Dear Cornerstone Family,
As the first quarter of our fiscal year has drawn to a close and we receive a report on the first quarter below, it’s appropriate for each of us to reflect on our commitment to support the worship and the work of the church to the best of our ability. Toward that end, I want to ask you to reflect on three key aspects of the Bible’s teaching on giving.
1. Giving is a spiritual discipline that requires forethought and planning. At the end of 1 Corinthians, Paul speaks of the collection for the saints, and he says, “On the first day of the week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come” (1 Cor. 16:2). Paul teaches the Corinthians to set aside a portion of their resources each Sunday for giving to the work of the Lord and meeting the needs of the poor. Paul knows that if we’re not intentionally setting aside resources and making preparations to give, we will fall into the trap of using that money for other things. Setting aside your giving on the front end helps ensure that the Lord has first place in your budget.
2. Giving is to be commensurate with your income. In the passage I quoted above, Paul says to set “something aside” in keeping with how “he may prosper” you. He teaches the same principle in 2 Corinthians 8:12 when he says, “For if the readiness [to give] is there, it is acceptable according to what a person has, not according to what he does not have.” Paul recognizes that resources rise and fall, and that our giving will rise and fall, too. He instructs us to give proportionally and to not be slavishly bound to a certain number, dollar figure, or percentage. Instead, let your giving track with the normal ups and downs of income.
3. Give generously, cheerfully, and sacrificially. In Luke 21:1-4, the rich were placing large sums in the offering box, but a poor widow placed just two small copper coins in the coffer. Jesus says of her, “Truly, I tell you, this poor widow has put in more than all of them. For they all contributed out of their abundance, but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.” On the surface, this principle appears to undermine principle #2 above, but that’s not the case. Instead, the Bible is placing us in good biblical tension. We’re being called to look at what we have and consider our basic needs, and then sacrificially invest in work of the church. We’re not sacrificing if it doesn’t cut into our lives. We know we’re beginning to practice biblical giving if we’re restraining our spending in order to support the work of ministry (see Acts 2:42-47). By placing these two principles beside each other, the Bible’s inviting us into the wisdom of a giving pattern that’s discerning, generous, and sacrificial (2 Cor. 9:6-15). Let’s continue to joyfully prove our earnest love for Jesus Christ by giving to the church in a manner that reflects, even faintly, the generosity of the gospel.
Your servant,
