One of the questions that people often ask about God is how a merciful, compassionate and loving God could create a world in which millions of people, including little children, starve to death every year. The truth is that God didn’t create such a world. God, in fact, created a world with enough food surplus to feed all of the world’s population ten times over. The reason people starve to death is because those of us who have don’t share with those who don’t have. Many of us believe that all that we get is intended solely for our own benefit, and consequently work towards accumulating more of everything from money to possessions. This is a pity, because this results us in us becoming spiritual paupers as the following Scripture verses will indicate:

1. Deuteronomy 15:10
2. Proverbs 3:9,10
3. Proverbs 11:24,25,28
4. Proverbs 22:8,9
5. Hosea 10:12
6. Malachi 3:10
7. Matthew 6:4
8. Luke 6:38

We need to give, but not only of money, as people commonly imagine giving to mean, but also of our time, our talents and, most of all, of our love. Christian giving is about the recognition of the source of all our blessings in God and of our need to use God’s many gifts for His glory and the good of all.

1. Giving - Money

1. Tithing is an Old Testament practice that is no longer needed under the new covenant.
   The scarce mention of tithing in the New Testament is not a sign that God doesn’t want less from us. On the contrary, he envisons far more! John suggests 50% (Luke 3:11) while Jesus, himself, exhorts us to give as much as 100%! (Luke 21:1-4)


2. There is no saying where my donation will end up or how it will be used.
   It shouldn’t matter. It is the goodwill of the giver, not the faithfulness of the recipient, that makes the gift worthwhile. In fact, Jesus tells us to give even to people whose intentions we know are unethical (Luke 6:27-36). How can this be? The answer is: We give because the gospel is true, not because we have assurance of proper financial management.


3. I am currently in a financial crisis and do not have any money that I can spare now.
   The Christian has an obligation not only to his debtors but also to God. Proverbs 3:9 tells us to give our firstfruits to the Lord, not what is left over. We needn’t be worried about how we can pay back those we owe. After all, “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?” (Romans 8:32) Do your best to pay back those you owe, but give whatever you can to God too.


4. I give in other ways like contributing my time and talents, so I don’t need to give money.
   As we are learning in this module, discipleship includes everything that we do in life. Good discipleship is sharing of our time, our talents and our love, but also of money because money plays a unique role in Scripture as a diagnostic tool for the human heart. Matthew 6:21 says that “where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.” Malachi further tells us that to withhold money is to rob God (Malachi 3:8).

There are literally hundreds of other reasons that we can come up with to avoid giving of our money and each can be refuted by Scripture. A couple of Scripture verses that might really help in assisting those do what is right are these from 2 Corinthians 9:6-7: “Remember this: Whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and whoever sows generously will also reap generously. Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.”

2. Giving - Time

1. Lending a listening ear to somebody in trouble
2. Comforting the sick/bereaved/lost/lonely
3. Volunteering to serve on a parish ministry
4. Assisting in parish activities
5. Praying for those in need

3. Giving - Talents

In Mathew 25:14-30, Jesus tells us a parable of a man preparing to travel to a distant country. Before departing, he gives talents to his servants. The first servant, who receives five talents, works to build them into five more. The second servant, who receives two talents, doubles their value as well. But the third servant, who receives one talent, buries it. When the master returns, he praises the first and second servants, but he takes the one talent from the third servant because the servant was not a good steward of the money, having done nothing to increase its value.

Though the talents in this story refers to money, the lesson is applicable to the “real” talents that we all blessed with. All of us have special talents or gifts, which are a sign of the power and majesty of God, who can do all things. These talents and gifts are not given to us just for our own use, but are given to us for the enrichment of the lives of others and so that we can serve God better.

Paul in his letter to the Romans tells them: “We have gifts that differ according to the grace given to us: prophecy, in proportion to faith; ministry, in ministering; the teacher, in teaching; the exhorter, in exhortation; the giver, in generosity; the leader, in diligence; the compassionate, in cheerfulness.” St. Peter in his first epistle tells us what to do with them, “Like good stewards of the manifold grace of God, serve one another with whatever gift each of you has received.”

4. Giving - Love