Giving and the Oppressed – Notes

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Amount to Give

Let’s look at what the Bible says about how much to give. Before the Old Testament Law, there were two instances of giving a known amount. In Genesis 14:20, Abraham gave 10 percent — a tithe — after the rescue of his nephew Lot. And in Genesis 28:22, Jacob promised to give the Lord a tenth of all his possessions if God brought him safely through his journey.

With the Law came the requirement of the tithe. The Lord condemns the children of Israel in Malachi 3:8-9 for not tithing properly: “Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, ‘How have we robbed you?’ In your tithes and contributions. You are cursed with a curse, for you are robbing me, the whole nation of you” (ESV).

In addition to the tithe, there were various offerings. The Lord also made special provisions for the poor. Every seven years all debts were forgiven; every 50 years the land was returned to the original land-owning families. Special harvesting rules allowed the poor to glean behind the harvesters.

God made another significant provision for the poor in Deuteronomy 15:7-8: “If there is a poor person among you, one of your brothers, in any of your towns in your land which the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart, nor close your hand from your poor brother; but you shall fully open your hand to him, and generously lend him enough for his need in whatever he lacks.” Even under the law, the extent of one’s giving was not to be limited by a locked-in fixed percentage but was to be adjusted by surrounding needs.

The New Testament teaches that we are to give in proportion to the material blessing we receive. It also commends sacrificial giving.

What I like about the tithe is that it’s systematic, and the amount of the gift is easy to compute. The danger of the tithe is that it can be treated as simply “another bill” to be paid. If we fall into that sort of attitude or rut, we won’t be in a position to receive God’s richest blessings.

Another potential danger of tithing is the assumption that once we have tithed, we have fulfilled all our obligations to give. For many Christians, the tithe should be the beginning of their giving, not the limit. And we should never, never close our hearts to the obvious needs we encounter in our path through life.

Approach to Giving- The Five “P’s”

During Paul’s third missionary journey, one of his priorities was to take up a collection for the suffering believers in Jerusalem. We draw several practical applications from his instructions concerning this collection. “On the first day of every week, each of you is to put aside and save as he may prosper, so that no collections need to be made when I come” (1 Corinthians 16:2).

Giving should be periodic.

“On the first day of every week . . .” The Lord understands that we need to give frequently. Giving only once a year is a mistake. We need to give regularly to be drawn consistently to Christ.

Giving should be personal.

“Each of you is to . . .” It is the responsibility of every child of God, whether young or old, rich or poor, to give. The advantages of giving are intended for each person, and each one must participate to enjoy them to the full.

Giving should be out of a private deposit.

“Put aside and save . . .” If you experience difficulty in monitoring the money you have decided to give, consider opening a separate account or setting aside a special “cookie jar” into which you deposit the money you intend to give. Then, as needs are brought to your attention, the money is ready to meet those needs.

Giving should be a priority.

“Honor the Lord from your wealth, and from the first of all your produce” (Proverbs 3:9, emphasis added). As soon as we receive any income, we should set aside the amount we are going to give. This habit helps us to put Christ first in all we do — and defeats the temptation to spend what we have decided to give.

Giving should be premeditated.

“Each one must do just as he has decided in his heart” (2 Corinthians 9:7). We should give prayerfully, exercising the same care in selecting where we give as we do when deciding where to invest.

Giving to the Poor

Matthew 25:34-45 teaches one of the most exciting and yet sobering truths in the Bible. Read this passage carefully.

“The King will say. . . ‘For I was hungry and you gave Me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me something to drink.’ . . . Then the righteous will answer Him, ‘Lord, when did we see You hungry, and feed You, or thirsty, and give You something to drink?’ . . . The King will answer and say to them . . . ‘To the extent that you did it for one of the least of these brothers or sisters of Mine, you did it for Me.’

“Then He will also say to those on His left, ‘Depart from Me, you accursed people, into the eternal fire. . . for I was hungry, and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave Me nothing to drink . . . To the extent that you did not do it for one of the least of these, you did not do it for Me.’”

In a mysterious way we cannot fully understand, Jesus, the Creator of all things, personally identifies Himself with the poor. When we share with the needy, we are actually sharing with Jesus Himself. If that truth is staggering, then this is terrifying: when we do not give to the needy, we leave Christ Himself hungry and thirsty.

During Christ’s earthly ministry, He consistently gave to the poor. When Jesus told Judas to go and carry out the betrayal during the Last Supper, “none of those reclining at the table knew for what purpose He had said this to him. For some were assuming, since Judas kept the money box, that Jesus was saying to him, ‘Buy the things we have need of for the feast’; or else, that he was to give something to the poor” (John 13:28-29).

Giving to the needy was such a consistent part of Jesus’ life that the disciples assumed He was sending Judas either to buy needed food or to give to the poor; no other alternative entered their minds.

After Paul met with the disciples to announce his ministry to the Gentiles, he said, “They [the disciples] only asked us to remember the poor — the very thing I also was eager to do” (Galatians 2:10). Think of all the issues the disciples could have discussed with Paul. But the only request they made was to remember the poor. Now that should tell us something!

Three areas of our Christian life are affected by whether we give to the poor.

Prayer

A lack of giving to the poor could be a source of unanswered prayer. “Is this not the fast that I choose . . . to break your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into the house? . . . Then you will call and the Lord will answer” (Isaiah 58:6-9). “One who shuts his ear to the outcry of the poor will also call out himself and not be answered” (Proverbs 21:13).

Provision

Our giving to the needy may determine our provision. “One who gives to the poor will never lack anything, but one who shuts his eyes will have many curses” (Proverbs 28:27).

Knowing Jesus Christ intimately

Those who refuse or neglect to share resources with the poor don’t know the Lord as intimately as they could. “‘He pled the cause of the afflicted and the poor, then it was well. Is that not what it means to know Me?’ declares the Lord” (Jeremiah 22:16).

Giving to the poor has been discouraged, in part, because of government programs. But it’s the church’s job, not the government’s, to meet the needs of the poor. The government often treats the needy impersonally, while the church has the potential to be sensitive to their dignity. We can also develop one-on-one relationships to meet their immediate physical needs — and then go on to focus on their longer-term physical and spiritual needs. Mother Theresa is one of the best examples in our time of serving the poor in a loving, compassionate way.

If you don’t already know some needy people, please consider asking the Lord to bring one into your life. You can do so by praying this prayer: “Father God, by Your grace create in me the desire to share with the needy. Bring a poor person into my life so that I might learn what it really means to give.” This will be a significant step in helping you grow in your relationship with the Lord.

May we echo Job’s statement: “I saved the poor who cried for help, and the orphan who had no helper . . . I made the widow’s heart sing for joy . . . I was eyes to those who were blind and feet to those who could not walk. I was a father to the poor, and I investigated the case which I did not know” (Job 29:12-16).