It is stewardship time. We did the Time and Talent Survey last week. The response was good and since the areas of service were expanded (including new things people might actually want to do!) we might have some new energy to assist the long time volunteers.
In the next few weeks we will talk about the giving of money. I used to dread this annual event. Who likes to get people to give? I now kind of like talking about giving. Here is my evolution. Several years ago my Stewardship committee was frustrated. The standard stewardship drive was not working. People were giving the same (low) amount regardless of what was said in worship. So out of desperation we tried another approach. The approach was to simply share the bibles teachings on giving. Here is what I learned.
1. The bible talks about giving as a response to God's generosity. In I Corinthians 16:2 Paul tells us to make giving a regular part of our spiritual disciplines. "On the first day of the week, each of you is to put aside money based on what you earned..so that you can give it during collection of offerings." Paul took legalism and obligation out of the law. Christians worship and give in joyful response to God's loving offering in Jesus Christ--not because it is a requirement set down way back during the Exodus. Paul simplified Christian charity:
We give proportionally based on what we earn.
We do it regularly to meet needs.
We give it joyfully.
The Old Testament has a strict standard of giving. The first 1/10th was expected to be given to the Priests at harvest time and special appeals were made in addition to that tithe. The New Testament talks about giving based on ability. The concept of percentage or proportional giving was established. People have different income levels and different responsibilities. If everyone gave the same dollar amount this would be unfair because incomes vary widely. Unfortunately in America, the most generous are the poorest. People with incomes under $25,000 give 8% of income but people over $100,000 give less then 2%. Something is wrong here. Part of the problems is that we spend everything we make and our expectations for what we "need" to live rises with our incomes. The Methodist founder Wesley used to say save 10% and give 10% (my personal rule) and live off the rest. But Wesley was frugal and as his income rose (he sold lots of books) he lived at the same level and gave away more each year. Rick Warren makes so much on "The Purpose Driven Life" book sales that he gives away 90% of his royalties. He simply doesn't need the money.
When your income reaches the level of Maryland residents (did you see that Maryland now has the highest per person income in the nation) truly giving 5% or 10% of your income means writing checks that add up to real money. Recently Andrea and i figured that if we didn't tithe we could easily afford this lakeside home we stayed at on our summer vacation.
2. We need to learn to be contend with our place in life. In other words, money shouldn't change who we are and what we believe. Philippians 4:11 "I have learned to be content with whatever I have."
The issue of contentment opens a whole can of worms. Are we spiritually grounded so that we don't judge our happiness based on comparisons with other people? If God has graciously overwhelmed us with more then we could ever need, why are people so unhappy and so worried about the economy?
I believe that if we were growing spiritually and we were connected with people who affirmed our values and shared our commitments, we wouldn't worry about having more and better things. I happen to hate spending money on stuff for myself but love sending checks to organizations I feel are doing good work. I seldom eat dinner out because it takes too much time and it reduces the amount of money I can use better elsewhere. My level of contentment has far less to do with money and much more to do if I think I am being an effect pastor and if I am doing a competent job as a father and husband.
What factors have to do with your level of contentment?
I need some help on this topic for Nov 18th.
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4 comments:
James, Nice article in the Post this morning on this subject. It was in the Metro section and the subject was along the lines of what constitutes rich. It used to be, that if you had a 6 figure income, you were rich. Now, in this area, $200K is more like a moderate income and $100K is median for a couple counties in Northern Virginia. That kind of comparison always makes me envious and DIS-contented.
Toward the end of the article there was a discussion that is you have running water, inside plumbing, etc., then you are rich.
Contentment I believe, has a lot to do with who you are comparing yourself with.
Another aspect of tithing, especially as it relates to the OT...it was a faith issue. The very act of giving 1/10 of your income as the first act of harvest, was putting your faith in God that there would be enough left over, and there would be a harvest next year. In the minor prophets,God threw down the challenge, "Test me in this..." to see if I (God) keep my word. Also in the OT context, there was a greater focus related to giving, that was Sabbath Year and the Year of Jubliee. This was when you trusted God to provide, and did NO farming. The Israelites never observed the 7 year rest, and one of the curses of the Exile (From II Chronicles) was that God said, "You never allowed the land to rest...now I will give it a rest."
Ooops. More babbling...
Why don't people respond to the blog?
I think that most of us are just pretty busy. I've enjoyed reading this and I always have a comment but I don't always have time to actually MAKE the comment.
I also think that it is kind of intimidating to blog on such a heart-felt issue. It’s scary to have a conversation about religion when you are discussing it with people who have studied it so intensely. I know that I’m intimidated because my knowledge on the subject is so limited. I feel like a first grader among people with Doctorates!
I’ll bet that many people are reading and learning and that’s a good thing! Keep it up! Thanks…Carrie
My father always said, "I've been rich and I've been poor. Rich is better." I'm rich and content. I used to think I needed more things than I do now. Perhaps as I get older things mean less. I have all I need and i feel blessed.
Sue
I think giving what you have is pretty easy. If you have money, it's easy to give it. Giving what is hard to give, like time and attention to others and love and encouragement to all those in need is far more valuable to those who need it. And I think more of a true test of who you are.
I am content when I feel I have done right by those who depend on me. I consider giving 1/10 of my time as important as giving 1/10 of my money--especially since that's such a small amount. I still get to learn the lesson that the more I give, the more I get. That seems worth more to me than a pile of money and a list of things.
I wonder if you substituted Love in place of Money when it comes to stewardship what the response would be.
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