Word for Word 12/25/24

Pastor Buck here from Lansing UMC with another Wandering thoughts of a Wayward Follower of Jesus… We are in the season where giving seems to be the theme. Giving has always been part of a religious life.  In Old Testament times it was the giving of offerings (i.e. the first fruits of the harvest) or animals for sacrifices. It was and is our way of giving back to God a small portion of what He gives us daily.

Here is a little history lesson; Back in the time of the 12 tribes of Israel, there was one tribe, the Levites that had a special purpose. The Levites were in charge of all matters relating to their worship. They were the Priests, Musicians, Trustees, Caretakers, and Janitors.  They did it all.  As such the offering received during worship or other celebrations from all the other Tribes were directly used for God’s work.  In modern day terms, there was no overhead or administrative fees taken out of their donations, 100% went to the mission.  Now periodically (i.e., the year of Jubilee) a portion of the offering would be given to the Levites to supplement their duties.

Later when the Jerusalem Temple was built and the original 12 tribes of Israel were no longer a unified body, there were Temple taxes put in place which were in addition to one’s missional giving to support the Temple’s operational needs. Matthew 17:24-27 talks about this as well as Jesus’ response to this tax with one of His miracle parables.

I am not writing here to talk about how much one should give or to whom. I will say… Giving to the Body of Christ, the church, giving to God’s work is part of one’s faith commitment.   Any giving we do, regardless of what it is or its worth, is only as good as the intent or the “why” behind the giving. In other words, are your giving from the heart?  Again, giving is an integral part of your faith life.

As Methodists, we pledge our prayers, presents, gifts, service, and witness as a member of a local body of believers. As a United Methodist church, we also pledge an apportionment to our Denomination’s worldwide efforts in spreading God’s word and yes some of that giving includes administrative costs. As I mentioned earlier, I am not talking about the amount one gives or even any argument about how much of one’s giving goes to the actual work verse administrative costs.  I am talking about the “why” one gives.  I believe in a sacrificial giving attitude not giving based on following a Tithing or percent giving practice.  

As a follower of Christ, I look at giving in two ways, giving to God’s work, the Body of Christ, and giving to the needs of God’s children.  God’s work, the Body of Christ represent work related to discipleship and making disciples and yes the support of those doing this work. As a Pastor, I am fully aware of the cost of doing God’s work. For most churches, the regular offering plate goes towards what I call the Levite tasks.  If you are one that tithes to your church, which is awesome, you also must realize most of that giving goes to the work of the Body of Christ and little to the needs of God’s children. In our Church setting we often have special giving opportunities to meet the needs of God’s children. In other words two different givings.   

The needs will always be greater than the resources.  As such, giving cannot start with a dollar figure, it has to start with a heart check, like a sacrificial giving attitude.  I give not because I can but because I need to. Tithing can be a sound biblical practice, but first you have to have the why or maybe call it the desire to give and once you find that desire to give, then you can work on the how to give.

But it is not the amount or the percentage of the gift that matters but the condition of one’s heart behind that gift that matters.  Yes, I am repeating myself, and this is why; for the past many years not only in the denomination I serve but others, giving has become an obligation to some, an attendance fee to others, if I come to Sunday worship, I better put something in the collection plate. To others, it is a tool used to show their favor or dislike to a particular thing happening within the church either locally or in the wider church and finally to others the bombardment of all the requests to support this organization or that makes one want to simple shutdown from giving at all.  

Once you have the desire to give, you will find ways to give. Through prayer God will guide you in the how and where. Remember giving comes in many more ways, not just dollars. You yourself is a God created gift to give someone. Be Blessed and Be a Blessing to Others.

Pastor James Buckhahn, United Methodist Church, Lansing