Quick note; as always – folks may disagree with this article – but since 101 is not Facebook (this site is about freedom to speak, and discuss various opinions without fear so we come to the best understanding) you are free to do so. We just need to do it in humility and in a spirit of knowing we all see through a glass darkly – God bless:)
Does giving financially guarantee a financial blessing?
If this were the case, then wouldn’t we have to assume that half the world must be stingy and mean, since half or more of the world is poor? Just a thought. There clearly is a blessing associated being generous in The Bible and it may often be a financial one. Does it apply to anyone, always – period? Jesus gave everything and still died with nothing material. So what kind of blessing is it really? And is it the kind of blessing we see preached by many preachers? I’m not so sure.
I’ve kind of left this issue alone for a long while, but I just saw a post that brought it to my attention again and I had to write something as it’s very close to my heart, having struggled for years to keep my sites going financially with a genuine desire to help Christians and not purposely avoiding asking members for money at all costs (for the first time in 18 years I recently put a message on fusion for voluntary donations as I was almost at the point of closure – I would rather work to pay for it myself). I don’t want to treat members of my services as $$$$ – which believe me, with a database of over 300,000 members on my Christian singles site that would be very very easy.
Making a mockery of God and His son’s sacrifice is nothing new
It’s a terrible fact, that many many good, honest Christian folks have for years, and are still being duped and fleeced whilst being taught that by emptying their pockets they will inevitably lead to material blessing. This is a clear twisting of the truth – since while it is true – perhaps a universal truth – that those who are generous will indeed be blessed in some way – spiritually, materially or perhaps only in heaven, there are people exploiting these Bible verses for all they are worth – literally, and I’m sick of sitting on the sidelines and not saying anything.
In my opinion, giving to your local church is a good thing
There is true a story of C.S.Lewis taking a stroll with a friend. Lewis gave a tramp a pound, and his friend said; “what if he buys alcohol?” CS.Lewis answered; “well if I don’t give it to him – I probably will!” I found this helpful when we worry how our money will – or won’t be used for the right purposes. I certainly struggle with this and it sometimes stops me giving. But the story illustrates that ultimately the tramp and C.S.Lewis will answer to God as to what they did with their money. So unless we are absolutely sure our money is being misappropriated – in which case it would be foolish to continue giving to that entity, I believe giving to your local church and even a tramp who may buy alcohol is a the right thing to do (perhaps food / clothes is better for the latter?).
According to the Bible churches should use the money they receive primarily to giving to the poor, spread the gospel and the upkeep of the church, so I’m not trying to discourage that in ANY way! In any case, in the end – the pastor will be held responsible for how funds are used. However – giant stadiums and concert equipment in my old-fashioned mind is taking things in the wrong direction as we are told to look after our families and immediate neighbours – not build super-impersonal mega churches. Can you imagine Jesus doing that? No way – he was a 1-1 guy. We must be aware of what some people are prepared to do to get rich, and that it’s very easy for a busy church to slip into ‘business’ or ‘fleecing the flock’ mode – a totally different affair and something most churches are clearly NOT doing.
Promising people cures by donating is a sickness in itself
However, there have always been charlatans who make it their business to empty peoples pockets, but when you see it in the church it makes my stomach turn. I have come to the reluctant conclusion these people cannot believe in God – because if they did, they would fear him – and they clearly don’t. The best illustration of this is one 40 year old colour (which strangely makes it even more alarming since it’s so old) documentary about a ‘pastor/preacher’ that people MUST see in regard to this – that shows there really is nothing new under the sun. When I saw a clip of this I had to buy the video and thought what a shame the copyright does not allow it to be freely available – copyright of course being another means to make $$$, and in my opinion it should be watched by every church member in the world. Here is a clip.
