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Giving through ministry
Mike Fletcher
How much do you care about the church?
About God’s people? How much of your time is spent helping… giving…praying for your church. A lot of people give money to the church but much less give themselves.
There are a lot of reasons that move people to give to the church. I know that some peopleare planning to give as a tax write-off so that they will not have to give it to the government. If that is your only motive for giving it is not a proper one.
A tax write-off is just not enough. That is not going to help you any with God.
Some people give to the church to gain a reputation for giving. It is striking that the very first death recorded in the church occurred when a couple, Ananias and Sapphira, decided they would gain a reputation for giving that they did not really deserve. In the fifth chapter of Acts we read that other people were giving property.
This couple thought they would get in on the honor and prestige that was being heaped on those who generously gave, so they gave some property. But they pretended that they gave all of it when they really did not.
When the Holy Spirit dealt with that hypocritical kind of giving he dealt very severely with it.
Some people give because they were afraid of dying and they want to make Brownie points with God.
There have been people men to give hundreds of thousands of dollars because they felt it would help them in their standing before God at the judgment seat. But they were not giving to help the cause of God or God’s church. They gave because they thought they could buy God’s favor.
All these are wrong motives.
When it comes to giving, motive is more important than the amount.
God is not so interested in how much you give the church, but why you give. Do you love the church? That’s the example we have from Christ.
More than 24 million seniors collectively volunteer 6 billion hours each year in the United States. Researchers at the University of Michigan recently discovered that the survival rate of seniors who volunteered 40 or more hours a year for a single cause was 40 percent greater than that of non-volunteers.
"Seniors who volunteer say it improves their health, life satisfaction, and social well-being," says Donna Thurmond, director of Senior Services for Volunteers of America.
The author is the publisher of the Online Christian Shopper, which offers llifestyle evangelism resources like Christian T-Shirts, Christian clothing and Christian jewelry. |