“Now, a person who is put in charge as a manager must be faithful.” - 1 Corinthians 4:2 (NLT)
In an article in Relevant magazine, writer Mike Holmes shares the following statistics about giving in the American church:
Only 10-25% a normal congregation practice tithing.
The average Christian only gives 2.5% of their income.
If, American believers would be faithful to only practice tithing (giving 10%), there would be an additional $165 billion for churches to use and distribute in a year. The global impact would be phenomenal. Here’s a sample:
$25 billion could relieve global hunger, starvation and deaths from preventable diseases in five years.
$12 billion could eliminate illiteracy in five years.
$15 billion could solve the world’s water and sanitation issues, specifically where 1 billion people live on less than $1 a day.
$1 billion could fully fund all overseas mission work.
$100 – $110 billion would still be left over for additional ministry expansion.
Those are some amazing numbers. But such potential can only be reached if God’s people will give faithfully. Why aren’t God’s people more faithful when it comes to giving? Well, the real problem when it comes to our giving is not about money. Actually, the Bible says it’s about our eyes. That it, how we look at things. Jesus put it this way:
“For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also. The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are healthy, your whole body will be full of light. But if your eyes are unhealthy, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness! No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and
despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.” - Matthew 6:21-24 (NIV)
The term “evil eye” is a Jewish term. A “good eye” refers to good will, benevolence and being genuinely happy when others prosper.
But an “evil eye” means the opposite. A person with an “evil eye” feels distressed when others prosper, rejoices when others suffer, loves their money and does nothing in the way of charity. So a person who does not give has an “I” problem.
When Jesus spoke about the eye, He was speaking to a largely Jewish audience who knew what He was talking about. They knew a “good eye” was a generous person and an “evil eye” was a stingy, sour Scrooge. The bottom line is that giving is a heart issue, not a money issue. Generosity has to do with the attitude of the heart.
So, what is the attitude of the child of God who gives faithfully?
1. God is the owner.
The faithful giver recognizes that God is the one who has entrusted us with what we have, because He is the source of everything.
“The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.” - Psalm 24:1 (NIV)
When God created man, it’s clear that man’s assignment was to manage of all the creation God had given him (Genesis 1:28).
But man chose to live life according to what he thought to be right and wrong; good and evil; rather than take God’s word for it. And part of the significance of man’s sin was that through choosing to go his own way as opposed to God’s way, man chose to manage everything he touched as though it belonged to him; not God. This is a part of the curse that sin has brought on the human race - greed and selfishness, and all the injustice associated with those attitudes.
We should not be surprised then, that in saving us and transforming us and making us new, that God calls us to adopt a different attitude than the world has toward those things we have in our possession. He calls us to embrace our original assignment.
“You may say to yourself, ‘My power and the strength of my hands have produced this wealth for me.’ But remember the LORD your God, for it is he who gives you the ability to produce wealth.” - Deuteronomy 8:17-18a (NIV)
“Every faculty you have, your power of thinking or of moving your limbs from moment to moment, is given you by God. If you devoted every moment of your whole life exclusively to His service, you could not give Him anything that was not in a sense His own already.” - C. S. Lewis, Mere Christianity
When I see God as owner, I look to His Word to learn how to give in a way that pleases Him. Which means I’ll give at least 10% to His work through my church and offerings beyond my tithe as He leads. And when I see God as owner, I look to Him in prayer to hear what He has to say about how I might grow in the grace of giving, and I’ll give as He directs. Because God is the owner and . . .
2. I am the manager.
Recognizing that I am the manager brings to me a sense of:
A. Responsibility. God has entrusted what He has given to me . . .
1) For the sake of myself and my family.
“But if anyone does not provide for his own, and especially for those of his household, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever.” - 1 Timothy 5:8 (NKJV)
2) For the sake of others.
“Use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.” - Ephesians 4:28b (NLT)
3) For the sake of the Gospel.
“I thank my God in every remembrance of you, always offering every prayer of mine with joy [and with specific requests] for all of you, [thanking God] for your participation and partnership [both your comforting fellowship and gracious contributions] in [advancing] the good news [regarding salvation] from the first day [you heard it] until now.” - Philippians 1:3-5 (Amplified)
4) For the sake of the future.
“Know the state of your flocks, and put your heart into caring for your herds, for riches don’t last forever, and the crown might not be passed to the next generation.” - Proverbs 27:23-24 (NLT)
“Christianity is always one generation away from extinction.” - Anonymous
“Although God gives us ‘all things richly to enjoy’ (1 Timothy 6:17), nothing is ours. Nothing really belongs to us. God owns everything; we’re responsible for how we treat it and what we do with it. While we complain about our rights here on earth, the Bible constantly asks, What about your responsibilities? Owners have rights; stewards have responsibilities.” - Bill Peel, Leadership Is Stewardship
B. Relief.
As long as I’m being responsible and careful with what God has entrusted to me, I can know that when something beyond my control happens, it is not my problem. It’s God’s “problem”!“And God is able to make all grace [every favor and earthly blessing] come in abundance to you, so that you may always [under all circumstances, regardless of the need] have complete sufficiency in everything [being completely self-sufficient in Him], and have an abundance for every good work and act of charity.” - 2 Corinthians 9:8 (Amplified)
“Where God guides, He provides.” - Anonymous
C. Reward.
“In all the work you are given, do the best you can. Work as though you are working for the Lord, not any earthly master. Remember that you will receive your reward from the Lord, who will give you what he promised his people. Yes, you are serving Christ. He is your real Master.” - Colossians 3:23-24 (Easy to Read)
In the parable of the talents (Matthew 25:14-30) we learn that managers who do the master’s will with the master’s resources can
expect to receive their master’s reward. Every believer should long to hear our Master say to us what the master says to the faithful managers in this parable:
“The master answered, ‘You did right. You are a good servant who can be trusted. You did well with that small amount of money. So I will let you care for much greater things. Come and share my happiness with me.’ ” - Matthew 25:21 (Easy to Read)
Now, we should all long to hear the Lord’s commendation on that day we see him face to face. But there is another aspect of reward for
faithfulness that I want us to also think about.
Some say that this parable is teaching us that if you’re faithful with a little money, God will give you more money. Others say it means that if you’re faithful in a small job, God will give you a more important job (although both statements may be true). Rather, to understand this parable, we need to see that the “greater things” referred to by our Lord is the opportunity to participate with Him in the work of the Kingdom.
