Principles of Giving

Treasure Principle Keys
You can’t take it all with you, but you can prepare for the glory that awaits.

God owns everything; I’m His money manager.
We are the managers of the assets God hasentrusted—not given—to us.

My heart always goes where I put God’s money.
Watch what happens when you reallocate your money
from temporal things to eternal things.
Heaven—the New Earth, not the present one—is my home.
We are citizens of “a better country—a heavenly one”
(Hebrews 11:16).
I should live today not for the dot, but for the line.
From the dot—our present life on earth—extends a line
that goes on forever, which is eternity in Heaven.
Giving is the only antidote to materialism.
Giving is a joyful surrender to a greater person and a greater agenda. It
dethrones me and exalts Him.
God prospers me not to raise my standard
of living, but to raise my standard of giving.
God gives us more money than we need
so we can give—generously.
Ecclesiastes 5:10-15
on money and happiness
paraphrases by Randy Alcorn
“Whoever loves money never has money enough.”
The more you have, the more you want.
“Whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income.”
The more you have, the less you’re satisfied.
“As goods increase, so do those who consume them.”
The more you have, the more people (including the government) come after it.
“And what benefit are they to the owner except to feast his eyes on them?”
The more you have, the more you realize it doesn’t meet your real needs.
“The sleep of a laborer is sweet, whether he eats little or much,
but the abundance of a rich man permits him no sleep.”
The more you have, the more you have to worry about.
“I have seen a grievous evil under the sun: wealth hoarded to the harm of its owner.”
The more you have, the more you can hurt yourself by holding onto it.
“…or wealth lost through some misfortune.”
The more you have, the more you have to lose.
“Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes,
so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.”
The more you have, the more you have to leave behind.

Dear Pastor: Do New Covenant Believers Tithe?

Dear Pastor,
I have given in the past, but now I have questions about tithing. I would like to know more about tithing and was hoping that at some point you could visit with me about it….or address it from the pulpit.

Thanks,
[redacted]

R.C. Sproul marvels:

Recently, I read an article that gave an astonishing statistic that I find difficult to believe is accurate. It declared that of all of the people in America who identify themselves as evangelical Christians, only four percent of them return a tithe to God. If that statistic is accurate, it means that ninety-six percent of professing evangelical Christians regularly, systematically, habitually, and impenitently rob God of what belongs to Him. It also means that ninety-six percent of us are for this reason exposing ourselves to a divine curse upon our lives. Whether this percentage is accurate, one thing is certain — it is clear that the overwhelming majority of professing evangelical Christians do not tithe.

What is the tithe, and does it still apply today?

The Bible has many instructions regarding the tithe. The tithe is a concept of 1 out of 10. Sproul again: “We are required to give ten percent of our gross annual income or gain. If a shepherd’s flock produced ten new lambs, the requirement was that one of those lambs be offered to God. This offering is from the top. It is not an offering that is given after other expenses are met or after other taxes have been paid.”

Generally, the tithe was to be given to the Lord’s servants, the Levites (Numbers 18:21ff). In the Old Testament, many alms for the poor were above and beyond the tithe (e.g. Exod. 23:10-11; Lev. 19:9-10; 25:35-37; Deut. 15:7-11; 24:12-15). The tithe had many purposes, including: to support the priesthood (Num. 18:21-32; Deut. 14:28-29); to honor God in sacrifice and feasts (Lev. 27:31; Num. 18:26-28; Deut. 14:22-26); and to feed the aliens, widows and orphans (Deut. 14:28-29; 26:12).

Some people argue that the tithe is no longer applicable in the New Testament era, as this was only for the Old Covenant era. Continue reading

Socially Conservative, Economically Liberal

America is a socially conservative and economically liberal country.

Do you believe that? Consider that a recent article pointed out that North Dakota, of all places, may not be a bad place to live. The reason? North Dakota – despite its “lack of culture” (quoting from the article) or major league sporting teams – has so much money and is so well off financially that it is looking to give back $400 million to residents, has an unemployment of 3.8% (best in the nation), and is saving at the state level for a rainy day fund. Continue reading