Jesus presented very few specifics on giving in his teaching. But he said a lot about the subject. When he spoke in parables, he made many references to money and possessions. Someone has said that of the 38 recorded parables of Jesus in the New Testament, 16 of them were about money and possessions. 

When an affluent young man came to Jesus one time and asked a question regarding Kingdom living, Jesus said in effect to him, “Your affluence is in the way. Give it all away in order to find God.” When Jesus had a power lunch with Zacchaeus, the result was a massive outflow of Zacchaeus’ accumulated wealth. In front of the crowd outside Zacchaeus’ home Jesus said, “Today salvation has come to this house.” 

When a poor woman put two copper coins into the Temple treasury, Jesus nudged his disciples and said, “Did you see that? All these others here gave out of their abundance, but she gave out of her substance.” 

Other than his constant references to the Kingdom of God, Jesus talked more about money and possessions than any other single topic. 

While most of the time he was specific to specific people, Jesus gave some general principles.

• “Lay not up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and thieves break in and steal; but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven.”
• “Take care that you know that a person’s life does not consist in the abundance of his or her possessions.”
• “Consider the lilies of the field and the birds of the air… they have no worries or anxieties at all, and God takes care of them.”
• “From everyone to whom much is given, much is expected.”

Jesus often spoke of money and possessions as affecting our relationship with God. 

I find two overall themes in the Bible about giving. One theme is substance; the other is style. 

SUBSTANCE 

First of all, the Bible says we give to God out of whatever substance we happen to have. The spiritual guideline—although not the law—is tithing. The Bible sees tithing as a substantive way to respond to God.  

Forbes Magazine is hardly a magazine in which you would expect to find some religious news, but in February of 2005 there was an article on tithing as an “irrational act.” It was the story of a man who heard a sermon on tithing. The minister said something like this: “Tithing will liberate you from financial worry. You might be 10% poorer, but you will stop worrying.” The man then began what he calls “the irrational act of tithing.” He gave most of it to the church. Some of it he gave to other good causes. He reported that almost immediately a transformation took place in his life.[i] 

Substantive giving and tithing means we can stop worrying about the economy. We can stop worrying about the so-called “housing bust.” We can stop worrying about interest rates. We can stop worrying about whether or not there’s going to be a recession. I saw a misprint in a bulletin one time that said, “The congregation is asked to remain seated until the end of the recession.” Tithing may make you 10% poorer, but you will stop worrying. 

I am reminded of a quotation from Sylvia Porter, who was a financial analyst who wrote articles for several weekly news magazines until her death in the late 1990s. This is what she said: 

People often ask me how they can make ends meet. The curious thing is that people who make $10,000 a year and people making $100,000 a year ask the same question. I have discovered that people who give 10% of their income to the church or synagogue seem to have fewer financial problems, fewer worries than others. I don’t know why this is the case. It just is the case. 

Giving is a substantive choice we make that provides blessings and fewer worries. God invites you to choose to give substantively. 

There’s a story about a small midwestern United Methodist church that seemed to have constant financial problems. Most of its members were wheat farmers. For several years, they had bills still due at the end of the calendar year. They were also unable to meet their full Conference mission share. Finally the treasurer threw up his hands in dismay. “I can’t do this job anymore. You have to find a new treasurer,” he said. 

The leaders of the church got together and tried to decide who they would ask. One of them remembered that the man who owned the local granary where most of them took their wheat to be sold was a member of the church. “Maybe he’ll take the job,” the person said. So they sent a small delegation of people to meet with this individual. The man listened to their story, reflected a moment and then said, “Okay, I’ll do it. But I’ll do it on two conditions. The first condition is this: you ask me no questions. The second condition is that you not ask for any kind of a written report until the end of the year.” The people were understandably somewhat edgy about this, but they decided they had no other choice. So the granary owner became the treasurer of the church. 

At the end of the year he turned in his final report. It showed all bills current and paid in full. It showed the full Conference apportionments paid in full. And he also reported that there was $33,500 in the bank. “That’s amazing,” said the people. “How in the world did you do that?” 

“Well, it really wasn’t all that hard,” he replied. “All of you bring your grain to my place to be weighed and shipped. I simply took out 10% of what you gave, donated it to the church, gave you the rest of the money, and you never missed the tithe.” 

Now there’s something fundamentally wrong with this story. What’s wrong is that the tithe or the substantive giving was not a choice that the people made. It was arranged by someone else. Substantive giving or tithing must be a heart choice for you and me. 

Do you believe the church makes a difference in your life? Do you believe the church makes a difference in the lives of those about whom you care the most? Do you believe that lives can be set on a good course or transformed here? Have your children or grandchildren been steered toward God in this place? 

Someone gave me a book last week entitled Stop Dating the Church.[ii] The book has a story about one young man who attended two churches every week. He went to one for the music and the other for the sermon. He would go for the first 15 or 20 minutes at one church, then hop in his car and drive 10 minutes—including a stop for an Egg McMuffin—to the second church, where he would listen to the sermon. After doing this for a number of months he said, “I think I have discovered I was two-timing the church.” (I had not heard the term “two-timing” since I was in high school—since I tried to date two different girls on the same weekend!) He had made no substantive commitment to either church. 

Don’t just “date” the church. Allow your heart to make a substantive commitment. 

I rejoice that many of you have taken the faith step of tithing. I know you have done it because you have told me so. You’ve done it with a great sense of joy and peace. You have made this church a substantive investment in your life. 

STYLE 

The second word is the word “style.” Style means we do our giving first. We give the “first fruits.” In the Old Testament that meant the first 10% of your grain from your harvest. Or it meant the first 10% of the jars of olive oil from your olive orchard, or the first 10% of the wine from your vineyards. It meant the first 10% of the dates or figs from your trees. 

Now most of us are not farmers. Most of us do not have fig trees or date trees in our front yard. So what does this say to us? It says you give the first 10% of whatever you happen to have. Make that your spiritual goal. You do not just tithe, but you give your first fruits. 

Again, many of you have learned the freedom of first fruits giving in this place. You have learned that this kind of giving brings deep and lasting inner peace. As one of our members said on the video you saw this morning, “God gets the first cut.” 

Paul Harvey reports about a woman who called the Butterball Turkey Company one fall. She said, “I’ve had a turkey in my freezer for three years. Do you think it’ll still be good?” 

The woman on the other end of the line said, “Well, I suppose it will still be okay if the freezer has remained cold over those three years. But it might not taste very good. Some of the flavor will be lost.” 

“That’s what I thought,” replied the woman. “We’ll just donate it to the church.” 

Some people say, “I will give to the church whatever I can, whenever I can give it.” The translation of that is, “I will give my leftover fruits.” What if God said that to us? What if God said, “I will give you whatever’s left over?” But God does not say that. God says to us, “You are my people, my chosen heritage. Bring your first fruits to me and I will open the windows of heaven for you and pour down upon you an overflowing blessing.” 

Our faith says, “I will give the first fruits of my life back to God.” 

I remember a friend in my former church giving his witness on one Consecration Sunday. He said that in his childhood home he had a large family. He also reported that his mother baked an absolutely wonderful apple pie. It was aromatic and flavorful with the perfect flaky crust every time. 

One day he came home from school and saw a fresh-baked apple pie on the window ledge, cooling from the oven. The family sat down to dinner and had a good meal. At the end of the meal the mother cleared the dishes off the table and brought the pie over and set it down on the table. Then she got a knife and began to cut. The man said, “I was nine or ten years old and I said to my mother, ‘Please don’t give me the last piece of pie.’” Why did he say that? Because the last piece was likely to be the smallest piece. 

AN ADDED COMPONENT 

Let me add one other component to this word “style.” As I was writing this message, I came across another text from the Book of Exodus. It reads as follows: “The choicest of the first fruits of your ground you shall bring into the house of the Lord your God.” (Exodus 23:19) That sounds to me like a joyous expression of faith. Everything a believer does is done out of profound gratitude. You give, not out of obligation, not out of duty, but out of gratitude. If you give grudgingly or without gratitude, you probably should not give at all. 

As I move about the country to various events, teaching and preaching, I sometimes get a question: “Where did you say you’re from?” I say, “Bethel Park.” They say, “Where is Bethel Park?” I say, “Well, it’s in Pittsburgh in southwestern Pennsylvania.” And then sometimes people will ask me this question, “Well, how are things in out there in the rust belt?” 

The question causes me to reflect and think about how truly fortunate we are here. Yes, steel is not what it used to be. But we are really blessed in this part of the country. We have no hurricanes, no earthquakes, and only a very occasional tornado. We are able to respond to the needs of other parts of the country because we are so blessed here. New forms of employment continue to take shape all across southwestern Pennsylvania. 

Or I think about how fortunate I am to be a part of a larger church ministry in western Pennsylvania. How fortunate I am to be a part of this church, where spirits are high, where enthusiasm for the faith thrives, where small groups expand and deepen, and where congregational care is the best it has ever been. We are blessed here to be a blessing. 

All true faith-based giving comes out of profound gratitude. That’s a solid lesson Elaine and I learned in our lost luggage episode this past summer. We shipped three suitcases on a plane to Phoenix, Arizona. Only one came through—the one with our toothpaste in it. The other two did not come. They still have not come. 

I remember that the first few hours we were at our vacation spot we became somewhat frustrated and even a bit angry. However, the next three days the television screens were filled with news about hurricane Katrina. We watched evidence of ravaged and destroyed lives in many cities including New Orleans. Three states were affected: Alabama, Mississippi and Louisiana. The pictures were graphic and startling. 

Suddenly we realized how blessed we were. Our lost luggage was a nuisance, but it was not a disaster. We also discovered a certain freedom in those 7 days. Some of the work we had brought with us to do on vacation was lost. We had to relax and enjoy the vacation. We even found we could enjoy the vacation in a couple of hastily purchased Wal-Mart outfits. Elaine and I spent a bit of time talking and thinking about God’s incredible goodness to us. 

Will you join me in the irrational act of tithing? Will you join me in the tradition of first fruits giving? Will you join with me in an expression of sheer gratitude to God? Will you bring the choicest first fruits and tithes to this ministry? 

There’s a story about an old timer who was seeing his first steam locomotive. He looked at the huge piece of iron sitting on big wheels on the tracks. He shook his head and said, “They’ll never get ‘er started.” The coal was loaded into the boiler, the steam began to build up, and suddenly the train shuddered and the big pistons began to move. The huge wheels began to turn.  They made one complete revolution and then more and more until the train was moving down the tracks. The old timer shook his head and said, “They’ll never get ‘er stopped.” 

That’s the way it is with Christian stewardship. Once you start, there’s no stopping the joy of giving. There is great power and satisfaction in doing what is pleasing to God. 

A few months ago I was raising some funds to help a member of this congregation. I spoke to several members about the need. Within a few days I received a check for $1000 dollars, with a brief note. The note said simply, “Dear Brian, I have learned to believe Proverbs 3:9.” 

I had to look that text up. When I did it became the text for today: “Honor the Lord with your substance and with the first fruits of all your produce.” The person who sent it was not a farmer. He was not even a gardener. But he has found a way in the modern world to make that text come alive. I hope you will do the same. 

I invite you to say, “Here I am, Lord. I honor you with my substance. I honor you with the choicest fruits in my life. And I do all of it as an expression of my gratitude to You.”