Since
early in our marriage my wife, Leslie, and I have given away 10% and sometimes more
of our income. That is a significant amount. It has not always been easy. It
has meant sacrifices. But, over the years it has become such a part of our routine
that, while there are certainly things we cannot do or buy that we might
otherwise be able to, it has become as natural as paying the water bill.
Why
do we do it? First of all, because we believe the story of Jesus Christ
as understood in the Christian Tradition is the most beautiful and most true
story there is. In Jesus “we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness
of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace that he lavished on us”
(Ephesians 1:7-8). Experiencing some of that lavish grace has evoked in us a
desire to respond to his generosity with our own. God is generous. In giving,
we tune our hearts to the Generosity at the heart of all things.
We
want to sink our hearts into the heart of God. Jesus said that where our treasure
is, there our heart will be also (Matthew 6:19-21).
It
is also a simple matter of obedience. Jesus tells us to give. So we give.
Doing things out of a sense of duty is not a popular reason for doing things. But, we accept that it is our duty to be “faithful in working, praying, and
giving for the spread of the Kingdom of God” (Episcopal Church Canon I.17.3).
We believe the Church to be the body of Christ and the essential, if demonstrably imperfect,
anticipation and witness to the kingdom of God.
Therefore, we give to support the Church and its mission. Since I became bishop
of the Diocese of Fond du Lac, that giving has been mostly divided between the
several congregations of the diocese.
We
also take seriously the biblical mandate, reinforced by Jesus, to care for
the poor and those in need. In one of his parables, Jesus suggests that we
should “make friends for ourselves” by giving to the poor who will then welcome
us into heaven (Luke 16:1-15). In another, he warns us against the ignoring the
desperate and destitute at our gate (Luke 16:19-31). Our Lord’s brother, James,
asserts that true faith means to “care for orphans and widows in their distress”
(James 1:27). In Ephesians 4:28, we are
charged to “labor and work honestly with our own hands, so as to have something
to share with the needy” as if that was the main reason for working.
Further,
Jesus warns that we will be judged based on our care for those in need
(Matthew 25:31-46). They are the sacramental presence of Jesus himself. As Pope
Leo the Great (400-461) pointed out, “rightly in the needy and poor do we
recognize the person of Jesus Christ our Lord Himself” (Sermon 9.III).
So, we give to aid the poor and those in need. Some of the 10% Leslie
and I give to the churches of the diocese goes to that purpose through things
like local food programs and other ministries. Beyond that, we give directly to
organizations
and entities that assist those in need.
Another
reason we give is that the New Testament and the Christian Tradition clearly
teach that money and wealth are spiritually dangerous. The more one
has the more dangerous it becomes. It is not neutral. It is seductive. It
creates a sort of spiritual static. It is not for nothing that Jesus says it is
easier for a camel to make it through the eye of a needle than for a rich
person to make it into heaven. He refers to wealth as adikias which means unrighteous. In Luke 16:15, he refers to the pursuit of wealth as an abomination (which is what the Greek word, bdelugma, means). Jesus
also warns, “But woe to you who are rich, for you have already received your
comfort” (Luke 6:24). Further, 1 Timothy 6:10 famously asserts that “the love
of money is a root of all kinds of evil, and in their eagerness to be rich some
have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pains.” In
two places – Ephesians 5:5 and Colossians 3:5 – greed (the love and
accumulation of wealth and the things that go with it) is referred to as
idolatry. Remember that Jesus warned against the worship of Mammon (Matthew 6:24 & Luke 16:9). By any
measure, my wife and I are among the wealthy. So, we take these warning to
heart.
We
will be judged based on our care for those in need. We will also be judged
based on our idolatry. The only way I can be sure I do not worship Mammon/Wealth
is by giving as much away as I dare. And maybe dare a little more.
Giving
a significant amount also helps us to cultivate a spirit of detachment
enabling us to hold things lightly. A common theme in the Bible and throughout the Christian Tradition is that accumulation and attachment to things gets in the way of spiritual growth, i.e., the love of God and love of neighbor. And so, the disciplines of detachment and simplicity are commended. The more we have, the more we put our trust in what we have rather than in God. As John Wesley said, "It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle, than for those that
have riches not to trust in them" (On Riches). The stuff of this world is good and it is not a sin to possess enough with which to live. We read in 1 Timothy 4:4-5) that, “Everything
created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with
thanksgiving, for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” But, when we possess much it starts to possess us. It warps the way relate to God and others. And so we give.
Why
10 %? In
the Old Testament Law an offering of 10% was a specific requirement in some contexts, e.g.,
Leviticus 27:32 and Numbers 18:26-32. In 1982 the Episcopal Church affirmed the
tithe “as the minimum standard of giving for Episcopalians”. This was
reaffirmed by General Convention as recently as 2009. The key word there is
“minimum”.
The
truth is Jesus asks for more, “So therefore, none of you can become my
disciple if you do not give up all your possessions” (Luke 14:33). While it is
true that not all of his followers go all that way even in the Gospels, still Jesus
particularly commends those who give everything to follow him. This was picked
up in the early Church as for example when St. Irenaeus of Lyon (130-200)
wrote,
And instead of the tithes which the law
commanded, the Lord said to divide everything we have with the poor. And he
said to love not only our neighbors but also our enemies, and to be givers and
sharers not only with the good but also to be liberal givers toward those who
take away our possessions.
– Against Heresies, Book IV, Chapter XIII,
paragraph 3
And
Pope Gregory the Great (540-604):
Some think the Old Testament is stricter than the
New, but they judge wrongly; they are fooling themselves. The old law did not
punish the desire to hold onto wealth; it punished theft. But now the rich man
is not condemned for taking the property of others; rather, he is condemned for
not giving his property away.
The
wealth we have is not our own. It belongs to God and, under God, to those in
need. The real question is not how much we give and to what and why? The real
question is how much do we keep for ourselves for what and why?
To be honest, we have not gone that far. We do not give as much as we could. We still own a house, cars, and much else. And, to be honest, I do not believe that faithfulness requires that we impoverish ourselves completely. Still, the words of Jesus remain a challenge to us.
To be honest, we have not gone that far. We do not give as much as we could. We still own a house, cars, and much else. And, to be honest, I do not believe that faithfulness requires that we impoverish ourselves completely. Still, the words of Jesus remain a challenge to us.
We
do not give out of a sense of guilt. We thank God for the grace we have
received but we do not want to "sin that grace may abound". We rejoice in our freedom in Christ but do not want to be in bondage to anything (1 Corinthians 6:12), including money, wealth, and things.. And so, we give. We also do not give
because we think God will bless us with more wealth if we give. That kind of
transactional “Prosperity Gospel” is contrary to the way of Jesus. We give
because we love Jesus. We give because we love his Church, the body of Christ.
We give because we want to love those he loves – the poor and vulnerable. Jesus
tells us not to store up treasures on earth, but to store up for ourselves
treasures in heaven (Matthew 6:19-21). Giving is how we do that.
Some
Qualifiers
Giving
10% + is what we believe we are called to do and it is significant enough for
us to "feel" it. It is also the case that, together, my wife and I make a decent
income. We are still able to live pretty comfortably. We could give more. I
also want to acknowledge that my compensation includes insurance and a generous
pension. So, those are two things we do not have to worry about as much as some
others. And to be perfectly transparent, we tithe on our take-home salary, not
our total compensation package which includes those benefits. Not yet anyway. Aside from our mortgage, car payments, and some minimal student debt, we are comparatively debt free. We recognize that that is not everyone's situation. It is also important to note that we are both on the same page when it comes to
this commitment. If you are married, and you and your spouse are not on the same
page, that changes things. It would not be good for this to become a source of contention in a marriage. But, perhaps careful and prayerful conversation.
I
recognize that others’ situation might well be different and giving 10%,
even in the restricted sense that we do might not be feasible. So, maybe you
aren’t prepared or able, at least at this point, to meet “the minimum standard
of giving for Episcopalians.” That is OK. After all we are told, “it is
acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not
have” (1 Corinthians 8:12-15). But, I am also confident than many could give
closer to 10% and nearly everyone can give more than they are currently.
I
do encourage you to start somewhere. There is nothing magic about 10%. But, if not 10%, what percentage? It is
good to think in terms of a percentage and to set a goal lest our giving be ad hoc and haphazard. Not giving is not an option for faithful Christians who “know the generous
act of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sakes he
became poor, so that by his poverty you might become rich” (2 Corinthians 8:9).
So, “Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or
under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7). “Do not
neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing
to God” Hebrews 13:16).
Here
is a helpful rule of thumb from C. S. Lewis’ Mere Christianity:
I do not believe one can settle how much we ought
to give. I am afraid the only safe rule is to give more than we can spare. In
other words, if our expenditure on comforts, luxuries, amusements, etc, is up
to the standard common among those with the same income as our own, we are
probably giving away too little. If our charities do not at all pinch or hamper
us, I should say they are too small. There ought to be things we should like to
do and cannot do because our charitable expenditure excludes them.
See also:
Money: Intoxicant or Eucharist? (On Camels and Needle Eyes)
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