This
is an issue that is difficult to find an answer to. Many people have a hard
time deciding how much money to tithe or give to charity or anything else. The
popular thing currently is the eradication of poverty, which is a fine goal,
but is it really going to happen. You may feel guilty because you eat three
meals a day combined with four or five snacks and there are children in India
who survive on three grains of rice a day. The Dollar-a-Drink movement that was
started several years ago was a movement to get people to take the dollars they
would use on a soft drink, get water instead, and donate the money to the
Dollar-a-Drink foundation. That movement has gone one to donate several hundred
thousand dollars towards digging wells for children in Africa, and that is
great!
So the question is, “What should we
do with the money and resources that God has blessed us with?” Well, first of
all, everyone has been given different amounts of financial versatility. Matthew
6:19-34 talks a good deal about wealth and possessions, but once again it
leaves it in a sort of “viewer’s discretion”. It gives general guidelines and
advice, but it doesn’t give an absolute “thus sayeth the LORD” type of command,
which makes it so that you have to decide what you are going to do.
You
have two things that are commands to do with your money: 1. Tithe ten-percent
of it and 2. Take the tithing money out first. Some Christians outline their
budget and then whatever is left they tithe (which usually is not much).
Another thing that Christian’s sometimes do is say, “Well, I’ve tithed, so the
rest is for me!” This attitude is wrong, because God gave you the resources
that you have in order to bring glory to Himself. 1 Corinthians 10:31 says
“Whatever you do, do it all for the glory of God.” I think that this applies to
how you spend your money, too. This doesn’t mean that you can’t buy a nice
television or eat good food, but be a good steward of the possessions that God
has given you.
Something that I have been thinking
about recently is the fact that no matter how many orphans in Africa we feed, they will still be hungry tomorrow.
Before I continue, I would like to make it very clear that giving money for
foundations like Project Saturate, Dollar-a-Drink, and World Vision is a great
thing and a very good use of your money. However, these impoverished people
need something greater, something that satisfies forever: the bread of life
(John 6:35). If we do not communicate the gospel clearly to these children, we
are not really helping them.
Another mistake that some people
make is thinking that the only thing you should do with your money is give it
away to the poor. Some people can really take this to the extreme and live a
Spartan lifestyle. You can sit down at the table and think one of two things
about the large dinner that you are about to consume. 1. This is more than some
children around the world eat in a week, or 2. Thank you, God, for providing me
with bountiful resources that I may enjoy pleasures you have given to me and
that you have enabled me to give my money to others. Which attitude will you
choose?
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