Giving is a great thing. It's beneficial to others. That's what giving does. It benefits others.
If you want to give away 10% of your income, then fly and be free and do so happily. Just don't expect that God will bless you more because you give 10%. Again, giving is for the benefit of others. If you surveyed all the needs of others around you, you would easily give up 100% of your income to meet only a tiny amount of the needs around you. What's left then, is that you are free to decide in your own heart if you want to give 0%, 2%, 10%, 30% or any other amount. It doesn't even have to be based on a percentage. You simply know how much you've got and you see the needs around you and you freely decide how you want to give for the benefit of others.
Good post, Joel. You're not truly free to give, if you're not free to say no. If you feel obligated or manipulated to give or if you feel guilty for not giving (driven by others or by yourself), then you are not free.
ReplyDeleteThat's a great way to put it, Gary. Freedom must be established first (as opposed to being established in obligation), and what flows from that is what truly comes from the heart.
ReplyDeleteI give a pretty hefty percentage to my favorite charity, the IRS.
ReplyDeleteSomehow, I can't get excited about giving to pay for a building. However, when giving is done from the heart in order to meet someone's need, there's a joy and freedom that is exhilarating.
ReplyDeleteI hear you on that, Aida. I much prefer to give from my heart to someone I know who has a need, rather than paying for a building. I understand how the building can be useful for legitimate purposes, and I don't think it's 'wrong' if a person decides in their own heart that that's how they want to use their own resources, but so many times the money could probably be used in much more personal and helpful ways.
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