My friend Craig, the Presbyterian minister in eastern Ohio, sent me an E-mail the other day about a parishioner, Jake, who had this horrible habit that bothered Craig to no end.
Before we go further, you need to know that I purposely avert my eyes from the congregation whenever the collection plate is being passed around. What you give is between you and the Lord, and even though Jesus watched the poor widow toss her little coin into the collection, I'm not Jesus. To me, it's almost like voyeurism to watch what people do with the collection plate. But Craig isn't that way. He's one of those Type-1 assertive managerial types who believe that the pastor has a part in the financial management in the church, a subject we used to have vehement arguments about in seminary.
Anyway, beginning about a year ago, every time the collection plate would pass, Jake, instead of making his tithe, gift or offering, would stick his hand in the plate, pull out a quarter, and spend the rest of the service holding the coin in front of his face, laughing and rubbing the coin around. It would help you to know two things about Jake: first of all, he's always been a little loony in the head. He's done crazy things all his life. Second, Jake came over to this country when he was five years old from Scotland. And you know Scotsmen. As a matter of fact, Jake had two uncles in St. Andrews who threw bricks into a storefront window, robbed the place, and then got arrested when they came back later and broke in again to get the bricks.
This habit of Jake's didn't escape Craig's notice. Being the good Presbyterian that he is and not wanting to offend anyone, Craig didn't say anything for a couple of weeks. But when Craig could stand it no longer, he took Jake aside and said, "Jake, I'm going to take you to Columbus next week to see a psychiatrist, because what you're doing is not only wrong, I know it's bothering your conscience."
So Craig and the congregation didn't see Jake for six whole months. Then, one Sunday Jake shows back up, grinning from ear to ear. And when it comes time for the offering, Craig is in the chancel watching. The collection plate comes to Jake, and he does as he always had: he picks up a quarter, stares at it and giggles the rest of the service.
Well, like a teacher would tell a student to stay after class, Craig tells Jake, "I want to see you in my Study as soon as church is over."
When Jake comes in, Craig says, "Jake, I thought I told you not to come back here until you're cured."
To which Jake says, "Aw, Reverend, I AM cured. I can take a coin out of the collection plate now and it doesn't bother my conscience one iota."
According to Jesus, it's all about giving. "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."
According to the scriptures, it's all about giving. God creates the heavens and the earth for what reason? To give. God creates the fowl of the air, the cattle of the earth, the fish of the seas for what reason? To give. God molds a human being out of clay that He scoops up, and what is the crowning touch on this form? He breathes His own breath into the human being's nostrils and gives it life.
God gave life in the Old Testament and continued it in the New. What does Jesus say?" The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly (John 10:10)."
This is one of the keys to the Sermon on the Mount, the Sermon on the Plain and the Beatitudes: it's not just about giving: it's about giving more.
In the old way of doing things, it was all about not killing people physically by murder and manslaughter. In the new way of doing things, it's all about not killing people with words and lousy attitudes.
In the old way of doing things, it was all about limiting the effects of retribution. But in the new way of doing things, it's all about turning the other cheek.
In the old way of doing things, it was all about doing what was required by law. But in the new way of doing things, it's all about doing things by the Spirit.
In the old way of doing things, it was all about giving the required sacrifices. But in the new way of doing things, it's all about giving more than is required.
Then Jesus throws in one more thing, an added bonus: in the old way of doing things, it was all about doing. But in the new way, His way, it's all about being.
Were you to take your Old Testament and look at the minimum daily requirements, you would see that there are no less than sixteen different Offerings. There were Incense Offerings, First-fruits Offerings, Free-will Offerings, Gift Offerings, Thank Offerings, Drink Offerings, Meat Offerings, Wave Offerings, Heave Offerings, Peace Offerings, Trespass Offerings, Jealousy Offerings, Sin Offerings, Burnt Offerings, as well as our old friend the lowly tithe.
In the old way of things, it was all about things; it was all about stuff; It was all about material objects. But in the new way of things, it's all about attitudes and actions, as well as material things.
The King James Version calls these actions and attitudes alms. Now, alms is a very interesting word. It comes from the Greek word that is translated mercy, but is also linked with the Greek word that means compassion.
Properly speaking, alms are charitable acts. When I mention the word charity, what's the first thing that pops into your head? It might be The United Way. It might be Church World Service. The Bill Cosby Show was on the other night and there was a scene where some folks were collecting for the United Negro College Fund. Bill looks at them and says, "I just got through writing four checks for college tuition for four of my children. I AM the United Negro College Fund."
We think of charity as an organization that helps people. We think of charity as nonprofit organizations that operate totally from donations. We think of charities as organizations to whom we send checks.
But in the scriptures, charity doesn't refer to some kind of institution; charity is how the King James Version translated the Greek word agape, which is translated love.
Agape properly translated means "unconditional" love. It is love with no strings attached. It is love for love's sake. Agape love, unconditional love, does not expect anything in return. It's the kind of love found in 1st Corinthians 13, the kind that bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things: the kind of love that does not keep score of wrongs.
But that's not how we approach charity these days, is it? If we give to a charity, there are strings attached. We expect certain standards from the charity. We expect some kind of ideology to be present in the work of the charity, and it doesn't matter if it's a check to the Democratic National Convention or the Boy Scouts.
But that's not the kind of giving that Jesus is talking about. It's more than just giving money; it's giving of time. It's not just about writing a check and getting ink on your forefinger; it's about getting out there and doing the work and getting dirt in your fingers. It's not giving for tax benefit; it's giving for your soul's benefit.
In 2nd Corinthians 8:11-14, Paul writes, "On every Lord's Day, each of you should put aside some amount of money in relation to what you have earned and save it for this offering. Don't wait until I get there and then try to collect it all at once. Now, you should carry this project through to completion just as enthusiastically as you began it. Give whatever you can, according to what you have.
If you are really eager to give, it isn't important how much you are able to give. God wants you to give what you have, not what you don't have. Right now you have plenty and can help them. Then at some other time they can share with you when you need it. In this way, everyone's needs will be met."
Two things strike me about these verses. First it has to do with the principle of reciprocity, that what you give and how you act has a way of coming back. What goes around comes around. Paul is telling these people that they have an abundance, and they need to give it to people who are in need. This works two ways. First, the well-to-do church isn't always going to be well-to-do; there will come a time when they will need help. Who's going to be the one to help? The poor church they are helping now. And the poor off church won't be poor forever. There will come a time when they will have an abundance; they will have a chance to give to a church that was in the same boat as they were. It may well be that the church who gets the benefits of their abundance is the one that helped them out earlier.
Second, it has to do with the attitude of the giving. I heard last week about a contractor in Cloquet (near Duluth). A number of years ago, he wrote a check to a local church in the amount, I believe, of $150,000. Now, five years later, he is suing the church to get it back. He claims the donation was made when he was under a lot of stress; now he really needs that money back. So he goes to the church and tells them he wants a refund. What do you think the church said? "We already spent it."
I really believe what concerns the Lord most is not how much you give, but why you give. Are you giving for a tax write-off? Are you giving out of a sense of guilt? Is giving to God's work like a brokerage account where you're primarily looking for a return on your investment? Do you look at the work of the congregation not as a servant but as a stockholder?
Jesus talks more about attitude in Matthew 6:1-4:
"Be careful that you do not do your charitable deeds before people, to be seen by them. Otherwise you have no reward from your Father in heaven. Therefore, when you do a charitable deed, do not sound a trumpet before you as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory from people. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward. But when you do a charitable deed, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, that your charitable deed may be in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will Himself reward you openly."
Another thing that really concerns God is how you give. It's a very common practice that whenever some people give to a charitable work‹and it doesn't matter if it's a wing to a hospital or buying a box of Girl Scout cookies‹some people want to take out a full-page ad and say "Look how generous I am." They want to be very open and public about their giving. They want the television cameras running whenever they give their check, and they want their check to be one of those banner-sized things like Ed McMahon (or whoever) gives away in Publishers' Clearinghouse Sweepstake.
In 2nd Corinthians 9:6-7, Paul writes, "But this I say: He who sows sparingly will also reap sparingly, and he who sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. So let each one give as he purposes in his heart, not grudgingly or of necessity; for God loves a cheerful giver."
Things are so different in the new way of doing things. In the old, it was about giving as little as you could to get by. In the new way, it's about how much you can give over and above. In the old way, the concern was the amount; in the new way, the concern is the attitude.
Jesus says, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again."
Whenever I was a kid I'd read that part about men and bosoms and snicker. When I was a child I spoke like a child, thought like a child, reasoned like a child, but now that I am full grown, I have put away childish things. Sort of. I now know what Jesus was talking about men and bosoms. Men (males, boys) at the time of Jesus wore long, loosely-fitted robes down to their ankles with a belt around their waists. The robe could be pulled up so that the bosom of the robe above the belt formed an outside pocket where guys could carry their stuff. If Jesus were saying this today, He might say, "Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, people will stuff your pockets."
My friend Craig told me about this guy in his congregation named Earl who never put a red cent in the collection plate. One Sunday, Earl was feeling really generous, so he puts a dollar bill into the plate. Just then, a guy in the pew behind him taps Earl on the shoulder and hands him a $20 bill. Earl smiles, puts the $20 in the plate and passes it on, admiring how the guy behind him was being generous.
Earl then feels another tap from behind and hears a whisper: "Earl," the man said, "that was your $20 bill; it fell out of your pocket."
You see, it all belongs to God in the first place and eventually every cent will fall out of our pockets. God loves us. He wants us to give; He wants us to take; and sometimes, like Jake, He even wants us to act a little crazy.
© Rev. Duane Brown, 2004
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