The Difficulty in Giving

It’s funny how difficult giving gets when you are trying to budget. For some reason, I ALWAYS forget to put that into my budget at the beginning. I will go down my list of bills and then come to the end thinking, “Sweet, I have some extra money!” then I realize I didn’t add in my giving. It’s not that I don’t enjoy giving or want to avoid it, I just forget that my tithe should be treated like everything else. I have to give. I am commanded by Jesus to give.

It’s honestly hard to do once you have started to pay down your debt. Stephanie and I have decided to give a 10% tithe and also another 5% to whatever charity we want for that month. That’s 15% of our income that can’t go towards debt. It’s not like we make a TON of money so every dollar matters to us now. We could really use that extra money. I would love to put that in savings or put it towards our goal of paying off our debt. However, that is not what we are commanded to do as believers. It sucks, to be honest. I often imagine how much faster we could pay off the debt with that extra 15% and try to talk myself into not giving that money away. It doesn't FEEL like the wise financial decision to give money away when you are in debt. But I know that is just my own selfishness wanting to keep more money for myself. Most likely I would spend that extra 15% on eating out or some new toy instead of putting it towards debt. 

I heard someone say “Do what’s right because it’s right until it feels right”. The Bible says that if we know what we should do, and don’t do it, we are sinning. Stephanie and I both know we should give, so if we don’t, it is wrong. That is a tough thing. Why can’t we just hold onto that money until our debt is paid off? I mean, would God really miss it? It’s not like we are giving tens of thousands of dollars, it’s only a small amount! There is no way He would even notice my lack of giving!

Well, of course that isn’t true. You know the story of the poor widow who only gave a few pennies? Well, Jesus noticed her giving that. He praised her because she was giving, not out of her excess, but she was giving sacrificially. It hurt her to give that amount. I doubt she was excited to give that. I bet she felt a calling to give that amount and acted in obedience. It’s interesting to me that there isn't anything said about Jesus telling her “good job” after she gave that amount. Just that He that He noticed it. We aren't asked to give to get an "Atta boy!" from Jesus. We are to give because it is an act of obedience. 

For us, we want to give in a way that will hurt a little bit. We don’t want to just have some extra cash lying around and give because it’s a good idea. Even though we don’t have a lot, we have way more than we need and are obligated to give that away. The Bible says that if we are faithful with little we will be faithful with much and that is very true. If we don’t give now, why would we give later? It is all about the mindset. If we truly believe that the money in our bank account belongs to God, wouldn’t we do what He wants us to do with that money? It’s not like He is asking me to give MY money to a charity. He is asking that we give the money He is letting us use to charity. It’s His money so we are to do whatever He want us to do with it.

In my opinion, giving away your money is one of the best ways to keep from making it an idol. Paying off debt can even become an idol if you let it be the most important thing in your life. However, if you are continually giving a portion of it away, and are faithful with giving it away, you will be able to view money with an appropriate view and not rely on it too much.

- Brian