, you learn early on that money is power.  The bully on the schoolyard demands money.  We assume the wealthy deserve our respect and the lower class our disdain.  We may think we know better, but our behaviors suggest a deep and abiding connection between having money and the assumption of smart, talented, capable, deserving and the absence of money and an assumption of dumb, untalented, incapable, and undeserving.

So American Christians with this ingrained assumption, an assumption that is so deep in us that we sometimes don't even recognize it, we money-is-power-Christians bump right into God's request to be generous givers.  Oh.  Us?!  Oh.  OK... Us?  Really?  Oh.  OK...

We, therefore, give.  Generously.  Or at least as generously as we can.  Because first, this whole giving thing should be shared by everyone.  And not everyone gives...not by a long shot.  So we'll give, but some, not all...because that will "encourage" those who don't give to do so.  If we supported the budget with a tithe, then other people would think they didn't need to give.  We could be 100% generous, but everyone should be involved first.

We give.  Generously.  Or at least as generously as we can.  Because second, we have these responsibilities.  We have to provide for our families.  Phones.  Cable TV.  Nice home...maybe even a little nicer than we can afford because it will give us our kids a leg up in a world that judges worth by what you have.  Hey, it's the way things are.  God wants us to take care of our children, and we need to give them all we can.  We need to put them in a position to succeed.

We give.  Generously.  Or at least as generously as we can.  Because...and probably most important...the church is always giving money to causes we don't agree with or doing something with it that we think is stupid.  And if not our local congregation, certainly those other people.  Who knows who they are or what they believe.  We certainly don't want our hard-earned dollars going to something we either don't know about or don't believe in.  There's got to be some controls in place.

So why doesn't our giving produce the promised blessing from God?  Why doesn't our faith grow?  Why don't our churches thrive?  Why don't people see the grace of God in our lives?

Is it generous giving if it is power?

"Each of you must give as you have made up your mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.  And God is able to provide you with every blessing in abundance, so that by always having enough of everything, you may share abundantly in every good work...for the rendering of this ministry not only supplies the needs of the saints but also overflows with many thanksgivings to God."  2 Corinthians 9:7-8, 12