The True Motive for Giving
Introduction: Last summer at our Free Church National Conference I had lunch with Steve, a long-time friend who pastors a fast-growing church of about 1000 in Omaha, Nebraska. He told me a fascinating story about how he had felt led to speak to a man in his church about giving to his church’s building fund. He had never solicited a gift from an individual before, but he knew through the news that this man had recently been entrusted by God with a lot of money, roughly $5 million. The man had sold a small communications company he owned to WorldCom, and had received a lot of stock in that darling of Wall Street. Steve invited the man to lunch and, with fear and trepidation, asked him if he would consider giving a million dollars to the building fund.
Surprised that the man didn’t choke on his sandwich, he was even more surprised when the man said he would talk it over with his wife. A week later he called Steve and said, OK, he would give a million dollars. Within two weeks the man’s stock rose by over a million dollars and he was ahead of where he was before he made his gift. Last week Steve called me about another matter and in the course of the conversation I asked him if the man had actually given the money. Yes, he said. In fact, just the week before last the man had called him this time and had decided to give another million. The church is now able to build 50% more space than originally planned, which was needed but previously unaffordable.
Now I had three reactions to hearing all this. One was delight for Steve because he is a good friend doing a great job, and his church is making a terrific impact on the city of Omaha. A second reaction was awe at the generosity of the man who gave the money. Anyone who is willing to give 30-40% of his net worth with no strings attached is truly magnanimous. The third reaction, frankly, was envy. I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, what we couldn’t do with a gift of $2 million or even a half million right now!” Our building plan is twice as big as his, and with a major gift all the scrimping we have asked the architect to do could be avoided, the unfinished space could be completed, and our indebtedness could be minimized.
But, as God’s timing would have it, the day after Steve called, I began to work on our Scripture text for today, and God gave me some much-needed balance. We tend to ooh and aah when the wealthy make huge gifts, but God is impressed, not by the size of the gift but by the motive behind it. I don’t know the motive of the man in Omaha—I assume it is a very godly motive—so I am making no judgment on him. Rather I am making a judgment on myself in regard to my reaction to his gift. Listen to the Word of God as found in Luke 21:1-4:
As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
Now I want to read this brief story again, this time with the addition of the last three verses of chapter 20:
While all the people were listening, Jesus said to his disciples, “Beware of the teachers of the law. They like to walk around in flowing robes and love to be greeted in the marketplaces and have the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. They devour widows’ houses and for a show make lengthy prayers. Such men will be punished most severely.”
As he looked up, Jesus saw the rich putting their gifts into the temple treasury. He also saw a poor widow put in two very small copper coins. “I tell you the truth,” he said, “this poor widow has put in more than all the others. All these people gave their gifts out of their wealth; but she out of her poverty put in all she had to live on.”
We don’t observe “Stewardship Sunday” or “Stewardship Month” here at First Free, but that does not mean we view the subject of giving as unimportant. One of the most common themes on the lips of Jesus was the believer’s attitude and relationship to money. And I don’t shy away from preaching on the subject when it comes up in our study of a book. Today it comes up.
For most of the past 15 months we have been working our way through the Life of Christ as recorded in the gospel of Luke, and today we find Jesus in the Temple in Jerusalem on Tuesday of passion week, just 72 hours before his crucifixion.
On Sunday he staged his so-called Triumphal Entry into the city of Jerusalem. On Monday he entered the temple and drove the moneychangers and extortionists out and began to teach the people. Tuesday began as a day of controversy, with the scribes and Pharisees and Sadducees prying him with trick questions, hoping he would say something that would either upset the common people, where his popularity lay, or upset the Roman authorities. But he answered every question brilliantly, and the last thing we read in verse 40 is, “And no one dared to ask him any more questions.” They have taken an intellectual beating, and they crawl away with their tails between their legs.
But Jesus does not leave well enough alone. He takes the battle to them. He goes on the offensive in verse 45, speaking to his disciples but in the hearing of all the people, apparently still in the Temple precincts. He delivers a literal tirade against the religious leaders, focusing on their lack of integrity and their greed. He is, in effect, forcing their hand to do the evil they have purposed in their hearts toward him.
Then he notices a group of people putting their offerings in the appropriate containers in the temple, and he takes the opportunity to hit the religious leaders once more where it really hurts—in the pocketbook, or at least in their attitude toward their pocketbook. But he also takes valuable time from the few hours he has left with his disciples before the cross, to speak to them about the subject of giving.
Luke places these two passages back-to-back for a reason. In the brief account of the widow’s offering Jesus is going to speak to the issue of the true motive for giving, but first he wants us to see …
The attitude with which it is contrasted
The account of Jesus’ words against the teachers of the law is very short here in Luke—just a summary of the whole speech, which is recorded for us in Matthew 23. I wish we had time to read the full text, but I want to read at least a few paragraphs from Matthew 23 before we focus on the items Luke brings to our attention:
Then Jesus said to the crowds and to his disciples: “The teachers of the law and the Pharisees sit in Moses’ seat. So you must obey them and do everything they tell you. But do not do what they do, for they do not practice what they preach. They tie up heavy loads and put them on men’s shoulders, but they themselves are not willing to lift a finger to move them …
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You shut the kingdom of heaven in men’s faces. You yourselves do not enter, nor will you let those enter who are trying to.
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You travel over land and sea to win a single convert, and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as you are.
“Woe to you, blind guides! You say, ‘If anyone swears by the temple, it means nothing; but if anyone swears by the gold of the temple, he is bound by his oath.’ You blind fools! Which is greater: the gold, or the temple that makes the gold sacred? …
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You give a tenth of your spices–mint, dill and cummin. But you have neglected the more important matters of the law–justice, mercy and faithfulness …
“Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of dead men’s bones and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness …
“You snakes! You brood of vipers! How will you escape being condemned to hell?
As I mentioned before, Luke gives us only an abbreviated account of this speech, but he tells us enough to highlight the contrast between these religious leaders and the poor widow. The only direct connection between the two incidents is that both occur in the temple, and in both the word “widow” appears. The religious leaders, Jesus says, “devour widows’ houses,” while in the next paragraph a poor widow gives an offering in the Temple. But there is a significant implied connection between the hypocritical righteousness of the money-hungry religious leaders and the sincere devotion to God which characterizes this unnamed, poverty-stricken woman.
Five characteristics of the teachers of the law are mentioned by Luke, and each serves to contrast and highlight the true motive for giving.
They like to walk around in flowing robes. Scribes in that day wore long white linen robes with a long fringe. There was no mistaking a religious leader if you met him on the streets—and that was the point. They wanted to be noticed. At the hospital one day I ran across a monsignor in a cream-colored robe with a crimson fringe, and as I followed him a short distance through the halls, I couldn’t help but notice the special deference that medical personnel, employees, and patients paid to him. I also couldn’t help but think of this passage, and I wondered about the legitimacy of religious habits or clergy collars or robes, whether worn by Protestants or Catholics. What is the point, if not to draw attention to oneself, with the expectation of being treated with special deference? Frankly, I think distinctive clergy dress is just another one of the leftovers from Old Testament temple worship, practiced by those who fail to realize that when Jesus died, he freed us from the ceremonial law.
Have you ever stopped to think about how many things in some churches (again, both Protestant and Catholic), are borrowed from Old Testament temple worship.? Clergy are called priests and wear robes, whereas the New Testament stresses the priesthood of all believers. Church architecture often features a kind of holy of holies, at the front of the church, often separated from the congregation by a railing. Lay people, especially children, are expected to stay out of that area. The central feature in the holy place is often the communion table, representing the altar in the temple, while the pulpit is placed to one side. The shape of the church itself stresses the separation of clergy and laity, with straight rows stretching out from the pulpit in the oblong shape of the temple, rather than surrounding the pulpit to signify we are family. Even the baptism of infants is a parallel to Old Testament circumcision. Frankly, I think Old Testament saints might feel quite at home in many of our modern churches.
That is not to say that such worship is intrinsically wrong, but I think it is imperative that we ask why we do certain things. There ought to be a better reason for clergy to wear robes than that Old Testament priests did so, or that they don’t have to buy so many suits, especially since Jesus frowned on the practice. A second criticism Jesus levels at the religious leaders of his day is that …
They love respectful greetings in the marketplaces. Their favorite appellations, according to ancient Jewish sources, were “Rabbi,” “Master,” and “Father.” It is on record that two scribes came in after walking on the street, grieved and bewildered because more than one person had greeted them without adding, “My Masters.” It reminds me of a well-known Christian minister whom I heard berate a colleague for not referring to him as “Dr. So-and-So.”
But Jesus, as he always does, goes right to the heart of the matter, which is pride. He says specifically, “You are not to be called ‘Rabbi,’ for you have only one Master and you are all brothers. And do not call anyone on earth ‘father,’ for you have one Father, and he is in heaven. Nor are you to be called ‘teacher,’ for you have one Teacher, the Christ. The greatest among you will be your servant. For whoever exalts himself will be humbled, and whoever humbles himself will be exalted.”
A third criticism is that …
They seek the most important seats in the synagogues and the places of honor at banquets. The most important seats in the synagogue were up front facing the congregation. These men wouldn’t be caught dead sitting with the hoi poloi, the common people. And if they attended a dinner and didn’t get to sit at the head table they were offended and would likely walk out.
For ten years as pastor in Wichita I sat on the platform next to the song leader. That was the custom there, and I went along with it. But I noticed something—it was very hard for me to worship because I was always looking at people, taking mental notes of who was there and who wasn’t, who came in late every Sunday, who sang and who didn’t, who chewed gum. And I made up my mind that when I had a chance to start all over, I would never sit on the platform again. That was a fortunate decision, because there was no platform at Sanford Brown Business College, and even here our worship pastor hasn’t left me enough room even if I wanted to sit up here.
Now I’m not saying that every pastor who sits on the platform is doing it for pride’s sake—that would be ridiculous. But I think it is very easy for a religious leader to come to expect, as a matter of course, certain privileges, perks, and honor—to the point that he feels slighted if he doesn’t receive them. And you know, it’s a short step from the desire for deference to the abuse of power, and that is mentioned next.
They devour widows’ houses. A rabbi was legally bound to teach for nothing. He was supported by his own trade and by free-will offerings. However, most of them were not above hinting about the dire straits in which they found themselves. They taught that to support a rabbi financially was an act of the greatest piety. “Whoever,” one rabbi wrote, “puts part of his income into the purse of the wise is counted worthy of a seat in the heavenly academy.”[i] Not surprisingly, they tended to prey upon women, who in that day were unskilled in financial ways, widows in particular. Under the guise of helping them with their wills, they would get their own names put on the title to the widow’s home. This is apparently what Jesus meant when he spoke of “devouring widows’ houses.”
Sadly, it’s not unheard of even today for men of the cloth to prey upon the poor, and it crosses racial lines. Henry Lyons, the head of the largest black denomination in the country, has been much in the news lately as he has been indicted for stealing hundreds of thousands of dollars that was given to rebuild black churches that were burned to the ground. He seems to have learned well from the likes of some of our white televangelists. The issue is that whenever a person uses a position of trust to further his own ends, it is wrong, and God will judge it. The final characteristic of these religious leaders is that …
For appearance’s sake they make lengthy prayers. This was one of my grandfather’s favorite verses. He always complained about the lengthy pastoral prayers that Reverend Malm offered at the Christian & Missionary Alliance Church in Northfield, Minnesota back in the 50’s. As we sat around the Sunday dinner table Grandpa would argue that Jesus never offered a prayer longer than two minutes. I think he misunderstood the issue. There’s nothing intrinsically wrong with long prayers. And just because none of Jesus’ recorded prayers is lengthy doesn’t mean he didn’t pray long prayers; as a matter of fact, he prayed all night on more than one occasion, and he upbraided his disciples for falling asleep instead of praying. No, the point he is making here is that the long prayers of the scribes were for show, designed to make an impression. It’s not the length Jesus is criticizing but the depth. These men weren’t really talking to God at all; they were talking to other people.
What is the result of these five characteristics of the Jewish religious leaders (and sadly, of many religious leaders in the church today)? Jesus says, “Such men will be punished most severely.” The Scriptures set a high standard for those who preach the Word and minister to the flock of God. James warns in the first verse of the third chapter of his epistle, “Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.”
Leaders, whether clergy or laity, should do everything they can to point people to Jesus and deflect attention from themselves. Nothing is more dangerous than a leader who keeps authority tightly in his grip, directs the ministry in all its details as he sees fit, takes as much credit for the good as he can, while offering blame for the bad to others, and brooks no criticism in the process. Wrestling with pride can be difficult, especially for those who are high achievers, but Jesus wants his disciples to be servant leaders.
We have seen the bad attitude with which the true motive for giving is contrasted. We turn secondly to …
The excuses which it disallows
This point is not made explicit in our text, but I think it is implicit. What are some of the excuses this widow woman might have offered? If you can’t think of any, just consider some of the excuses you are tempted to offer?
First, I’m destitute and I need the money. If anyone could honestly say that, and few of us could, this woman could. But most of the time when we use the words, “I need,” they really mean, “I want.” But even when there is genuine need, even if one is destitute, that still is no excuse to cease giving entirely. Jesus’ approval of this woman shows that there is no one so poor that he or she cannot or should not give something.
A second excuse might be, “My gift is too trivial.” Really? Think about this widow coming into the temple. This was not Solomon’s temple—that had been destroyed in 586 B.C. But Herod had spent over 40 years rebuilding and refurbishing this temple and it was now a pretty magnificent structure. Why should a poor widow give the only two coins she had to keep the gold and silver and brass polished in this building? Good question. The answer is that she wasn’t giving to the temple. She was giving to God.
A third excuse might be, “Let the wealthy do it.” After all, what are her two coins in comparison to the gifts of the rich? There are two answers here. One is that she would miss out on the blessing. And the other is that the small, regular gifts of ordinary people add up. In the history of Christianity, great institutions have been built, thousands of churches have been planted, and countless souls have been won to Jesus Christ, not primarily by the gifts of wealthy benefactors but by the small but regular gifts of ordinary people. Now if you have the potential of giving a million dollars this morning, I don’t want to discourage you. In fact, I have lunch free tomorrow and would be more than happy to buy. My point is simply that your gift, no matter the size, does count.
Another excuse might be, “I’m not going to give because I don’t agree with the way they’re spending the money.” Now that’s not such a common objection in a church with a congregational form of government, because the congregation itself votes on the budget. But people sometimes disagree with the priorities of the leaders, and withholding their giving is one way to protest. This widow could have thought that way. She could have appealed to the corruption of the religious leaders or the wasted gold on the ceiling of the temple. But she didn’t. She gave and trusted God to use her gift for good.
This is not to suggest that we should give blindly. There are certainly churches and charities that are unworthy of our gifts because they clearly do not exercise good stewardship, but if we stop giving because we can’t find a worthy cause, then that may be evidence more of something wrong with us than with the state of God’s kingdom work.
I’ve heard other excuses. In seminary I recall students saying, “I don’t tithe because I figure I’m preparing for the Lord’s work, which already entails a financial sacrifice.” I knew a Bible College professor who never gave because he figured that with his doctorate, he could have been earning 25% more in a secular university than in a Bible College. So he felt he was already giving 2 ½ times a tithe. Perhaps there are other excuses you have used to minimize your giving. Let me assure you that you’re only hurting yourself with these excuses. God is not impressed.
But even if you don’t use excuses like this, your giving still may not be in the right spirit. And that brings us to our third point this morning, which has to do with …
The spirit in which giving is to be done
God is less concerned about what we give than he is about our motive. The temple treasury mentioned in verse 1 of Luke 21 refers to thirteen metal containers, called trumpets, which were located in the Court of the Women. Each trumpet was for a different offering (one was for wood for the altar, another for incense, another for salaries, etc.). Over 15,000 people could congregate in this vast area at one time, and the more the better when it came to the rich putting their money in these metal containers. When a large bag of coins was poured in, it created a symphony of sound.
This is where Jesus sat on Tuesday afternoon. In fact, Mark 12:41 says he “sat down opposite the place where the offerings were put and watched the crowd putting their money into the temple treasury.” After the strenuous debates with the Pharisees and Sadducees, he was probably tired and perhaps his head had drooped between his hands. But suddenly he heard an unusual clamor coming from the area around the trumpets. He noticed a wealthy man push a wheelbarrow of shekels up to the treasury. He could have brought larger coins, but then there wouldn’t have been so many of them and they wouldn’t have made as much noise. As he scooped from the wheelbarrow time and again the audience oohed and aahed at his generosity.
In contrast a poor widow comes up to one of the trumpets and quietly drops two very small copper coins into the offering. Scholars tell us that these coins were worth less than a penny in our economy. But her spirit was not one of pride. She did not give to be seen. She did not draw attention to herself. She gave because it is the nature of those who love God to give.
What is the spirit of your giving today? A gift which is unwillingly extracted, a gift which is given with a grudge, or a gift given for the sake of prestige or self-display loses its value in God’s sight.
Suppose the spirit of your giving is wrong and you know it. What should you do about it? Do you just stop giving until you get the right spirit again? No, the right thing to do is to immediately confess the sin and ask God to give you a biblical spirit of giving, an attitude of worship in your giving. Make sure you are giving primarily to the Lord, not to the Church or to missions or to a building. Then start getting more active in the Lord’s work. Jesus said, “Where your treasure is, there will your heart be also” (Matthew 6:21). That works both ways. Where your heart is, there will your treasure be.
In regard to the true motive for biblical giving, we have looked at the attitude, the excuses, and the spirit. We consider finally …
The sacrifice which it entails
This is the real focal point of our passage, and this is where it begins to make us very uncomfortable. Jesus says of the rich who offered their gifts in the temple that day that they gave out of their wealth, but she out of her poverty. Her gift was greater than theirs in his eyes because hers represented true sacrifice.
The reason this makes us uncomfortable is that whatever else may be said positively about our giving—it may be generous, loving, wise, regular—most of us know we rarely sacrifice. How many times this year have we denied ourselves the pleasure of some item of clothing or some new electronic gadget or a night out so that we could give more to the Lord? When was the last time we took money out of our savings in order to give something special to the Lord’s work?
When is the last time we gave a gift without one eye on the IRS? Now don’t get me wrong! I believe in taking legitimate tax deductions; doing so actually enables us to give more than we could otherwise. In fact, I wish more Christians would study the inheritance tax laws. They would find out that those with sizeable estates can actually leave more to their children, or at least as much, if they will first give a sizable chunk to the Lord’s work.
But I wonder if we don’t have things backwards. Shouldn’t we give what God has laid on our hearts and afterwards enjoy whatever tax benefits it brings, rather than finding out what the tax man allows us to give without hurting our financial statement too much? Some of the proposals for tax simplification being considered by Congress involve a flat tax that may not grant a deduction for charitable giving. If that should happen, how will it affect our giving? Knowing where people’s priorities often lie, the leaders of many charitable organizations are justifiably worried about that point.
Friends, the bottom line is that God is not impressed with the amount you plan to give today. He is impressed, positively or negatively, with the spirit in which it is given and the degree of sacrifice it represents. Jesus says that in terms of heaven’s accounting system, this widow gave more than all the rich. In fact, if taken literally, the Greek in verse 3 means, “more than all of them put together.” He is not commending the smallness of her gift but rather the largeness of her heart. By human calculation what this widow gave was insignificant. Measured by divine standards, however, her contribution was priceless. Paul wrote to the Corinthians that “if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what he does not have” (2 Corinthians 8:12).
But does this mean that Jesus wants us to give everything we have, as the widow did? I don’t think so, not literally at least. There are too many passages that tell us to enjoy our material possessions, to provide for our families, to invest wisely for the future, and to leave an inheritance for our children. Perhaps the key to our Lord’s instructions here on the widow’s mite is that she considered giving an essential act of worship which mere poverty should not prevent. She would not be deprived of the joy of giving.
Conclusion: What are we going to do differently as a result of hearing this message today?
For some it may mean giving for the first time in a regular, systematic way. My parents taught me to tithe when I got my first job at age 14, and I have used that as a starting point in my giving for 40 years now. Have I ever regretted it? Not for a moment. The blessings I have received have far outweighed any sacrifice entailed. I am confident that your experience will be the same. There are simply too many believers over the past four millennia whose testimony is the same as mine, including scores in this family of believers. So put the excuses aside and start a new adventure in your life.
For others, who already give regularly, it may mean a new motive in giving. Ask God to take away the pride or the desire for recognition or the grudging spirit that may be infecting your stewardship. And start experiencing the immense joy that accompanies a right spirit of giving.
And for still others, it may mean taking the risk of reaching a new level of sacrifice. Test God’s promises and see if he won’t bless your socks off. But don’t forget that God doesn’t necessarily always bless financially. You noticed, didn’t you, that the end of the story doesn’t find the widow winning the Jerusalem lottery?
And finally, for some it may mean that you must first receive a gift. You see, God doesn’t want your money until he has your heart. When Paul describes the generosity of the Macedonian churches, he makes the point that “they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.” (2 Corinthians 8:5). God wants to give you the gift of eternal life before he accepts anything from you. That life is in his son, Jesus Christ, who died for you and offers you forgiveness for your sins if you will put your faith and trust in him.
Tags:
Stewardship
Pharisee
Giving
Sacrifice
[i]William Barclay, The Gospel of Luke, 264.