A Christian And His Money

The whole question of the believer and his money is so involved and so intimate that one hesitates to approach a consideration of it. 

Yet it is of such grave importance that one who desires to qualify as a good servant of Christ Dare Not Avoid It lest he be found wanting in the day of reckoning.
 
Someone should tackle the problem in the light of Scripture. 

God's people will have reason to thank the man who has the courage to deal with it.
 
Four considerations should govern our Christian giving...

They are: (1) That we give regularly; (2) that we give from a right motive; (3) that we give enough in proportion to what we possess, and (4) that we give to the right place or places.
 
First, we should see to it that we give of our substance to the Lord with regularity. 

It is so very easy to fall into the habit of forgetting to do this. 

We tell ourselves that we are not able to give at the moment, but that when we are better fixed financially we shall catch up on our giving.
 
Or we assure ourselves that while we do not give regularly we no doubt give far beyond our tenth, if the truth were known. 

These are sure ways to deceive ourselves. 

Spotty, unregular giving has a way of appearing far greater than it is. 

We would likely be quite shocked if we took the trouble to find out just how little we really give that way.
 
Then we must give from a right motive. 

Money paid to a church or missionary society may be for the giver money wasted unless he first makes sure that his heart is in his gift. 

Gifts that do not carry the heart with them may do the receiver some good, but it is certain that they will bring the giver no reward. "Though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor... and have not charity(love), it profiteth me nothing."
 
Then it is also important that we give enough in proportion to what we possess. 

The story of the widow and her two mites makes this very clear. 

The widow gave out of her "poverty," and though her gift was small it was in the sight of God a far greater treasure than all the huge sums donated by the rich "out of their abundance." 

This is a Solemn Warning and we shall do well to Heed It.
 
We humans judge "after the sight of our eyes" and so are prone to make a great deal over a large donation and pass over the small ones without comment.

By so doing we are letting ourselves in for a fearful shock in the day of Christ. 

The safest rule to appraise our giving and determine our expectations in the day of rewards is this...

Remember, my giving will be rewarded not by how much I gave but by how much I had left. 

Ministers are sometimes tempted to shy away from such doctrine as this lest they offend the important givers in their congregation. 

But it is better to Offend Men than to grieve the blessed Spirit of God which dwells in the church. 

No man ever yet killed a true church by withdrawing his gifts from it because of a personal offense.
 
The Church of the Firstborn is not dependent upon the patronage of men. 

No man has ever been able really to harm a church by boycotting it financially. 

The moment we admit that we fear the displeasure of the carnal givers in our congregations we admit also that our congregations are not of heaven but of the earth. 

A heavenly church will enjoy a heavenly and supernatural prosperity.
 
She cannot be starved out. 

The Lord Will Supply her needs.
 
That we place our gifts intelligently is also of vital importance if we would please our Heavenly Father and save those gifts from the fate of "wood, hay and stubble" at the coming of our Lord.

The matter of where to give is a large one, and one that we had all better settle while we can. 

Careless, unintelligent and prejudiced giving is wasting millions of consecrated dollars among evangelical Christians. 

Many believers toss their gifts around as if they did not expect to give an account of them to the Lord. 

They have not found the mind of the Lord on the question of their own giving, so they become the prey of anyone who happens along with an interesting story.

In this way innumerable religious rackets are enabled to flourish which should Never Receive One Cent from serious-minded and God-honoring people.
 
Now, we are quite aware that the reply to the above could be a polite request that we stay in our own back yard and let people put their own money where they please; after all it is theirs, and what they do with it is their own affair.

But it is not that simple.

If we must Give Account of every idle word, surely we must also Give Account of every idle dollar. 

Spotty, prayerless and whimsical giving will come under the just scrutiny of God in the day when He judges every work of men. 

We can do something about this whole thing now. 

Very soon it will be too late.

~A. W. Tozer~