Currently Reading The Scandal of the Evangelical Conscience: Why Are Christians Living Just Like the Rest of the World? By Ronald J. Sider see related

With yesterday’s sermon on giving, I finished a series from the Wisdom Literature of the Old Testament entitled Money Matters.  I cut yesterday's sermon a bit shorter than I expected, leaving out some of the practical suggestions I intended to offer.  So, I am going to include them here. 

Preliminaries: 1) If you would like to listen to the sermon, you can download it here: http://www.springfieldvineyard.org/sermons.asp.  It should be posted in a few days.  I think it will provide an important context for the rest of this post.  2) In the sermon, I shared statistics regarding the giving habits of American Christians and basic needs of the world’s poorest inhabitants.  You can find the information I referenced in Ronald J. Sider’s book, The Scandal Of The Evangelical Conscience. 

That said, how do we implement the spiritual practice of giving in our lives?  Where do we begin?  The following suggestions aren’t original.  In fact, I am embarrassingly unoriginal here.  Still, I think they offer a good start to embracing the spiritual practice of giving and beginning to make a difference in our world. 

First suggestion: Give first.  Following is one of the scriptures we looked at yesterday morning:

(Prov 3:9-10) ⁹Honor the LORD with your wealth, with the firstfruits of all your crops; ¹⁰then your barns will be filled to overflowing, and your vats will brim over with new wine.

The author says to honor God with the firstfruits of your wealth.  I think there is great wisdom here.  For the Hebrews, the tithe wasn’t just to come from any portion of their harvest or livestock, but from the first ten percent—the firstfruits.  That way, they could resist the temptation to give the leftovers, that part of the crop that wasn’t as good or cattle that wasn’t as healthy.

The only way I have been able to stay consistent in my giving is by following this principle.  Our tithe check is the first one we write.  Actually, we now automate our tithe.  It’s built in discipline.  That way, we organize the rest of our life around our giving rather than trying to fit it in with all of our other obligations.  As someone who has struggled with finances and giving in the past, this has been a crucial discipline for me.  If I don’t give first, I don’t give.  I think this is why we see this principle, this wisdom, offered in scripture.  It helps us honor God and make a difference in our world.  This is part of what I mean by “give first.” 

Our family gives 10% of our income to the church.  Giving to other ministries or causes is above and beyond the 10%.  There might be precedent for this in the Hebrew Scriptures.  There, Israelites were told to bring the tithe into the storehouse (the temple).  After that, they could give other offerings above and beyond the tithe.  Years ago, I heard Larry Burkett, a Christian financial advisor, address this practice.  Basically, he said the theology worked if the church acted like a storehouse, which provided for the priests and Levites (those who served in the temple and led the people in worship) and for the poor.  On hearing his words, I determined to lead a church that would focus on and be generous toward the poor.  As a church, I am thankful that we do just that. 

Second suggestion: Promote justice.  Here’s a passage I didn’t get to in the sermon:

(Prov 31:6-9) ⁶Give beer to those who are perishing, wine to those who are in anguish; ⁷let them drink and forget their poverty and remember their misery no more. ⁸"Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. ⁹Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy."

We show compassion by giving to the poor, by helping them meet their needs.  We promote justice when we speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, when we defend the rights of the poor and needy.  Compassion meets needs.  Justice addresses the origins of those needs.  When we address the causes of suffering and poverty, we promote justice. 

Hunger is a big problem.  It’s hard to address other issues when basic sustenance is missing.  I think we begin to promote justice when we provide food for the poorest in the world.  Participating in advocacy groups is another way to make our voices heard and promote justice.  By getting involved with the One Project, Make Poverty History, and similar organizations, we can add our voices, votes, and finances to address some of the larger justice issues in our world.  Our involvement in Big Brothers/Big Sisters, job-training programs, and other associations can also promote justice locally.  

I’d also love to hear from you on this.  What thoughts do you have on how we as a church and as individuals can start promoting justice?  How can we speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves?  Please post comments with your thoughts.