Christian Giving

Some people are grudging givers. Whether it be giving to the family, giving to the poor or giving for the support of the Church, they are reluctant to dip into their pockets or to help in other ways. Meanness is a vice that is universally despised, but are you mean in your giving? When you must give obedience to your mother do you give it with dragging feet? When you have to give a helping hand do you give it unwillingly? When those of you who earn some money have to give some of it for the funds of your congregation or for missionary work are you hesitant, disinclined and grudging?

The Bible asks, "What hast thou that thou didst not receive?" We are totally indebted to Cod. In Him we live and move and have our being. In His kind providence He opens His hand and liberally gives all kinds of good things to us. How shameful then to be unwilling to give to Him a part of what he has given us! How sinful to hold back the portion which He demands of us or to give it with a mean mind and grudging heart!

How are we to give? Willingly! Heartily! Cheerfully! We are to follow the example of the men in King David's day who "offered willingly, and gave for the service of the house of God..." A wealthy nobleman, with some hesitation, gave a guinea to Andrew Fuller for missionary work. Mr. Fuller looked him in the face and gravely asked, "Does this donation, sir, come from your heart? If it does not, I wish not to receive it." The nobleman was quite overcome by this frankness and taking ten guineas from his purse, said, "There, sir, these come from my heart."

We must also give generously. "The tithe," said one preacher, "is not meant to be a ceiling at which we stop giving, but a floor from which we start." 'The word 'alms'," said another, "has no singular, as if to teach us that a solitary act of charity scarcely deserves the name." With regard to Christian giving, the Bible says, "See that ye abound in this grace also." When King Hezekiah instructed the people about giving for the service of the temple at Jerusalem they "brought in abundance"—a good example to follow.

Ought we not to give lovingly? Love is at the root of the best giving. "It is possible to give without loving, but it is impossible to love without giving." The prime example of giving is that of the blessed Savior. He gave Himself for the church, and behind that giving there was His love. He "loved the church and gave himself for it." Dr. White, a missionary, saw two Africans each dividing his wages of thirty shillings into two heaps. Why? "One half is for the Lord," said one. "God only asks for a tenth — three shillings, not fifteen shillings," said Dr. White. "But, Bwana," one of them quickly replied, "we love Him far more than that."

You may be tempted to think that you will be the loser by giving. Never! "Whatever we part with for God's sake," said Matthew Henry, "shall be made up to us in kind or kindness." This couplet says the same thing:

A man there was, and some did
count him mad:
The more he gave away,
the more he had.

One reason why so many people are grudging when it comes to giving to the cause of Christ is that they have never given themselves to Christ. You see, believers are those who by grace have given themselves to the Savior. In a day of His power they have been made willing persons so that they obeyed His call, "Give me thine heart." By His grace they are obedient to the requirement. "Present your bodies a living sacrifice unto God, which is your reasonable service." They have the same attitude to Christ as the followers of King David had to him when they said, 'Thine are we, David." How beautiful are these words of Paul about Christ, "Whose I am, and whom I serve." Now, there was a man who spent and was spent for Christ. May we follow his example giving ourselves to the Lord and not hesitating to give to Him a part of what, after all, has been given to us by Himself.

Finally, here is the Scripture rule about giving, "Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver." May you never forget the words of Jesus: "It is more blessed to give than to receive."

Rev. N. Ross is editor of the Young People's Magazine and pastor in the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

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