The important realization that will change how we feel about giving

By Dean Collins

What church leader or nonprofit executive doesn’t want to say, “Stop giving us money. We have more than enough! We don’t need any more funding. We have everything we need to do the work, to live our lives, to accomplish the mission.”

Something like this happened with Moses and the ancient Israelites, and we read the story in Exodus 35. Moses told the people to stop bringing their offerings for the sanctuary, because the material they’d already brought was sufficient to do all the work God had commanded, and more!

I can only imagine!

Throughout the years I have led nonprofit organizations and been on the boards of many others. Usually I have experienced a different scenario than what Moses described. Constantly, we’ve been asking for more. Many times the potential donor has told me, “We’ve already satisfied our giving or distributions for the year.” Sometimes I’ve been welcomed to make a request next year, and sometimes I’m told not to ask again, because “I’ve given all I’m going to give.”

I can only imagine the situation of Moses so I could say, “No thanks, we have all we need! Give your money elsewhere.” Can you imagine a level of generosity from believers that resulted in all human needs being met? What would that take? Is it achievable?

In Acts we read about times when the early Christians were selling property and possessions and giving to others so much that anyone who had a need was taken care of by the other believers. All the believers were giving, not just some. We see this kind of generosity again and again in the New Testament. For example, once Jesus said, “She gave all she had.” Paul describes Christians who “gave out of their poverty.”

Generous gifts to a generous God

In Exodus that was true as well. This was a nation of slaves on a journey to freedom, possessing only what they took from the Egyptians and could carry as they escaped in a hurry. And yet collectively they had all that was needed to build the sanctuary. A couple things stand out in this passage.

• They were obedient
• They were generous

In Exodus 35 Moses explained that the Lord had commanded everyone to bring a contribution. But the rest of the directive is interesting: “Whoever is of generous heart, let him bring the Lord’s contribution.…” Hmm, it was commanded but then clarified. You are to give, but only if you have a generous heart. And did you note the following phrase? “Let him bring the Lord’s contribution of gold, silver, bronze.”

There’s a couple ways to think about that sentence. One way is to read that as stated; make a contribution. But when you read that the contribution is of gold, silver, and bronze, I think something else is implied. Where did these wilderness-wandering Jews get gold, silver, and bronze? They had been slaves for 400 years, barely surviving, not wealthy. But as they left Egypt, God had instructed them to go and ask the Egyptians for their jewels and gold. (Exodus 12). It seems to me that there is a reminder here for the children of Israel that they wouldn’t have had any gold, silver, or bronze except that God provided it through their previous obedience to his instructions.

When will we learn that anything we possess is really and truly not ours but rather given to us by God? Yes, you worked hard and saved well. But who gave you the strength to work or the brains to strategize? Who gave you the relationships with those who have invested in you and your projects? However large or small your possessions, maybe nothing comes to us but by God’s favor. And like the Israelites of old, we must decide whether we will bring “the Lord’s contribution. “

The real issue

And what could happen if we all brought the Lord’s contribution? Would hungry people be fed? Would the uneducated receive an education? Would lost people hear the gospel? Would those in remote areas of the world receive a written language and, more importantly, God’s Word written so they could understand? Yes to all of these things! God has provided plenty. The issue is us and not whether there are enough resources.

Do we believe in a God who keeps his promises and really owns all the cattle on a thousand hills, or is our God running short on cash because he didn’t invest well? If we have the faith the size of a mustard seed and believe in the God we claim to love, then I suspect we will discover that our obedience with God’s stuff will lead to the day when we are told to stop giving. There is an adequate amount to accomplish the mission. I suspect that when we all get this rhythm of generosity right, that will also be the day we hear the trumpet sound and see Jesus appear in glory!

Your time with God’s Word
Exodus‬ ‭35:4-5‬; ‭‭Exodus‬ ‭36:3-7‬; Acts‬ ‭2:45‬; ‭4:32‬ ‭ESV‬‬

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Photos by Nadine Shaabana and Aditya Saxena on Unsplash