What Kind of Giver Are You?
II Corinthians 9: 6-11
From Romans to Philemon, Paul’s letters to seven churches and three individuals form the
foundation of Christian theology.
In those letters, he writes of sin and grace, death and resurrection, marriage and family, proper
worship, church government, paying taxes (yes, he really did!), and money. He talked about money a lot
(so did Jesus for that matter).
And he did so not to provide a text for future ministers when they talk about stewardship, but
because he knew that money can be a brutal and merciless taskmaster if we let it become one.
And in this very familiar passage, he reminds us that God loves a cheerful giver. Of course, as it
has been said, He also accepts from a grouch. But just what does grouchy giving say to the Lord of all the
universe, from whom all things come?
We all wish the world was filled with just cheerful givers – certainly Stewardship Commissions
do! But we know there are other kinds of givers. And, just perhaps, there is a little of those other kinds
in all of us. So, while I hope none of us see ourselves in the kinds of givers I am going to introduce to all
of you, well, if you do, then perhaps you need to cheer up when the offering plate gets passed!
There is the ‘It’s my duty to give’ kind of giver – you know, the person who gives to the church
because it is expected; it is the thing we are all supposed to do, even if we don’t like it.
A former member of the church came up to me several years ago after our Christmas pageant
and handed me an envelope. He said: “This is my dues for the year.” Well, I wanted to cringe.
I told him that while God is due everything from us, He doesn’t expect dues. Neither does His
church. We give instead out of gratitude and devotion. What I really wanted to say, and I let tact take
over – which looking back, I probably shouldn’t have, because what did I have to lose, was: If you are
only giving God dues, if you only support the work of the church because you feel you are supposed to,
if your gift to the church has little to do with your relationship with God, then nothing you give will really
make a difference – to you.
I suppose it didn’t, because like I said, this conversation was with a former member.
God loves a cheerful giver. But one who only pays his dues? Well, that’s not very cheerful. And it
doesn’t change us.
The second giver I had in mind is the ‘Customer is always right’ giver.
Ben Franklin went to church one Sunday to hear a minister who had recently arrived in
Philadelphia. He was so impressed with the minister as he began preaching that he decided to put all the
money he had with him in the offering plate. Alas, the minister went on with no ‘and finally…’ in sight.
Which made Franklin decide to put only half of what was in his pocket in the offering plate. And by the
time the minister did reach ‘and finally,’ Franklin was so perturbed that he actually considered taking
money out of the offering plate when it came past.
There was actually a member of our church – former as well, because he entered the Kingdom
some years ago - who told me that the offering should always follow the sermon, since that would be a
way to respond to what was said or left unsaid from the pulpit.
Well, most Sundays we do have the offering after the sermon, but as a way to respond to what
God is doing and where He is taking us.
Because what if we all gave to God based on the sermon or the hymns or the choir anthem or
whether or not the sanctuary is too hot or too cold? There are ways to address all of those issues. But
the offering, sorry old Ben, is not one of them.
God loves a cheerful giver. But one who looks at a worship service with the eye of a careful
consumer? Well, that’s not very cheerful. And it doesn’t change us.
Now that kind of giver has a cousin. It’s the ‘it’s my ball and if you don’t play by my rules, I’m
taking it and going home’ giver.
I’ve known a few of those over the years. I am sure every minister has.
Like a woman who was a member of my home church. After she died, the church discovered
that she had left a sizeable bequest to the congregation. With a stipulation. The money could only be
used to place a neon cross of top of the church steeple, tall enough and bright enough to be seen for
miles around. Apparently, she had tried to get the session to agree to her plan several times before she
died.
And each time, they turned down her request. A cross of that type would have not fit in with the
architecture of the church. Besides, would a neon cross somehow automatically bring people in droves
to the church?
But there was this bequest in the will. And nothing else could be done with the money. The
Session still decided against that neon cross, and there the money sat, gaining interest – which also
could not be used for anything else. When it could have been used for necessary capital improvements
or new ministries or missions – which might have brought more people to the church.
And when my home church closed several years ago, well, I guess that money got turned over
the Philadelphia Presbytery. And I don’t know if they did anything with it or not. The sad truth is – this
woman’s bequest could have been so useful; she just wanted things done her way.
Like I said, I’ve known a few of those type givers over the years, who are more interested in their
way than God’s way.
God loves a cheerful giver. But one who thinks he or she holds the ball? Well, that’s not very
cheerful. And it doesn’t change us.
Then there’s the ‘look at me’ giver.
A wealthy man stood up at a church meeting and gave his testimony. “I am a millionaire, he
said, and I attribute it all to the rich blessings of God in my life. I still remember the turning point in my
faith.
“I had just earned my first dollar and I went to a church meeting that night. The speaker was a
missionary who told about his work. I knew I only had a dollar bill and had to give it to God or hold on to
it myself. So at that moment, I decided to give that dollar, everything I had, to God. I believe that is why I
am a millionaire today.”
As he sat down, a hush went over the whole congregation, as they were moved by the man’s
story. Only one person spoke – a dear little old lady who was in the pew in front of him. And she said: “I
dare you to do it again!”
I guess she was a ‘put your money where your mouth is’ giver. Which is a cheerful giver!
While this wealthy man was a bit more intent on pointing out himself, rather than pointing to
God.
God loves a cheerful giver. But one whose gift is more about himself – or herself – than God?
Well, that’s not very cheerful. And it doesn’t change us.
Then there is the ‘anxiety driven’ giver. By the way, I was at a workshop last week, and our
presenter said that the biggest problem with the church today is that we are too anxious. We should
instead rely on those words from Psalm 46 – “Be still and know that I am God.”
Which leads to a man named Bob who came to his pastor’s office one afternoon. “Pastor,” he
said, “when I first started in business, I wasn’t making a lot of money, but I tithed anyway. As I received
promotions and made more money, I still tithed. But I just got a big promotion and my income is well
over six figures. And I just don’t see how I can afford to tithe that much. Do you understand?”
“Well, yes, I think so,” the pastor replied. “Why don’t we pray about it? Dear God, please reduce
Bob’s income so he can afford to tithe again.”
I don’t think that was quite what Bob was looking for. And perhaps he needed a trust
adjustment. He reminds me a lot of the rich young ruler who just couldn’t let go of what he had and
follow Jesus.
God loves a cheerful giver. But one who thinks more about what is left over than what is given?
Well, that’s not very cheerful. And it doesn’t change us.
This kind of giver has a cousin, too – one you might call a ‘bait and switch’ giver.
A father gave his son a five dollar bill and a one dollar bill as the boy left the house to go to
church. “The five dollar bill is for the offering. You can buy yourself an ice cream cone on your way home
from church with the one dollar bill (this is an old story!)”
Well, the boy came home from church, licking a huge ice cream cone – which the father knew
cost a lot more than one dollar. “What happened to the money I gave you?” the father asked. “Well,”
the boy replied, “the minister said that God loves a cheerful giver, and I figured I would be a lot more
cheerful giving the one dollar to church and getting a big ice cream cone with the five dollar bill.”
The boy knew the words but he sure didn’t recognize the tune.
God does love a cheerful giver. But someone whose idea of cheerfully is rather one-sided? Well,
that’s not very cheerful. And it doesn’t change us.
There are other types of givers – Cain, for instance, whose gift was rejected because it was the
leftovers; the Pharisees of Jesus’ time who were so intent on tithing every bit of mint and cumin in their
gardens that they never saw the needs before them; the barn builder in Jesus’ parable who was so busy
building bigger and bigger barns in which to save up plenty for a rainy day that he never thought that
the rains were already on their way; and even Martha (God bless her, who did redeem herself in her
conversation with Jesus after the death of her brother Lazarus), who was so preoccupied with giving
Jesus what she thought He wanted that she never stopped to ask Him what He really wanted.
Now there are good givers, too. Like the Good Samaritan who not only ministered to the
physical needs of the beaten man he found lying by the side of the road, but paid the innkeeper for his
care; or Mary Magdalene and several other women who supported Jesus financially; or Barnabas who
gave much to the early church; or Dorcas, who made clothing and gave it to those who needed it.
I would call them cheerful givers. The kind that God really loves. And who were changed.
You know, it really isn’t how much we give to God – it is how we give. It is how we choose to
support His work. It is how we decide to answer His call and build His kingdom on earth as it is in
Heaven. Financially and otherwise. It is how we are willing to be changed!
You know that grouch I mentioned before? Well, I’m not so sure God accepts from a grouch.
Because grouchy giving doesn’t say much about the relationship the giver has with the Lord.
May all of our giving – in the offering plate or even when the Nominating Committee comes
calling – be cheerful giving.
Worship October 9, 2016
Call: Litany
Assurance: Litany
Children’s Message: Box
Prayer: Loving God, we thank you that you have opened up the storehouses of your Heaven to pour
down your blessings upon us. We thank you that you have filled our lives with an abundance of all good
things. We thank you that you have met all our needs with the riches you have bestowed upon us. We
thank you that, as we trust you, we have found a new relationship with you. Remind us, Lord, that
without you, we have nothing, we are nothing, and we will find nothing. Let us live in radical trust and
the confident faith we need to see always before us what you have in store for us, both in tis life and in
the next. Needs, etc.
LORD’S PRAYER