"Benevolence" has become a catchword to cover all types of charitable giving. However, true benevolence goes far beyond the mere transfer of goods it goes to the motive that prompts it. For this reason, if a person doesn't really want to give, he shouldn't. The gift would be unacceptable. In fact, it wouldn't be a gift at all, but merely a transaction.
Many Christians would cringe at the thought that some of their supposedly benevolent acts are really motivated by selfishness, and are therefore unacceptable to God.
However, before discussing the quality of the gift, we must establish what "giving to God" means. Does it refer only to regular church offerings, or does it have a wider application? In reality, any gift that will assist the work of God on earth, whether it be helping someone in need or building and maintaining a church, is giving to God. Jesus pointed out that even a cup of cold water given to one who is thirsty would be regarded as giving to Him.
Fund-raising problems
Probably no area of church activity so actively promotes selfishness as certain types of fund-raising. The results of self-centered fund-raising are all too predictably temporary, unrewarding, and even counterproductive. They actually contribute to selfishness instead of encouraging liberality.
The problem is one of confused priorities. The church, ordained to seek and save the lost, often succumbs to the temptation to squander its energies in simply maintaining its own structural existence.
The modern church is not alone in misjudging or forgetting God's will concerning offerings. In Old Testament times every gift was intended to point forward to Christ's perfect sacrifice. Hence the instruction found in Leviticus 22:21, 22: "And whosoever offereth a sacrifice of peace offerings unto the Lord to accomplish his vow, or a freewill offering in beeves or sheep, it shall be perfect to be accepted; there shall be no blemish therein. Blind, or broken, or maimed, or having a wen, or scurvy, or scabbed, ye shall not offer these unto the Lord, nor make an offering by fire of them upon the altar unto the Lord."
Unfortunately these instructions were not always followed. The prophet Malachi addressed a scathing rebuke to the priests of his day. "Ye offer polluted bread upon mine altar; and ye say, Wherein have we polluted thee? In that ye say, The table of the Lord is contemptible. And if ye offer the blind for sacrifice, is it not evil? and if ye offer the lame and sick, is it not evil? offer it now unto thy governor; will he be pleased with thee, or accept thy person? saith the Lord of hosts" (Mal. 1:7,8).
The priests, no doubt, reasoned that since the offering was just going to go up in smoke, there was no need to sacrifice a perfect animal that could be used for breeding stock to produce more income (and additional offerings for the Lord). Instead, why not dispose of an animal that was going to die anyway? But their reasoning led to actions in direct violation of God's command. And in disobeying they insulted the One whom the sacrifice represented. The priests' rationalization brought a curse upon their entire nation.
By the time of Christ the Jewish leaders had, for the most part, lost sight of the meaning and objective of their sacrificial system. Missing the point of sacrifice, they buried its meaning under an avalanche of rules and regulations. People were taught to give in response to rules rather than in response to God. Jesus' condemnation was unequivocal: "In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7).
Jesus taught that love is more important than conformity, that principles are more important than rules. He emphasized that every spiritual activity should be a response of love and gratitude to God—that every offering should be the response of the heart, rather than a response to rules or external stimulation.
Historians record that the Christian church followed Jesus' teaching into the second century but gradually drifted back into the old law enforcement method of assuring support. As the church began to mushroom in size and structure, its leaders lost their vision of an evangelized world and began to focus more and more on building and maintaining the organization itself. As evangelistic fervor waned, leaders had to look for other means of motivating members to give. Unfortunately, they soon settled on un-Biblical fund-raising methods.
The free exercise of benevolence was once again replaced by compulsion; giving degenerated into a tax determined by the church and enforced by the state. The church came to resemble a shearer rather than a kindly shepherd. The spiritual needs of the giver were ignored in the feverish search for new sources of income. It was truly a dark age for freedom of thought and response.
The Reformers introduced a measure of theological daylight, but even they, for the most part, did not understand or teach New Testament principles of benevolence. For example, England, during the time of John Wesley, had a very oppressive tithe/tax system for the support of the state church.
We are aware that the early church groups who settled on the shores of the New World fled from England in search of religious freedom. But we tend to forget that although they sought freedom of theological thought and expression, they also wanted to escape the tithe/tax system that was so distasteful. It is little wonder that in establishing their new churches they tended to shy away from any method of church support that would remind them of the abuses they had experienced in their homeland. John Smyth, a Separatist preacher, is quoted as saying: "We hold that tithes are either Jewish or Popish . . . that the officers of the Church in the necessity of the Church ought to work for their living, as Paul made tents." Charles F. Dole, "The Voluntary System in the Support of Churches," Unitarian Review, July, 1887.
The devil had succeeded in reducing God's beautiful plan for the support of His church to a dismal tax an odious thing. The tithing principle, which was intended to serve as a continual reminder of God's ownership, had become stigmatized. Many had come to view God as a greedy tyrant rather than a loving Father.
As a result of rejecting God's plan of systematic benevolence, churches were forced to seek other means of support. Turning to man-made plans, the church in America became tainted by such un-Biblical schemes as an excise tax on rum and wine and the raising and selling of tobacco. Today church suppers and bingo are popular motivations for "giving." One must believe that the people who plan and carry put these programs do so from the best of motives (the benefit of God's work), but could they look down the road and see the awful results of these unscriptural methods, they would shun them as they would a poisonous serpent. The end does not justify the means—the short-term benefits do not justify the long-term results.
Giving to get
Giving to get has such magnetic appeal. There appears to be no exception to the observation that instead of appealing to a person's reason, benevolence, or any of the nobler faculties, the most successful appeal that can be made is to the appetite. Men and women will part with their money for self-gratification when otherwise they would do nothing. In essence theirs is no gift at all—just a trade—value given for value received. One shouldn't even do this to a close friend, surely not when the recipient is God. Some thoughtful, prayerful consideration would reveal the dangers in these methods.
Of additional concern must be the image which the church projects. An institution that should be a lighthouse to the world (a teacher of righteousness) becomes little more in the minds of many people than a vendor hawking its wares in order to perpetuate its existence.
Members of one church spent ten years popping corn in the basement and peddling it from door to door, trying to raise enough money to liquidate the debt on their sanctuary. A lighthouse? More like a tax-exempt popcorn stand! Eventually the church was blessed with a pastor who had a vision of the church's real mission. AS a result of his teaching and leading, the church moved out of the marketplace and into God's plan of systematic benevolence. They paid off the debt in one year!
Painless giving
Sometimes a pastor, besieged by financial problems, trades in his clerical robes for a business suit.
One pastor told his congregation of an idea that came to him while he was taking his morning shower. "If each of us," he explained, "would place a 5-cent tip by his plate after each meal for the next three years, we could raise $43,000 and never know we gave anything."
In the first place, a 5-cent tip would appear to be a protest to the quality of the food—or the service. Second, if the church members gave without knowing they had given, the funds raised would be an insult, not an offering. Can you imagine Jesus looking for a way to demonstrate His love for us that didn't Cost Him anything? One might hope that the pastor would take up singing rather than thinking during his morning shower.
The trouble with all man-made solutions to the church money problems is that their appeal is to the selfish heart (which really needs no stimulation). The principle of "giving to get" is common to nearly all these approaches. This might be termed yo-yo giving—it has a string on it so it always comes back!
Gambling for God?
One of the sinister results of the fairs and bazaars that enjoy such popularity is the element of gambling that often creeps in.
While such programs often blight the spirituality of the adult members, they are even more devastating to the youth, many of whom drift into evil habits as a result. Too often the seeds of undesirable fruit are sown by the church, or at least under its auspices. Can a youth be expected to distinguish between good and bad when the church makes so little distinction?
I was a guest in the home of a friend when his 10-year-old son, who had just returned from a church fair with his mother, burst through the front door, crying, "Daddy! Daddy! I almost won! I almost won!"
His father, taken aback by this outburst, asked, "What did you almost win?"
"A prize, Daddy—a prize! The winning number was 19577, a-a-a-and I had 19576. I almost won!"
After the lad ran outside to play, his father turned to me. "What was that look in my son's eyes? I've never seen that before."
"Maybe the look of a gambler," I suggested. "Maybe your son has just had his first lesson in a game of chance."
Getting something for nothing is especially demoralizing to children and youth; it sows seed that can bear awful results in later life. Surely the church must never be guilty of contributing to delinquency.
Gambling in any form (even under a religious blanket) is contrary to a well regulated society because it transfers money and property in a manner not in harmony with planned order. (Money and property are to be earned by labor.) Gambling teaches principles directly contrary to Christian principles. Instead of teaching responsibility and helpfulness, it teaches participants to take advantage of others' misfortunes. And as the desire to get something for nothing grows, the benevolent impulses are dulled. Even regard for law and order is lessened; greed comes to be regarded as a virtue.
What about "athons"?
The suffix athon can be attached to almost any verb to promote a fund-raising activity. We have bikeathons, walkathons, skateathons, and Frisbeeathons. There are even rockathons (in rocking chairs) for those less inclined to activity. These too must come under indictment. While those who participate may expend prodigious amounts of time and energy, most produce nothing beneficial to society. There are two probable negative results: They reward the participant for nonproductive effort, and they provide the wrong motivation for the sponsors.
One man, vigorously defending his sponsorship of a bikeathon, was asked if he would give the same amount to the project without this stimulation.; "Prob ably not" was his honest reply. Surely our benevolence should be an outward expression of our appreciation of God's love and care for us, and not have to be primed by walkathons, bikeathons, or Frisbeeathons.
The right way
Every gift to God should be the result of some personal sacrifice. Sacrifice is related not to the gift itself, but rather to the desire in the heart that keeping the gift would have satisfied. It is in this sense that a sacrifice is made.
God has given only one method for the support of His work: tithes and offerings. Financial success, then, should depend upon a continual education in Christian stewardship. Unfortunately, it is easier to promote a program than it is to educate members in Biblical principles of benevolence. As a whole, people find it easier (and more desirable) to be a part of a structured program than to assume individual responsibility; it is easier to follow procedures than to apply principles.
Stewardship education will not be an easy task for the busy pastor. Most of his congregation already will have been trained in other approaches since child hood and besides, the fun/fellowship nature of these methods has tremendous appeal.
Man-made fund-raising programs are often, to say the least, noisy and publicity oriented. True benevolence, on the other hand, is the response of a quiet communion between a person and his God. Jesus warned about any ballyhoo associated with giving, "Do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven" (Matt. 6:1).
What results can we expect?
Your results will depend on your objective. If instant money for some project is your goal, then many of the popular techniques may prove faster—provided, of course, that you are willing to accept the negative side effects. If the objective is people (souls), then you will need to consider spending a longer period of time in teaching, encouraging, and leading your flock to new heights of spiritual response.
Individuals motivated by love for God will not require rewards or entertainment to tap their wellsprings of beneficence. Neither will they require the pressure pump of promotion. Their benevolence will overflow like an artesian well.
Financial support, then, will be a result rather than a method; it will be the continual response of the heart rather than the fleeting outburst of emotion. Using God's method, our congregations can become vibrant, happy Christian stewards of whom it can be said, "Well done, thou good and faithful servant:...enter thou into the joy of thy lord" (chap. 25:21). Our financial and spiritual goals will be in complete harmony—and totally acceptable.
