Matthew 6:1-4
1 “Be careful not to practice your righteousness in front of people, to be seen by them. Otherwise, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven. 2 So whenever you give to the poor, don’t sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be applauded by people. I assure you: They’ve got their reward! 3 But when you give to the poor, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, 4 so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
Matthew 6:19-24
19 “Don’t collect for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal. 20 But collect for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys, and where thieves don’t break in and steal. 21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.
22 “The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eye is good, your whole body will be full of light. 23 But if your eye is bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. So if the light within you is darkness-how deep is that darkness!
24 “No one can be a slave of two masters, since either he will hate one and love the other, or be devoted to one and despise the other. You cannot be slaves of God and of money.
Related Text:
Proverbs 11:24-25
Mark 10:17-31
Luke 6:38
Luke 12:32-34
Acts 20:32-35
2 Corinthians 9:6-15
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You might Not Finish This
Churches and Christian ministries wouldn’t have to spend their time raising funds if followers of Jesus gave graciously, the way that the Bible lays it out for us. Instead, these organizations could spend their fund-raising time and energy on changing the world. They wouldn’t have to worry about the hurdle of raising money for missions, they would just go because the money would already be there if we all gave with the attitude that God wants us to have. But sadly, there are plenty more takers than givers, and raising money is an issue for Christian organizations all around.
During the Old Testament times, people were required by Law to give a portion of their income (called a tithe) to support God’s work. But in the New Testament, Jesus emphasizes the attitude of the heart more than the amount given. A tithe that is given with a bad attitude or a rotten heart has no meaning for the giver. God wants followers of Jesus to learn to give freely and cheerfully. (see 2 Cor. 9:7)
The old joke in a Sunday morning church service sounds something like this: the preacher warns his congregation that he’s about to give a sermon on giving, but jokingly begs them all to stay in their seats. He jokingly begs because, of course, no one wants to listen to a guy tell them to give away their money.
Let me be bold as I submit this idea: if we all had a correct, godly attitude about tithing and giving, these church sermons about money would be some of the most interesting and impactful in our lives. We would be eager to see what the Holy Spirit would put on our hearts. We would be excited to learn if there was someone or some organization that needed our financial resources and help so that the Good News and love of God would reach untold numbers of people. We would understand that we are participating in the Great Commission by helping fund missionaries, mission trips, and global and local outreach all for the sake of Jesus who gave up His life for us. We wouldn’t be bored or uncomfortable during these types of sermons if our hearts and minds and attitudes were right with God. We would be pumped to hear about new areas to serve God!
I hope we all humble ourselves and figure out before it’s too late that all that we have is given by God; it’s all His anyway. As you give, you will learn that God will take care of you. You can never outgive God.
~ to borrow an idea from Francis Chan, author of the book “Crazy Love”, let me say this: Jesus tells us to love God and love others. He tells us to love our enemies and pray for them. He tells us that we must love others the same as we love ourselves. In light of these truths from Jesus, shouldn’t we spend as much money on others as we do on ourselves? Shouldn’t we spend as much time and energy on helping and reaching out to others as we do on keeping our own lives comfortable?
Jesus never told us to go to church on Sunday mornings. He didn’t ask us to go to Wednesday night activities with our church. God never asked for part of our lives. He never asked us to be obedient only in certain areas. He didn’t ask us to clock in to being a Christian, and clock out when we want to. Jesus requires our whole life, everything! As Christians, as followers of Jesus, He requires that we give Him our complete self. To deny ourselves, to lose our life for Him, to drop everything that we think makes us who we are and follow Him so we can find out how to become who He wants us to be. To lose our life so that in Jesus, we will be saved. To live for Jesus who died for us. It’s no longer about us. Our old self is gone. It’s about God in us, about Jesus living in us and through us, about total surrender to God’s plans. When we realize this, when our hearts are conformed to God’s, when our attitudes are correctly aligned with Jesus, we will connect with other Christians at church because we want to, not out of obligation. We will learn what it means to serve God, to love God and to love others. We will serve others because we love them so much. We will tap into the peace and strength and love that comes from knowing Jesus. We will want to be totally obedient. We will seek to surrender our lives for the sake of Jesus who died for us.
