Managing God's Money by Randy Alcorn

Author:Randy Alcorn
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: RELIGION / Christian Life / Stewardship & Giving
ISBN: 9781414351940
Publisher: Tyndale House Publishers
Published: 2011-03-01T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 13

Freewill Giving: Overflow of the Grace-Filled Heart

Giving is a form of grace. We love because God first loved us, and we give because he first gave to us. Giving isn’t just God’s way of raising money—it’s his way of raising children.

To give is to be like Jesus, whose incarnation and atonement were the ultimate lavish gift. In a passage about financial giving to the needy, Paul says, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9, NIV). God’s unfolding drama of redemption is the essence of giving, the source of giving, and the model for giving.

When the Israelites gave voluntary offerings for the building of God’s Tabernacle, they gave so much that the workers had to ask them to stop! “Finally the craftsmen who were working on the sanctuary left their work. They went to Moses and reported, ‘The people have given more than enough materials to complete the job the LORD has commanded us to do!’ So Moses gave the command, and this message was sent throughout the camp: ‘Men and women, don’t prepare any more gifts for the sanctuary. We have enough!’” (Exodus 36:4-6).

How many of us have been part of such a contagious outpouring of generous giving?

Consider what happened when King David made preparations for his son Solomon to build God’s Temple. David set the example of giving: “Because of my devotion to the Temple of my God, I am giving all of my own private treasures of gold and silver to help in the construction. This is in addition to the building materials I have already collected for his holy Temple” (1 Chronicles 29:3).

The king’s example was gladly followed by leaders throughout the land: “The family leaders, the leaders of the tribes of Israel, the generals and captains of the army, and the king’s administrative officers all gave willingly” (verse 6). In turn, others followed their example: “The people rejoiced over the offerings, for they had given freely and wholeheartedly to the LORD, and King David was filled with joy” (verse 9).

How does grace giving differ from tithing?

The voluntary offerings went beyond the tithe. They constituted true giving, because the tithe was more a debt repaid to God, not a gift per se.

God’s children gave more, sometimes much more, as needs and opportunities arose. If the tithe was a demonstration of obedience, then voluntary offerings were a demonstration of love, joy, and worship.

When a friend was trying to figure out how much he should give monthly, he decided to give at least as much as his house payment. He told me, “If I can’t afford to give that much, then I can’t afford to live in a house this nice.” He didn’t reason from the tithe, he reasoned from his house payment, which was significantly greater than 10 percent.

Though God desired his people to do it joyfully, tithing required no heart response.

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