Money is not the root of all evil. It is the love of money. Prosperity does not ruin people; the bible says prosperity ruins a fool. So why is it that whenever a minister mentions money in the church the atmosphere changes for the worse? It is because inherent in us all is the belief that our money is ours! Lord you can have my life, but my money is a different story. You know I have bills.
Consider this. Whatever and whoever you love, that’s where your money is spent. As a wise man (my pastor) says ["Us do, what us want to do!"] Check your calendar and your checkbook, therein lies your allegiance. How much time and how much money are you investing in the things of God? I’m not talking about being silly and giving everything away so that your household suffers. For the bible also says he who does not take care of his own is worse than an infidel.
Tithing is a given. There is no gray area there. Even Jesus said it is what we “ought to to”. Offerings are what we give (as directed by God) in addition to tithes. I do believe that coersion in giving has no place in the church. There should be no schemes or gimmicks to try to get people to give. Just teach the people the Word of God as it relates to giving and let the Holy Spirit do His work. There will be times when special offerings are required to do the work of ministry. You must be convinced that your leader has heard from the Lord regarding that matter.
On the flip side, your local fellowship must develop a track record that demonstrates proper stewardship of the resources to which it has been entrusted. There must be people in place who are anointed, filled with the spirit, obedient to the word of God, and skilled in business transactions. There is nothing worse than a “holier than thou” saint with no business savvy making God and the Body of Christ look bad through ill advised dealings.
God loves cheerful givers, so if you can’t be cheerful keep your money. The heart of a true worshipper is one who is a willing, prompt to do it, cheerful giver whose heart is in his giving. The utility companies don’t take “Hallelujah” and “Thank you Jesus” payments. They only take the medium of exchange in the earth realm–dollars. Additionally, (just in case you didn’t know) there are no angelic visitations in the finance room at your church to pick up your offering. That money is deposited in an earthly bank and spent.
Christians need to stop trippin’ over money as it relates to giving in the church. We buy what we want to buy in the world and then give God leftovers, expecting His best. What’s wrong with that picture?
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